Results tagged “countyjudgeroberteckels”

More on the resignation of Harris County Judge Robert Eckels: The Chronicle is reporting that Eckels plans to make tomorrow his last day in office, and it looks like former state Rep. Ed Emmett will take his place. Eckels has "strongly hinted" that he will support Emmett to serve as county judge until an election can be held next year for someone to fill the remaining two years of Eckels' term — an election in...

Good morning, Houston. If you have an outstanding municipal warrant, it's time to start watching out: More than 150 law enforcement agencies, including HPD, are gearing up to arrest you next week. It's part of the Great Texas Warrant Roundup, which runs for a week beginning Friday; if you don't take care of your warrant, KHOU warns, you risk "being arrested and embarrassed in front of family, friends or even co-workers." No, not co-workers!...

So, the big political news around Harris County today is that County Judge Robert Eckels will step down. It's not like nobody expected the announcement — rumors have been going around for at least a couple of weeks — and it's not like we know when Eckels will quit or what he'll do afterward, but still, it's big news. Right? Eckels, reportedly fighting back tears, began his goodbye during Thursday's State of the County address:...

So, some good news: According to a scorecard released today by the Department of Homeland Security, Houston is the best-prepared city in Texas to deal with a major disaster, scoring higher than San Antonio and Dallas — but the bad news is that that's not really anything to write home about, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said. The DHS surveyed 75 U.S. cities, metro areas and territories for their emergency preparedness, including advanced, integrated communication...

In the wake of a pit bull attack that left a 4-year-old boy dead in northeast Harris County a couple of weeks ago, county officials have given the green light to a study of how best to prevent dog attacks in the future. The county's pit bull task force, formed after last month's attack, will look at whether local regulations, state laws or more animal control officers would help the most when it comes to...

It's no secret to anyone who uses local toll roads — even occasionally — that they can get just as crowded and backed up as the non-toll freeways. It's a problem that seems to have no easy situation: build more roads, widen the existing ones, create a useful mass transit network (God forbid) or ... raise tolls. It's that last option that Harris County officials are spending $250,000 to study.

Harris County Commissioners Court gave the go-ahead for a private firm's proposal to redevelop the Astrodome as a mega-hotel, saying the 41-year-old stadium will no longer be a part of the county's disaster shelter plans.

If we have to evacuate from a hurricane again — and, for the record, we really hope we don't — things may be a little easier thanks to a contraflow plan now in place on some area freeways. The contraflow, meaning both sides of the freeway would be used to move traffic out of Houston, would begin at Brookshire along I-10, at FM 1960 on Highway 290, at Conroe along I-45 and near Kingwood on Highway 59. If you were around during the Rita evacuation last September, you probably remember how long it took officials to put contraflow lanes in effect because planning wasn't really done in advance. Not so from now on, apparently:

Mayor Bill White and County Judge Robert Eckels held a noon press conference on the local flooding, stressing that things will be OK as long as we don't get more heavy rain later today. "The ground is saturated, the bayous are full," Eckels said. "If the rain stops, we're OK; if we get another 10 or 12 inches of rain tonight, it's going to be another problem." No state assistance has been requested, though Gov....

The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority is expected to name Janis Schmees, acting head of the San Antonio convention and visitors bureau, its new leader today. Sports authority Chairman Billy Burge said he expects the group's board will unanimously approve Schmees at its meeting today, letting her get on with the business of getting more big-name sporting events to town and paying off the $1 billion in bond debt for Houston's stadiums.

The fun is back: Former Houston first lady Elyse Lanier has been appointed to the port commission to replace Cheryl Thompson-Draper, who resigned over an alleged racial slur she made in Shanghai last year. Harris County Commissioners Court appointed Lanier on a unanimous vote. But it came after County Judge Robert Eckels made a motion to appoint Leroy Hermes, a local architect and chair of the University of Houston board of Regents. That motion failed....

Welcome to 2006! If our first news of the new year is any indication, the apocalypse may be drawing near: Dallas is giving Houston props.

In a burst of civic pride, the Chronicle yesterday carried a glowing description of the soon-to-open Harris County Civil Courthouse. It's big! It's modern! It cost a lot! And it has a dome! The new building's facade combines the sleek style of glass skyscrapers with the bulkier style of stone buildings capped by arched roofs and ornamental designs. The building's four corners are all glass while the middle of the building is composed of brown...