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WEDNESDAY • FEBRUARY 28, 2024
Man, 22, charged with campaign sign vandalism Staff Reports Fort Bend County Sheriff ’s deputies recently arrested a 22-year-old man for campaign sign vandalism. On February 24, the Fort Bend County Sheriff ’s Office arrested Axel Banega for campaign sign vandalism after a spate of such incidents were recently reported, according to a press release from the office. Investigators followed leads identifying a suspect driving a yellow Chevrolet Camaro who was seen on surveillance footage damaging candidate signs on February 13 at a shopping center located at 11315 S. Texas Highway 6 in Sugar Land.
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Fort Bend ISD board authorizes process to audit $1.26 billion bond program By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Fort Bend ISD board members voted unanimously Monday to allow the board’s three-member audit committee to begin a process to audit the district’s $1.26 billion bond program, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters in May 2023. The item, put forward by board member and audit committee chair Rick Garcia, did not include the firm that will conduct the audit or a total price tag. Garcia
said the committee would be meeting in the next week with a vendor to refine the scope of the work to be performed before coming back to the board for full approval. Garcia said the information might be ready for the board to discuss at its March 4 agenda review meeting. The move is a result of the unexpected news that the board received in January that the bond program, the largest in the district’s history, was projected to have a $136.2 million cost overrun, less than a year
after voters approved it and before most of the work had begun. At at specially called meeting on February 5, executive staff told the board members that the overruns stemmed from rom two major issues. First, they said, new estimates of the bond program’s projected costs, based on such factors as total square footages of campuses, that an outside consulting firm, PBK, that had been sent to a former
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The Fort Bend ISD board of trustees on Monday voted to begin an audit of the district’s bond program. File photo by Ken Fountain
Lunar New Year See Page 3 - for more photos from the celebration
Axel Banega, 22, has been charged with campaign sign vandalism after a recent spate of such incidents. Courtesy Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office
Banegas was taken into custody on February 24 on an arrest warrant for criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor. During his interview, Banegas admitted to damaging candidate signs, according to the release. His bond was set at $7,500. The investigation into additional suspects involved in vandalism of candidate signs continues. The first reported incidents of campaign sign vandalism began January 4. “We condemn the unlawful act of damaging political campaign signs,” says Sheriff Eric Fagan. “Every candidate has the right to campaign, and it is against the law for individuals to vandalize these signs. We take this matter seriously, and the investigation will continue, following up on other leads and suspects to ensure accountability for these actions.”
YOUR AD H E R E
Youngsters interact with lion dancers from the Shaolin Temple Cultural Center at the Lunar New Year Celebration at Tang City Plaza on Sunday. Photo by Ken Fountain
Sugar Land leaders emphasize “change” at annual State of the City address By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
In what has become an annual tradition, Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman and City Manager Mike Goodrum offered a tag-team-style “State of the City” address before a packed ballroom at Sugar Land Marriott at Sugar Land Town Square, on Friday, emphasizing a message of “change” to the area’s movers and shakers. Much as they did last year, the pair extolled the virtues of Sugar Land while also stressing that the fastgrowing suburb has to quickly adapt to market conditions
in order to remain attractive to prospective residents and businesses. During last year’s presentation, the two laid out a vision for the city being a “trailblazer” for the future, a theme they returned to on Friday. Zimmerman said Sugar Land is “a city that defies expectations and anticipates your needs before you even realize you have them,” working continuously to improve its customer service. The two said the city government is creating “new partnerships with the business community” that will bring new technology that will benefit residents.
Foremost among those partnerships, they said, is the just-announced agreement with California-based Wisk Aero. a company that plans to create an “air taxi” operation using autonomous aircraft that would operate out of the Sugar Land Regional Airport to take people to and from other destinations in the city “This initial partnership will lay the foundation and act as a gateway for the establishment of a larger network across the Greater Houston region,” the company said in a press release issued last week.
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Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman, left, and City Manager Mark Goodrun give the annual “State of the City” address at the Sugar Land Marriott last week. Photo by Ken Fountain