Today marks the end of the collection period for our first Annual District H Troop Drive and I am proud of our efforts over the last few weeks. We have worked to collect essential items, letters, and holiday cards to send to our brave men and women on the front lines in time for Christmas. I want to once more acknowledge and thank our key partners in this effort; Operation Interdependence, the City of Houston’s Office of Veteran Affairs, Walgreens, Kroger and the 18 HISD Elementary schools which provided awesome writers and talented artists for the letters and cards. I look forward to continuing this tradition in the future and am glad to be able to send a small token of appreciation to our troops overseas on behalf of their District H and City of Houston family. For more information, please contact the District H office at 832-393-3003.
I was proud to join my former colleagues at the Houston Police Department as they kicked off the 26th Annual “Comida” Food Drive on Monday. The “comida” drive is an effort to help feed those in need in our City and has benefitted thousands of families since it was founded by the late officer Joe Dominguez in 1985. Last year alone, HPD was able to provide 3,500 boxes of food to families in need. Fourteen Fiesta stores will be collecting food and cash donations from noon to 8PM on December 1 and 2 and from 9AM to 5PM on December 3 and 4. I would like to thank the Pepsi Bottling Group and Fiesta Mart Inc. which have been “comida” partners since the inception of this program. For more information, please contact the Houston Police Department’s Community Services Unit at 713-308-3200.
SNAP and BARC continue to help tackle the feral cat population in our neighborhoods this Sunday starting at 7:30AM at Ripley House located at 4410 Navigation Boulevard. This weekend’s spay and neuter initiative serves zip codes 77011 and 77023. I want to thank our neighbors that continue to volunteer their time for this important cause. In November alone, 80 cats have been spayed or neutered. For more information, please contact Susan Lamb at 713-661-3565.
Seasons Readings is back at our Houston Public Libraries! Spend the day at your local library branch and visit with an author, enjoy holiday performances and make sure to check out your favorite Holiday Book. For more details, please visit www.houstonlibrary.org/events. We have a wonderful network of libraries in our City and I encourage everyone to visit and participate in this series.
This week METRO signed full funding grant agreements for 900 million dollars that will fund the North and Southeast Light Rail Lines. I want to thank all of those involved in making this grant a reality. In particular I want to acknowledge METRO Chairman Gilbert Garcia, Mayor Parker, the Federal Transit Administration and President Barack Obama for staying the course. This light rail expansion and improved public transit is particularly important for District H and I am happy to have this funding.
Ed
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What is ‘Pop Off?’: ‘Pop-Off’ occurs at the end of each City Council Agenda Meeting. At this time, each council member is given the opportunity to discuss happenings in their district, congratulate constituents and share relevant information with the Council and the public. All City Council meetings can be watched live online.
