Thank you, Houston! And thanks African-American News&Issues, especially Mr. Malonson, his wife, Shirley and its readers.  We have another two years to do the People’s work.  You came out and spoke loudly. 
We went up against Goliath and were victorious.  Houston Fort Bend County put us over the top!  It’s amazing that some forgot how crucial Houston Fort Bend was to Mayor Lee Brown’s victory.   

HOUSTON- Please pay attention.  I promised you, when I ran to be your voice at City Hall, that I would fight to ensure that all voices were heard at City Hall and that what we did would be transparent. 
In other words, I would, to the extent I could, let you know what we intended to do to you before we did it.  The City is attempting to hike the fees for ambulance rides from $415 to $800 and also hike the fee per mile from $7.50 to $16.00. 

HOUSTON- Get fired up and ready to go vote during the December 12 run-off! We must get people in office who are on our side, not the establishment’s side.  So, let us finish the job we started:  electing the people who will fight for all Houstonians to be treated equally in every neighborhood in the City which directly affect your quality of life including: sufficient affordable housing and rentals; safe neighborhoods; decreased flooding; less weeded lots; quality grocery stores with fresh food, including fruits and vegetables; quality restaurants and stores; good jobs; wide sidewalks; covered METRO stops in all parts of Houston; rapid bus transit in disadvantaged areas; equal business opportunity for small business; hiring Houstonians first; working with other law enforcement agencies to keep us safe; working with independent school districts to try and keep neighborhood schools open and competitive;  etc.

This is Part 2 of last week’s article in Vol. 14, Issue 35, September 30-October 6, 2009.
 
We battled to keep from capsizing. A number of times I knew we were goners.  We had to maintain our collective composure and avoid panic, as we struggled to free the raft from the rocks.

Later we came to a 15 to 20 foot rock that overlooked the deepest portion of the river.  To jump into the river, we had to climb up the side of this slippery rock using a thin rope which was hard to grip.  One person tried before me and couldn’t get up the rock so I thought, what the heck, if not me then who?  Just go for it!  

Harriet Wasserstrum, is the President of the Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter of the ALF

I am a proud and humble member of the American Leadership Forum Criminal Justice Class 1 (“ALF CJ Class 1”).   I believe that the class members will ultimately effect positive and meaningful change in the criminal justice system.  I must admit, however, it didn’t start out that way.
I was initially apprehensive about joining the ALF CJ Class 1 when initially invited.  Additionally, I didn’t think I had time for this intensive, 18-month commitment that doesn’t allow for absences.  In my mind, balancing my job as a single mom, City Council Member, as well as lawyer, convinced me that I didn’t have the time to spare. 

The following article is part 2 of the article that appeared last week in vol. 14 Issue 30, August 26-September 1, 2009.

Well, I now believe that Mr. Fusco has made some positive improvements and his improvements have led to better and more humane conditions at BARC.  He has also improved the atmosphere and feelings of the volunteers.  For this, I thank him.  Ultimately, we must appoint a bureau chief who sincerely cares about the animals and demands the same from the staff and volunteers. 

You can tell what’s important to any governmental entity by the quality of its leadership and what money, if any, is allocated to fund its necessary issues. Is the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) important to the City of Houston?  Are we supporting and managing BARC like we care, and are we sufficiently funding it? 

his is part two of last week’s article (Vol. 14 Issue 27) “Federal Investigation of Gender and Race Issues Needed.”

Discrimination in Pay
Women firefighters are routinely not called in to work overtime.  They report that the captains in their stations do not call them in to work overtime, even when they should be and are the next people on the list to be called in.  As a result, they are denied the opportunity to earn overtime pay and to accumulate related benefits related to the hours of work (i.e., pension funding). It was said that grievances have been filed regarding this well-known practice, but they are routinely denied.  Further, non-members of Local 341 are not allowed overtime as Local 341 Union members are.  Between Local 341 Union members, African-American members are not offered overtime equal to that of their White male counterparts.

I am concerned that there may be pervasive and systematic discrimination within the Houston Fire Department.  Does that mean every firefighter is a racist or sexist?  No. 

What it does mean is that no firefighter should be discriminated against for gender or race and so long as discrimination based on either of these constitutionally protected categories is allowed against any one firefighter, I will fight to end this discrimination. In other words, this is not a fight against the entirety of HFD but it is a fight to eradicate all sexism and racism and facilitators of such within HFD.  To that end, all racists, sexists and facilitators beware. 

This following article is part 2 of the article that appeared last week in Vol. 14 Issue 24, July 15-21, 2009.
 
Then there’s the CES Environmental Services issue, the company that had explosion after explosion and an employee death in Houston on July 7, 2009 and two other employee deaths at another plant in another City within the last six months. CES is presently being investigated by OSHA, among other governmental agencies.  When the residents of that neighborhood called me, I received a lot of grief from that neighborhood.