2023
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WEDNESDAY • APRIL 3, 2024
GHP: Region ranks second in Texas in recent population gains Staff Reports
The greater Houston region ranked second in recent population gains behind Dallas-Fort Worth and tied the metroplex in percent growth, according to the Greater Houston Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. The nation’s three most populous metropolitan areas — New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago — saw their populations shrink. Only six of the nation’s major metros — Atlanta, DallasFort Worth, Houston, Miami, Phoenix, and Tampa—registered significant gains. “Atlanta overtook Philadelphia and Washington, DC, becoming the nation’s sixth most populous metro area. Houston has a lock on fifth place. Its population is growing faster than Atlanta’s but not as fast as Dallas-Fort Worth’s,” the partnership said in its Economy at a Glance publication for April. “Houston’s gains came from two sources—the natural increase and net inmigration. The natural increase reflects births minus deaths in the region. Net inmigration includes people who moved into Houston minus those who moved out. Two-thirds of Houston’s gains came from net inmigration and one-third from the natural increase. The ratio frequently shifts, with inmigration accounting for a larger share of population growth when the region’s economy booms (like last year) and a smaller share when it struggles (like ’17 and ’18),” according to the report. “Metro Houston ranked second in net inmigration among all metros in ’23. Nine of the nation’s 20 largest had negative inmigration, i.e., more residents moved out than moved into those regions. New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, the worst performers, lost a combined 270,000 residents to outmigration. Gains from the natural increase weren’t enough to offset these losses and all three saw their populations shrink in ’23,” the report says. “Net migration has two components, domestic and international. Domestic reflects the population moving from within the United States; international reflects the residents arriving from abroad. International migration includes ex-pat workers called home from overseas, foreign workers assigned to multinational companies here, military personnel redeployed stateside, international students enrolling at local universities, temporary workers on H1-B and H2-B visas, refugees placed in the city by relief agencies, and immigrants (documented and undocumented) who left their homelands for better lives in America,” the report says.
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Fletcher touts Fort Bend's 'collaborative nature' during talk By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, whose Houston-based 7th Texas District includes part of Fort Bend County, told an audience at the Safari Texas Ranch event center last week that the area serves as a model for how politics at the national level and work better. First elected in 2018 and reelected twice since, Fletcher, a Democrat, has represented the easternmost part of Fort Bend after redistricting following the 2020 U.S. Census. The district’s new boundaries took effect January 2023. “I love representing Fort Bend County and getting to know the folks in Fort Bend County,” she said.
“My district in particular is very special compared to many of my colleagues,” she said, referring to the very diverse district, ethnically and socioeconomically, which stretches from inside the 610 Loop to far west Houston and into Fort Bend County. She said that residents and officials in the district have a “collaborative nature.” She said she and the other Congressional representatives who serve the area - fellow Democrat Al Green of the 9th Texas District and Republican Troy Nehls of the 22nd Texas District - “work together whenever we can” on areas of common interest for residents. “The way things work here in the district is kind of in sharp contrast with the way things work in Washington,”
she said. “What we see here is that people work together at every level of government - county, city, state, federal work together for Fort Bend County.” She bemoaned the distance between that attitude and that which many see as how things work in the current Congress, which in the last year has seen acrimonious changes of leadership and threats of government shutdowns in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Fletcher discussed some of the legislative projects she’s been involved in since taking office, especially in her first term, in which both houses of Congress and the White House were all held by Democrats, In her current term, in which government is divided,
U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, who represents a portion of Fort Bend County, speaks at a recent event. Photo by Ken Fountain
has been a bit more challenging, she acknowledged. She said in the current Congress she has helped secure more than $16 million in federal funding for various projects throughout her district through
called “Community Project Funding,” formerly known as “earmarking,” including several specifically in Fort Bend County.
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SLMS students bring art supplies, joy to children who have experienced homelessness
A Sugar Land Middle School student plays with children during a visit to the House of Tiny Treasures in Houston. Courtesy Fort Bend ISD
Community Reports Students from two Sugar Land Middle School clubs - Accepting Responsible Male Strengths and We Imagine New Possibilities, We are Girls Soaring - donated art supplies and participated in an Easter egg hunt during a recent visit to a Houston area preschool program for children who have experienced homelessness. “This is the second year in a row that the clubs have worked together to help this wonderful program,” Fort Bend ISD social worker Roderick Martin said in a story from the district. “Our students really enjoy it, and they are learning about service.” During the visit, FBISD students from the clubs, which go by the acronyms ARMS and WINGS, helped children in the House of Tiny Treasures program hunt for hidden eggs in the
Sugar Land Middle School students participate in an Easter egg hunt with children at the House of Tiny Treasures in Houston.
preschool’s outdoor play area and blow bubbles that were also donated by the students as a surprise. The preschoolers’ smiles, laughter and excitement as they ran around dem-
onstrated the impact the Sugar Land Middle School students are making with their acts of kindness and generosity. “The children at the House of Tiny Treasures
have also made an impact on the students in our clubs,” Sugar Land Middle School counselor Kimberly Seright said. “It was their idea to return to Tiny Treasures this year.”
SEARCH Homeless Services runs the preschool program located in Houston’s Third Ward. Representative Cyan Reed, a representative of the group, said, “the kids are so excited for this day!” The program gives children a safe environment during the day while parents go to appointments and take care of other business. The program also offers bus service for children who presently live in shelters with their parents. “While we’re helping the parents, we are also helping their kids,” Reed said. The House of Tiny Treasures provides early childhood education, nutritious meals, art and playtime, and speech therapy to help children thrive and succeed. To learn more about SEARCH, House of Tiny Treasures and other services offered for anyone facing homelessness, visit searchhomeless.org.