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FBISD Independence Day celebrations to be held across Fort Bend Staff Reports viously hosted by the City of center field, MoonShot Alley approves Sugar Land, has been relocated and more. There will be live On Friday, July 4, people all to Constellation Field in 2025, music presented by Bud Light, $901 million across the United States will providing a setting in the family- inflatables will be set up on the celebrate the nation’s most pa- friendly venue in the city. City of field, and there will also be face triotic holiday, Independence Sugar Land residents can claim painting stations throughout the budget, Day, which marks the official up to four free tickets with a spe- ballpark. The night will end with beginning of the nation when cial emailed access code while a Texas-sized fireworks show to including the Declaration of Independence supplies last. Unique codes will celebrate July 4th. Parking is $5 was signed in 1776. Here in Fort only be sent to residents with e- per vehicle (card only). Lot A, B Bend County we’re no exception. mails on file for utility bills. To and C will be available. use of Municipalities across the county sign up for e-bill to receive your have events planned to mark the code visit www.sugarlandtx.gov/ Missouri City ‘disaster occasion. eBilling. Tickets for the general Missouri City’s patriotic trapublic can be purchased for $14 dition offers plenty of fun and each here. Sugar Land excitement for the whole family at pennies’ Constellation Field will host All amenities at Constellation FourthFest, Friday from 5-9 p.m. Staff Reports Most taxpayers in Fort Bend ISD will see a property tax increase after the board of trustees last week approved a $901.6 million operating budget for the 2025-25 school year. The passage of the budget did not without some angst among veteran and newer trustees alike. For the upcoming school year, which begins September 1, the district will add seven “disaster pennies,” to the current tax rate. Those pennies are a one-time option allowed by the Texas Legislature for districts to use in the wake of a disaster, such as last year’s Hurricane Beryl. District administrators on June 23 presented the board with three options for a budget, developed in the wake of the legislature’s recent passage of House Bill 2, the biennial bill funding the state’s public education system. In recent meetings, the administration had told trustees that it was imperative that the district provide more funding for salaries of employees, particularly teachers. Currently ,Fort Bend ISD ranks near the bottom among its peer districts in the Houston region in teachers’ salaries. And following the COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers are seeking to move to other districts or leave the profession altogether. But administrators warned that the legislature’s funding bill likely would not provide the increase in state funding that all the state’s public school districts needs. The budget passed last week includes a compensation plan aimed at retaining and attracting employees with several different incentives, based on position and length of time in service. It was the third and last plan presented by administrators, who told trustees that it was based on up-to-the-minute information they had just received in a webinar presented by the Texas Association of School Boards. The incentive plan includes signing bonuses, employee wellness days, an increase in starting teacher salary to $63,000, health and supplemental insurance incentives, stipends for bus drivers with perfect attendance, and bonuses for employees not eligible for those provided by HB2. “This plan reflects our commitment to attract, retain and uplift the professionals that serve our students on a daily basis,” FBISD Deputy Superintendent of Operations Kathleen Brown said. The new tax rate will be officially voted on in the fall, after the start of the school year, but administrators told trustees that they would have little room to make changes. Administrators told trustees that based on tax rate compression also approved by the legislature, most Fort Bend
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“Red, White and Boom” presented by NMDP, an Independence Day celebration on July 4 from 6-10 p.m. “Red, White and Boom”, pre-
Field will be open throughout the evening, including concession stands throughout Constellation Field, the playgrounds in center field, the Splash Pad in right-
1600 Texas Parkway, behind the
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Families, neighborhoods and municipalities across Fort Bend County will be celebrating Independence Day on Friday, July 4. File photo
HINDU CHARIOT FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN ROSENBERG
Hindu devotees pull a 22-foot, richly decorated pyramidal chariot around the Universal Shraddha Foundation grounds in Rosenberg, taking turns towing the sacred cargo, dancing, and pausing for photos. Contributed photo
By Juhi Varma SPECIAL TO THE STAR
More than 300 members of Fort Bend County’s Indian community gathered on June 28 at the Rosenberg campus of the nonprofit Universal Shraddha Foundation (USF) to celebrate the annual chariot festival, or ratha yatra, one of Hinduism’s most colorful and cherished traditions. The ancient festival originated in the coastal city of Puri, in India’s Odisha state, and commemorates the
Hindu god Krishna – also known as Jagannath – and his two siblings. Once a year, their idols are placed in a richly decorated chariot and brought outside the temple, symbolizing a divine visit among the people. “So it’s basically a festival that is for Jagannath,” said Debashri Panda, 10, a student at Katy ISD’s Woodcreek Elementary. “They take him for a ride, he goes on a ride, then everybody celebrates.” In Puri, the procession draws tens of thousands, moving through the
city with a momentum all its own. “Jagannath,” inspired the English word “juggernaut,” means an unstoppable force. The procession is recreated across India and by Indian communities worldwide. “This is the day the deities come out of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and go among the devotees,” said Kalyan Rath, one of the main organizers. “The chariot will go all around the campus.” The highlight of the event came
late in the evening, when devotees pulled the 22-foot pyramidal chariot around the grounds, taking turns towing the sacred cargo, dancing, and pausing for photos. Despite the scorching heat and dry summer evening, families came dressed in bright traditional attire, determined not to miss the celebration. “We have been here since morning, packing food and getting things
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Folk Prints brings India’s textile heritage to Sugar Land By Juhi Varma SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Sugar Land residents now have a new destination for vibrant, handmade textiles with the opening of Folk Prints, a store dedicated to traditional Indian fabric arts. Opened on June 2 at 2452 Settlers Way Blvd., Folk Prints is owned by Saji Kollanthara, who has been championing handprinted, hand-loomed, and hand-embroidered fabrics since 2015. “If you have ideas, we have fabric – that is our motto,” Kollanthara said. “People come here with ideas.”
Stepping into the store is like touring India’s rich textile landscape. Shelves are lined with batik (wax resist), kalamkari (textile printing) and traditionally dyed fabrics (ikat and bandhani), made by artisans using age-old techniques and natural dyes. Indigo-dyed cloth, especially, has captured the imagination of local shoppers, Kollanthara said. Kollanthar previously lived in Toronto, Canada, where he noticed a growing demand for natural and sustainable products. Recycling is also highly valued in Canada, Kollanthara said.
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Some of the items on display at Folk Prints, a store dedicated to traditional Indian fabric arts which recently opened in Sugar Land. Photo by Juhi Varma