60 Years
60 years ago today, a Friday, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. I remember that weekend well. My elementary teacher gave us the news and we listened to coverage on his radio.
When I got home from school, we watched the coverage on the black and white TV we had. I remember my grandmother watching with us and seeing her weep. Those images will be with me forever.
The photo that was posted on TV of President Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in by Judge Sarah Hughes with Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson looking on.
Air Force One landing and President Kennedy’s coffin being removed.
The world dignitaries paid respects as he was lying in state.
The shocking murder on live TV of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby.
John, Jr. saluting the casket.
Then the burial.
Monday, November 25, 1963, was declared a National Day of Mourning so we didn’t go to school that day and watched the funeral.
At age 11, I remember feeling that our country let us down by not protecting our president.
I remember hating Dallas for letting this happen.
A weekend I will never forget and certainly will never want our country to go through again.
The featured photo is newspapers I still have from that weekend 60 years ago.
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From the Chron yesterday:
Houston Public Works said Tuesday that an employee is accused of “intentionally” hiding a relationship with a family member while directing emergency contracts to fix water main leaks to them.
The employee has been suspended while the city’s Office of Inspector General investigates the allegations, some of which have been substantiated, public works said in a statement Friday. Public works did not release the employee’s name.
The city has also begun the process to terminate the emergency contracts at the heart of the investigation, public works stated.
The accusations against the suspended public works employee were first reported by KPRC.
Then this from Channel 2 News right after:
HOUSTON – Multiple Houston City Council members have submitted a notice to place water bill relief on the city council agenda as a result of KPRC 2′s DRAINED investigations.
According to a news release from Council Member Mary Nan Huffman (District G), she and Carolyn Evans-Shabazz (District D) joined Council Member Amy Peck (District A) to submit the ordinance Tuesday. This is the first time council members have submitted an item to the agenda after the historic city charter change by voters in the last election. The item is now in the process of being reviewed by the legal department.
Council members Peck, Evans-Shabazz, and Huffman prioritized water bill relief as the first item to be placed on the agenda after hearing from Houstonians who are “rightfully frustrated.”
“Houston Public Works often estimates water usage and back-bills customers after the meter is read,” the release said.
The proposed ordinance change would reportedly prohibit the department from correcting bills where the error occurred over three months prior unless the correction is in the customer’s favor.
“The current practice of being able to look back up to two years often resulted in customers being charged thousands of dollars,” the release stated. “Although the Department recently started adopting this new policy, the ordinance would codify this change and ensure that the policy is being applied on every bill. There has not been consistency in this practice.”
Less than an hour later, the H-Town Mayor put out this statement:
“Over the last few months, Houston Public Works and the City of Houston Legal Department have worked on comprehensive changes to our Municipal Code of Ordinances to address the issue of high water bills. This extensive array of regulatory and process improvements is designed to bring customer relief. My administration will present the proposed changes to City Council in the coming weeks with a target date of December 6, 2023.”
Credit goes to investigative/consumer reporter Amy Davis and KPRC-TV news for the reporting over the past year on the City of H-Town water billing issues. They have done over 40 stories.
Funny thing is the Mayor going off on Amy Davis accelerated this turnaround. It just became too much.
Amy Davis was on the air this morning and reporting on the latest. She certainly wasn’t crowing about it or beating her chest.
Who says you can’t beat city hall?
Nice job, Amy Davis!
