Beryl

One year ago today, Hurricane Beryl hit the H-Town area. In today’s Chron, CenterPoint purchased a full-page ad saying they are better prepared. In my book, better prepared means not as many will lose power during the next hurricane, and for those that lose power, power is restored quickly. We will see.

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The Trib and a couple of other media outlets did a story on Cancun Cruz being in Greece when the floods hit the Hill Country last Friday. Who cares? Cancun is one of America’s least respected elected officials. Nobody cares if he is here, there, or nowhere.

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Commentary is not going to pile onto the misery and suffering of those impacted by the floods. This from the Chron that came out Saturday morning has been nagging me for the past few days. See this:

Kerr County Judge Robert Kelly on Friday called the Guadalupe “the most dangerous river valley in the United States,” as rescuers scoured low-lying areas for victims.

If that is the case. If it is “the most dangerous river valley in the United States,” then why do they allow eight-year-old little girls to sleep in cabins 75 yards from the Guadalupe River.  Sounds insane to me.

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Good for the Conroe ISD Board of Trustees on this from the Chron:

The Conroe ISD Board of Trustees wasn’t supportive of allowing homeschool students to participate in University Interscholastic League activities on behalf of the district and is considering opting out of a new legislative requirement.

Previous legislation allowed districts to opt in, providing homeschool students the opportunity to represent the district in UIL activities and allocating $1,500 to those students.

The newly passed Senate Bill 401 will take effect this September and requires public school districts to allow non-enrolled (homeschool) students who meet UIL requirements to have the same opportunities to participate in UIL activities as enrolled students.

The bill does allow for districts to opt out.

The legislation also grants students who reside in a school district that does not allow non-enrolled students to participate in UIL activities the right to participate in UIL activities in the closest school district that does.

Chris Povich, assistant superintendent for Conroe high schools, said 43 districts in Texas allow homeschool students to participate in UIL activities, but none are in the Houston region.

“I am concerned that if we were the only district, and the largest district in the area, what would we be setting ourselves up for,” Board President Misty Odenweller said regarding if the district didn’t opt out. 

Trustee Maryanne Horton said allowing homeschool students would create an unfair advantage.

“I think it would be unfair to our students who are enrolled to accept students from the outside not held to the same standards,” Horton said.

Interim Superintendent Ted Landry said one concern was the cost of having non-enrolled students participate in UIL activities through the district.

“We are not prepared for a huge influx,” Landry said. “You have to remember our coaches are teachers first and that (state) allotment may not allow us to add staffing. If we can’t add staff units to add additional coaches, then we are talking about teachers giving up academic periods to service athletics periods.”

Landry said making classroom size bigger is not a goal for the district.

The Texas High School Coaches Association & Coaches Education Foundation is not in favor of district’s allowing homeschool students’ participation in UIL activities. According to its website, allowing homeschool students to participate lacks regulatory oversight, creates an uneven playing field and gives homeschool students an unfair competitive advantage.

However, officials with the Texas Homeschool Coalition believe parents should be free to decide what’s best for their children and that UIL opportunities can be life-changing.

As I said, good for the Conroe ISD Board of Trustees.

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I saw this yesterday in the Chron:

As Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo waits to announce her plans on seeking reelection, former Congressman Erica Lee Carter announced Monday she may run for the seat. 

“I want to make it clear, if Judge Lina Hidalgo chooses not to run for re-election, I, Erica Lee Carter, will be running for Harris County Judge,” she wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.  “This community means everything to me and I’m ready to step up and lead on the issues that matter most to Harris County.”

Former H-Town Mayor Annise Parker is also running for Harris County Judge. Annise ran H-Town City Hall for six years. We know what Annise brings to the table – a ton of experience. I could not tell you what Ercia Lee Carter brings to the table. I guess we will find out throughout the course of the campaign.

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The featured photo does not need explaining other than it came with the invitation to my neighbor’s get together on Sunday that I mentioned yesterday. Cute.

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The Astros lost last night. This evening is Dollar Dog Night.