INSIDE: Local schools testing new HISD recyling program • Page 2
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Mayor: TEA takeover of HISD could happen soon and replace them with state-appointed members. “We cannot be silent on this one. The state is overreaching,” Turner said during the city council meeting Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning email requests to both the TEA and HISD for comment in response to the revelation were not returned prior to publication. TEA commissioner Mike Morath first pushed for a takeover of the school board in 2019 with efforts to replace them amidst allegations of board misconduct as well as nearly
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced during Wednesday morning’s city council meeting that legislators have told him the Texas Education Agency could be poised to take over Houston ISD as soon as this week. Citing sources in the legislature, Turner said the takeover could happen soon. If it happens, he said the TEA could replace the entire HISD board of trustees as well as Superintendent Millard House II
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INSIDE.
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Contributed photo The new T.C. Jester Park playground is shown still enclosed by fencing. Initially hoped to open last year, officials say weather and supply chain issues have caused its delay, with completion now scheduled for later this month.
Opening of T.C. Jester playground pushed to late March By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Something new Read about a new tech-based workout spot and more in this month’s Business Briefs
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Back again The annual Heights Crawfish Festival is on tap, and more in this week’s Nibbles and Sips
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Residents, children, and families wanting to use the new playground at T.C. Jester Park will have to wait just a little bit longer in order to have a new spot for their recreational use at the popular local park. According to Lisa Johnson, the general manager for the city of Houston’s General Services department, completed construction and the opening of the new state-of-theart playground at the park has been pushed back to the end of this month. When it was first introduced in early 2022, officials had said the hope was to have it ready by that fall, but that was pushed back earlier this year to late February prior to Wednesday’s confirmation that it is now slated for the end of March. “Weather and supply chain issues have caused delays,” Johnson said in an email Wednesday morning.
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When construction is finished, officials have said the new and improved playground will include play units for all different age groups such as swing sets, climbers, freestanding play components and a
“Weather and supply chain issues have caused delays” -Lisa Johnson General Manager City of Houston Services Department
boulder water play element. It will also include sidewalk upgrades, decorative fencing and new picnic tables, benches, trash receptacles and a drinking fountain for parents and their children to utilize when all construction is finished. The project, officials have said, will redevelop and enlarge the popular local park’s playground with “state-of-the-
art” equipment selected in hopes of promoting cognitive, emotional, physical and social development, according to city officials last February. Completions currently done as of publication include underground utilities; concrete sidewalks, plaza, and playground border; and playground equipment installation. Funding for the T.C. Jester playground began with District C councilmember Abbie Kamin’s predecessor – former Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen – who Kamin said was a major driver in helping to secure funding for the $1.02 million project. Construction efforts had been in the works prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Kamin, which delayed the start of construction until several years after its initial planning.
In Houston, local streets and roadways can flood almost in the blink of an eye, within hours or minutes depending on the severity of the downpour. But a local flood mitigation project has recently gotten city-related funding approval, and is continuing to move forward with its construction. On Feb. 22, the Houston City Council approved its funding of $15.2 million that will go towards funding the Greater Inwood Detention Basin project in Greater Inwood, which is aimed at lessening the risk for flooding during major events such as hurricanes. Construction is expected to begin in 2025, according to city, and will cost roughly $80 million. The projects is the first of four Hazard Mitigation Grant Projects approved by FEMA following Hurricane Harvey in 2017. It is a joint project with FEMA, the Harris County Flood Control District, and the city of Houston. The flood mitigation project plans to construct a series of 12 interconnected basins at the 226-acre site of a former golf course on Antoine Drive north of West Little York Road, which is expected to reduce structural flooding risks in Inwood Forest as well as downstream neighborhoods such as Oak Forest, Garden Oaks and the Heights. “This is a great example of multiple public and private partnerships to benefit the community,” Houston Mayor Sylvester See INWOOD P. 6
Photo from HCFCD website The city of Houston has approved its funding for the Inwood Basin Detention project, which will aim to mitigate flooding concerns in extreme weather events.
Booker T. Washington student earns community service recognition By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
THE INDEX.
See Takeover P. 6
City funding approved for Inwood flood control project
Your neighborhood living room in The Heights
Hot bats Baseball and softball season are underway, so see howl local squads fared last week
a decade of low academic performance at Wheatley High School. HISD sued the TEA in 2020, and was granted an injunction by a Travis County judge – which was later upheld by an appeals court. However, this past January, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of the agency and threw out the injunction – clearing the way for a potential takeover. House II issued a few comments in January following the ruling. “My team will continue to be
A local high school student has received a community service award and college scholarship from a Greater Houston nonprofit organization. On Feb. 17, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston announced that Booker T. Washington High School senior Ky’Saan Piatti has been
named as the organization’s 2023 Julius Young Youth of the Year during its dinner at the Junior League of Houston. He is a member of BGCGH’s Texans Teen Club. A news release from the Boys and Girls Club said the award “celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of BGCGH Club members who have distinguished themselves through academic success, leadership, hard work
and determination.” According to the organization, the Houston YOY award was renamed Julius Young Youth of the Year in memory and in honor of Julius Young, Jr., who was elected Board Chairman of Boy & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston for 2020-2021 and passed away in September 2021. Young Contributed photo was the organization’s first Local student Ky’Saan Piatti, left, was the Boys and Black board chair and “Club Girls Club of Greater Houston’s 2023 Youth of the See YOY P. 6
Year winner. Heights High School sophomore Jadyn Perez, right, was the runner-up.
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