ENVIRONMENTAL HEADLINES, JULY 15-21

OFFICIAL: 18 STATE PARKS MAY CLOSE
Houston Chronicle 7/17/06
AUSTIN – Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials are warning that 18 state parks may close if lawmakers don’t spare the struggling agency from mandatory budget cuts ordered by Gov. Rick Perry.

METRO HOPES RAIL OPTIONS GET RICHMOND ROUTE FOES ONBOARD
Houston Chronicle 7/18/06
Attempting to allay fears that its next light rail line would disrupt residences and businesses along Richmond, Metro officials on Tuesday unveiled options they say would preserve the thoroughfare’s character.

METRO RIDERSHIP ISN’T SIMPLE MATH
Houston Chronicle 7/16/06
Like a business, the Metropolitan Transit Authority generates monthly, quarterly, and annual reports to keep its directors and its shareholders – the taxpayers – informed.

AGENCY: THERE’S ENOUGH POWER TO COOL OFF TEXANS
Houston Chronicle 7/15/06
DALLAS – These last few scorching days have pushed state electricity demand to record levels, but officials said Texans shouldn’t fear a repeat of April’s rolling blackouts.

SOCIAL SERVICES SEEING MORE REQUESTS FOR HELP FROM PEOPLE SWEATING BIG UTILITY BILLS
Houston Chronicle 7/20/06
Pearline Branch leaned her head back Wednesday afternoon and attempted to fan away the sweltering heat as she sat on her front porch in the Third Ward. But a slight breeze from the trees did nothing to cool the 71-year-old woman, who said being inside her home during the day would be far more grim.

DEAL LETS COUNTY CONTINUE TOLL ROAD EXPANSION PLANS
Houston Chronicle 7/17/06
An impasse that had stymied three local toll road expansions has been broken by an agreement that will let the county keep working on the projects without liability while negotiating a fee for use of state right-of-way.

PROPOSAL RAISING HOME VALUES – AND TEMPERS
Houston Chronicle 7/18/06
The angry citizens standing before Houston City Council said the planned subdivision would attract undesirable elements to their community.

WRAP-UPS: $1.5 MILLION TO HELP PLAN FOR A PLAN

SUGAR LAND MAKES HUGE GAINS ON ‘BEST PLACES’ LIST
Houston Business Journal 7/17/06
Money magazine has named Sugar Land the third “Best Place to Live” in the United States.

DOME PLAN GETS PRELIMINARY OK
Houston Chronicle 7/20/06
Entrepreneurs seeking to turn the Reliant Astrodome into an upscale convention hotel hope to secure financing in six months and begin work on gutting and remaking the legendary Houston venue next summer.

FIRM SEEKS EXPANSION IN RECYCLING BUSINESS
Houston Chronicle 7/19/06
DALLAS – Only about 10 percent of computers, cell phones, and other electronic gadgets are recycled, industry analysts say, with the vast majority either collecting dust or leaching toxins into landfills.

BIOTECH CROP GROWERS MOVING INTO CLOTHING INDUSTRY
USA Today 7/14/06
In a sneak peek of what could be fashion’s future, leggy models draped in dresses by designers like Oscar de la Renta and Versace strut their stuff on the runway.

SPACEPORT RAISES CONCERNS IN BRAZORIA COUNTY
Houston Chronicle 7/16/06
ANGLETON – For years, a group of local economic planners has dreamed of building a spaceport on the Brazoria County prairie. It would be, they said, a commercial gateway to the stars that would launch the county into the space age with plenty of high-tech jobs.

GATORS, MANATEES, VULTURES SHARE NASA LAUNCH SITE
Reuters, 7/17/06
CAPE CANAVERAL – Alligators, manatees, and vultures share Kennedy Space Center with space shuttle Discovery, so for more than 40 years NASA has had to adjust to launching rockets in the middle of a national wildlife refuge.