Cohen has recruited a group of experts to address the constitutional amendments included on the November 3 ballot. She will moderate the panel as they present background on each of the eleven amendments. 

Representatives from the Comptroller’s Office, the General Land Office, the University of Houston, and Emergency Services are among those currently scheduled to participate. 

In its 2009 session, the Legislature passed eight joint resolutions proposing 11 amendments to the state constitution.

Texas voters have approved 456 amendments to the Texas Constitution submitted by previous legislatures.

The amendments on the ballot include:

Amendment No. 1 (H.J.R. 132

Authorizing the financing, including through tax

Increment financing, of the acquisition by municipalities

and counties of buffer areas or open spaces adjacent to a

military installation for the prevention of encroachment

or for the construction of roadways, utilities, or other

infrastructure to protect or promote the mission of the

military installation.

Amendment No. 2 (H.J.R. 36, Article 1)

Authorizing the legislature to provide for the ad valorem

taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the

property’s value as a residence homestead.

Amendment No. 3 (H.J.R. 36, Article 3)

Providing for uniform standards and procedures for the

appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes.

Amendment No. 4 (H.J.R. 14, Article 2)

 Establishing the national research university fund to enable

emerging research universities in this state to achieve

national prominence as major research universities and

transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the

national research university fund.

Amendment No. 5 (H.J.R. 36, Article 2)

Authorizing the legislature to authorize a single board of

equalization for two or more adjoining appraisal entities

that elect to provide for consolidated equalizations.

Amendment No. 6 (H.J.R. 116)

Authorizing the Veterans’ Land Board to issue general

obligation bonds in amounts equal to or less than amounts

previously authorized.

Amendment No. 7 (H.J.R. 127)

Allowing an officer or enlisted member of the Texas State

Guard or other state militia or military force to hold other

civil offices.

Amendment No. 8 (H.J.R. 7)

Authorizing the state to contribute money, property, and

other resources for the establishment, maintenance, and

operation of veterans’ hospitals in this state.

Amendment No. 9 (H.J.R. 102

Protecting the right of the public, individually and

collectively, to access and use the public beaches bordering

the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico.

Amendment No. 10 (H.J.R. 85)

Providing that elected members of the governing boards of

emergency services districts may serve terms not to exceed

four years.

Amendment No. 11 (H.J.R. 14, Article 1)

Prohibiting the taking, damaging, or destroying of

private property for public use unless the action is for the

ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State,

a political subdivision of the State, the public at large, or

entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or

for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel

of property, but not for certain economic development or

enhancement of tax revenue purposes, and to limit the

Legislature’s authority to grant the power of eminent domain

to an entity.

For more information, call 713.627.0134 or email info@ellencohen.org.

Several long-time pool users had urged the council to keep the heated therapy pool open during the winter, so that they could continue their exercise and rehabilitation programs.

The city’s general fund operating budget for the 2010 fiscal year will be $14.8 million, Bellaire City Manager Bernie Satterwhite said

The budget, which freezes hiring for all employees except for public safety personnel, defers funding on the Bellaire Town Square project and a request for parks land acquisition from the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, Satterwhite said.

The budget also postpones using any city funds on public art.

But, Satterwhite said the budget will include funding for a History Walk that was part of Bellaire’s Centennial celebration last year, as well as a pergola and meditation area in the recently completed Loftin Park.

“They were really voted on last year, and I can understand that,” Satterwhite said.

Satterwhite said the budget “philosophy” for the city’s capital improvements budget was to “budget for things funded by bonds, because those costs are spread out over time.”

The other priorities, he said, were “things we needed to do to protect asset values” like the some of the city’s 50-year old water equipment and “things that impact the health, safety and welfare” of Bellaire’s residents.

The City Council took no action on an agenda item that would have called a public hearing on a proposed comprehensive plan revision. The proposal will be rescheduled for a later council meeting.

The council also approved the Recycling Committee’s request to spend $3,300 from the 2010 budget on “Bellaire Recycles Day,” which will be held in the city on November 14. The council asked the committee to present them with a report after that event.

The exhibit, which debuts September 19, will move kids in ways they never thought possible. They will learn how the environment and movement work hand in hand.
They’ll see animals fly, jump, swim and crawl, at Animals in Motion 

Kids will also get to use a computer kiosk to control the speed of videos for different animal motions, including frogs, owls, otters, cheetahs, kangaroos, hummingbirds, snakes, and dolphins.

 Magnets will be moved in different patterns to and a giant pendulum will swing to investigate the unpredictability of chaotic motion.  Kids also will be allowed to demonstrate movement by crafting a piece of art to take home, using two side-by-side pendulums to create Swinging Art.

 Or, they can experiment with speed by using rolling cars and interchangeable rear wheels and race them down a long ramp with an adjustable incline.

 Noticing the effects of movement in the environment is a key factor in Cool Moves: the Artistry of Motion.  Experience what happens when you place your hand into the middle of a mini-tornado made of swirling misty water, and notice the changes in wind speed and the motion of the tornado.

The exhibit truns through January 24, 2010.

The Childrens Museum of Houston houses 14 new exhibit galleries of innovative bilingual learning programs for kids ages birth to 12 years. The Children’s Museum is located at 1500 Binz in Houston’s Museum District.

Admission s $7 per person and $6 for seniors ages 65 and older.

Free Family Nights are offered Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. courtesy of The Wortham Foundation, Inc. and Kathrine McGovern and the late John P. McGovern, M.D.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.cmhouston.org or call (713) 522-1138. .

September 7 to 14

 Motor vehicle burglaries

Bellaire police arrested a 25-year old man on September 7, in connection with the burglary of a vehicle in the 6700 block of the West Loop South. The victim called police and reported that his black security guard’s jacket and 7” portable TV had been stolen. The victim had seen the suspect attempting to break into another vehicle and chased him. Police arrested Raul Heredia-Rodriguez and filed burglary charges.

Bellaire police also are investigating a burglary of a motor vehicle in the 100 block of Allendale. The victim told police on September 7 that a car stereo had been taken from his vehicle sometime in the last two weeks.

On September 8, Bellaire police were called to the Evergreen Park, where a woman reported that someone had broken into her Toyota Avalon and broken the passenger side front window and removed property without her consent.

Felony Evading

 A 46-year old man who tried to evade Bellaire police on September 9 was taken into custody and charged with violating parole and felony evading. The police chased the driver from the 5300 block of Valerie past the intersection of Chimney Rock and Braeswood. Shane Carson was apprehended about a mile from that intersection.

Forgery

A 39-year old woman was arrested on September 10, after a financial services representative at Guaranty Bank suspected that the woman was passing a forged check. The woman, Michelle Brown, was charged with forgery after police detected that the original printing of the check was washed out and she had printed her name on it for payment.

Residential burglary

Bellaire police are investigating the September 11 burglary of a home in the 5200 block of Maple. The homeowner returned home at 5:57 p.m. and called police, but did not go into the house. Bellaire police determined that the house had been burglarized sometime during the day, but there were no suspects inside. The incident is under investigation.

Theft

 Bellaire police arrested a student at Bellaire High School on September 11, after HISD police reported that the male juvenile had stolen two cell phones and then resisted arrested by on-campus police. The student was charged with theft and resisting arrest.

Burglary, motor vehicle

Bellaire police are investigating the burglary of a motor vehicle on September 11 in the 4600 block of Braeburn. The owner of the vehicle said that his someone had broken into his Ford F-150 pickup through and stolen a stereo. The incident is under investigation.

The City Council meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m., will include consideration of a $27.5 million 2010 fiscal year budget that represents a 1 percent decrease from current city spending.

Bellaire started cutting back city spending this year, as revenues started to slide in the current economic downturn.

The municipal budget is based on a tax rate of 37.75 cents per $100 property valuation, the current tax rate now paid by Bellaire homeowners.

The budget would freeze city hiring for all but public safety personnel, such as police and fire fighters. That would leave about 12 open city positions unfilled.

Bellaire City Manager Bernie Satterwhite recently said the budget would allow the city to maintain current levels of services.

“We have a lot of expectations in Bellaire and we are going to continue to meet those expectations,” Satterwhite said

The Bellaire City Council also is scheduled to consider scheduling a public hearing on a proposed comprehensive plan update that was recently approved by the City of Bellaire Planning and Zoning Commission.

The commission’s comprehensive plan would incorporate plans for a “transit-oriented-development” of shops, condos or townhomes linking Bellaire’s northern boundary to Metro’s University rail line station near S. Rice and Westpark. That plan would redevelop the City of Bellaire’s Research, Distribution and Development District, which has failed to attract much new business to the city.

The plan also provides for possible ways to bring more high-density housing to Bellaire, as possible retirement homes for the city’s aging population. And, the plan calls for redevelopment and revitalization of the city’s sagging downtown area.

The City Council’s agenda suggests that the public hearing be held on October 12, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bellaire City Hall at 7008 S. Rice. The issue of the hearing is whether to replace the city’s older master plan with the new, 97-page document, which was developed after a citizen’s advisory committee and planners from the Kendig Keast Collaborative made recommendations to the planning commission.

Mayor Cindy Siegel drew the top spot on the ballot Friday evening. City Secretary Tracy Duttong and Chief Financial Officer Donna Todd conducted a drawing to decide the order of candidates on the ballot in the November 3 election.

A biennial ballot drawing was conducted in Bellaire Friday evening, determining the order of candidates in a busy election for city candidates.

Mayor Cindy Siegel drew the top spot on the ballot over her challenge Robert Riquelmy.

Their positions on the ballot were revered two years ago, when Riquelmy first challenged Siegel.

In the Place 1 spot, Councilman Will Hickman is running unopposed.

In the four-way race for Place 3 on the council, the ballot order is Corbett Daniel Parker, Roseann Rogers, Marie Anstead and Richard Franke.

In the four-way race for Place 5 on the council, the ballot order is Tina Blum Cohen, Andrew Friedberg, James B. Jameson, and Johnnie P. Frazier.

In the three-way race to fill the unexpired term in Place 6 on the council, the candidates will appear in this order: Jim Hotze, Mandy Nathan, and Scott Schienthal.

Also on the ballot in Bellaire is a two-way race to fill District 5 on the HISD board of trusteees. Ray Reiner will precede Michael Lunceford on the ballot in that race.

Grier questioned students about their opinion of Bellaire High School, and got resounding agreement about the need for more bathrooms, more parking and “better food” at the campus.

Grier said there might be a quick way to “do something” about the bathroom problems, and promised a food fix. But, he didn’t hold out much hope that parking at the crowded campus would improve any time soon.

One student suggested “block scheduling” but was voted down by her classmates, and apparently by Grier, who responded, “You’ll get plenty of block scheduling in college.”

Grier was accompanied on his visit to the campus by District 5 school board trustee Dianne Johnson.

In a brief hallway encounter with one Bellaire student, Grier encouraged baseball pitcher Bobby Scott on his game and his studies.

Grier also met with Spanish teacher Rosalba Garcia, who has taught at the school for 27 years and in HISD for a total of 49 years.

In a brief speech after the unanimous vote, Grier said he is excited about working in the HISD schools.

“I do think this is going to be an excellent match,” Grier said.

In an appearance before the board, Gallegos angrily threatened to file a lawsuit to have their vote declare “null and void” for what he alleged are violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Texas Public Information Act, and state law requiring a 21-day waiting period before school boards can hire new superintendents.

Although the HISD board picked Grier as the finalist to succeed former superintendent Abelardo Saaevedra on August 20, Gallegos complained in a September 8 letter to the board that it appeared to him that there were “negotiations” about the job being conducted with Grier by e-mail.

“It is clear from emails circulated in the community that the board negotiated the terms of a contract before notifying any members of the public,” Gallegos charged.

“You exchanged e-mails between the board and negotiated terms the contract back and forth with the candidate, even urging him to sign a memorandum of agreement before posting (notice) of this for action.”

“I believe this prevented the public from knowing how and when you made your decision to hire this candidate,” Gallegos said.

Gallegos said that he had “already talked” with Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos about the board’s failure to follow the Open Meetings Act, as well as HISD’s failure to comply with his request for information under the 10-day statutory deadline in the Texas Public Information Act. Gallegos said his request for public information was not met; because HISD told him there were “several hundred thousands e-mails” to process.

Gallegos also contended that HISD had not conducted “due diligence” in choosing Grier as the sole finalist. He contended the board should have had more information about Grier’s past record in “at least one, possibly two school districts” where he was fired and given a settlement and confidentiality agreement.

Despite Gallegos’ complaints, the board unanimously approved hiring Grier, who currently serves as Superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District.

HISD President Larry Marshall said he is confident the board followed the law, after consulting with attorneys.

Board members said they believe that Grier is the right candidate to put HISD on a track to excellence.

HISD Trustee Dianne Johnson told Grier: “It must be nerve-wracking, to be at the altar getting married again.”

On his first day on the job, Grier will visit several HISD schools in Johnson’s District 5, which includes West U and Bellaire.

General admission fees will be waived, and a free bus shuttle will circulate between all museums, so that participant s can enjoy fascinating exhibits, hands-on activities, demonstrations and performances through the day.

The annual event provides the community an opportunity to enjoy the District’s diverse displays of art, science, nature and history.

The Children’s Museum of Houston will be offering interactive math games including Last Dragon, Guess Hacker’s Coins, Donuts and more with the Discovery Guide at The ExxonMobil Magnificent Math Moments cart. Children also can learn physics through building structures in the Science Station and creating their own “Build it High” super structure.

For a map of parking area and museums, information is available at www.museumdistrict.org.

The event is being hosted by the Rice University-based center for Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED).

Speakers will discuss programs and policies that have been put into place since Ike, the latest updates on recovery and renewal efforts from Ike, and efforts to better predict the impact of future storm winds, storm surge and rainfall-induced flooding on the Houston area.
Speakers will include SSPEED Director Phil Bedient, Rice’s Herman Brown Professor of Engineering; Jim Blackburn, professor in the practice of environmental law and co-principal investigator with Bedient on a Houston Endowment grant to study Ike; and KHOU-TV meteorologist Gene Norman.

The $1.25 million grant to SSPEED by Houston Endowment in June is funding a two-year evaluation of the impacts of Hurricane Ike and the steps that should be taken at the local, state and national levels to mitigate damage from future hurricanes. The latest research findings from this extensive project will be shared at the conference.

The conference will also feature experts from the National Weather Service, the University of Houston, the Harris County Office of Emergency Management, Texas Southern University, Harris County Flood Control, the University of Texas at Austin, the Environmental Defense Fund, Texas A&M University and others.

The meeting is free for Rice faculty, staff and students, but participants are asked to both preregister online at the conference Web site, http://hydrology.rice.edu/sspeed/, and to email ewraight@rice.edu to indicate they are from Rice.

 The fee for non-Rice community members is $50.

The drawing could be more exciting than usual, since there are 14 candidates in the races for mayor and three open council seats.

Mayor Cindy Siegel is being challenged in her bid for re-election by Bellaire carpenter Robert Riquelmy.

One council race on the November 3 ballot is a “special election” to fill the post of resigning Councilman John Jeffery, who is moving out of Bellaire. That race for Place 1 on the council has drawn three candidates: business man Jim Hotze, attorney Mandy Nathan and attorney Scott Scheinthal.

Four candidates will compete for Place 3 on the Bellaire City Council. They are Marie Anstead, a director of regulatory affair; Richard Franke, a CPA; attorney Corbett Daniel Parker and media executive Roseann Rogers.

There are four candidates for Place 5 on the Bellaire City Council. They are Tina Blum, president of a building company; joining attorneys Andrew Friedberg and James B. Jameson, and Dr. Johnnie P. Frazier, a pediatrician.

Place 6 City Councilman Will Hickman, who is unopposed, will still be on the November ballot.

The drawing will be in the lobby of city hall, at 7008 S. Rice.

Most of the damage from Hurricane Ike in Bellaire was caused by trees felled by high winds. The city has repaired most of its damaged facilities.

In the year since Hurricane Ike slammed ashore at Galveston as a strong Category 2 storm, the city of Bellaire has nearly finished $2.4 million in clean-up and repairs to its parks, Recreation Center and key infrastructure facilities.

About $1.65 million of the clean-up effort has been funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $619.5 million by insurance and about $34,000 from federal grants distributed by the state of Texas.

Like many cities in the area ravaged by Ike, cleaning up storm debris was the costliest effort after the storm. Many of Bellaire’s mature trees were downed by the storm, causing widespread power outages and glaring scars in the city’s beautiful tree canopy.

For the City of Bellaire’s Chief Financial Officer Donna Todd, the year since Ike has been a nearly non-stop effort of dealing with the federal bureaucracy to guarantee that Bellaire gets its share of the pie.

“It was such a devastating storm, the hardest thing was getting them out here,” Todd said. “They had to cover a lot of territory. When we finally met with them, I think it was in November.”

By then, most of the storm debris had been removed from city streets, due to Bellaire’s participation in a pilot program that provided for 100 percent of its removal.

Compared to Ike’s devastation in Galveston and other coastal cities, the damage in Bellaire was limited to wind damage that felled trees, damaged the roof of the city’s Recreation Center and wreaked havoc at Bellaire’s waste-water treatment plant, where two lift stations were damaged.

The city has received $2.1 million in FEMA funding for:

*debris removal, $1.4 million;

*emergency protective measures, $296,613

*roads and bridges, $5,409;

*buildings and Equipment $246,614,

*utilities, 149,698.95, and

*parks and recreation facilities, $53,173.

The City has also received $34,361.80 through the Federal Highway Association (FHWA) through TxDOT for hurricane related damages to traffic signals.

Todd said that working with FEMA was “a time consuming” and “ongoing” process, since so much paperwork and detail is involved.

One problem, she said was, “On occasion you’d be working with a particular person, and they would leave and be replaced with someone else. But that was not insurmountable.”

The next step in the process will be the detailed “audits” of each FEMA-funded project, Todd said.

“One of the interesting results of the audits will be some of the costs they will be saying are not eligible for reimbursement, which we will have to dispute,” Todd said.

Pershing Middle School Principal Robin Lowe has notified parents of students at the school that President Barack Obama’s speech to children at that school will be videotaped today and shown later in social studies classes.

In a e-mail to Parents and Friends of Pershing, Lowe said that there were two reasons for the speech to be taped and delayed.

She said that during the 11:30 a.m. presidential address, many of Pershing’s students are in classes that are not good settings for a televised address. Lowe said many students might be involved in dance, PE, or orchestra.

Lowe also said that students might learn more if the President’s speech were included in social studies classes.

“We realize that in order for students to internalize information (especially during adolescence) they need for the information to be relevant to them.  By incorporating the information into our social studies classes, it allows for that relevance,” Lowe said.

Lowe said that parents could later choose whether to opt their children out of social studies classes that include the presidential address.

“Of course, our social studies teachers will still send home information to parents allowing them to opt their children out of the lesson, should they so desire,” Lowe said.

HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said last week that there was “absolutely no reason” for parents to keep their children out of school Tuesday, since the district is allowing parents to choose whether to “opt out” of the presidential speech.

Burglar busted

A 35-year old man who was riding a stolen bicycle in the 500 block of College was arrested August 31 by Bellaire police.

Juan Palemeque-Larin, 33, has been charged with burglary of a habitation, after a resident of the 4600 block of Verone told police that the bicycle had been stolen from an unsecured attached garage. The resident gave police a detailed description of the bicycle, and it has been returned.

Juvenile theft

One juvenile has been charged with felony theft, after a September 1 altercation between students at Bellaire High School. Two juvenile victims were in the parking lot of a church near the school when the suspect stole $5 and jumped into a white pick-up truck. One of the victims attempted to jump on the truck as it sped away, but fell on concrete and received minor lacerations.

Attempted robbery

Five Bellaire police officers were dispatched September 1 to a report of a robbery at a business in the 1300 block of N. First. There, a man told police that two men had attempted to rob him at gunpoint at 9:30 p.m. August 31. The victim, who was at his place of employment, was not injured and the suspects were not able to steal anything from him. The incident is still under investigation.

Identity theft

Bellaire police are investigating an August 31 report of identity theft by a resident of the 4500 block of Birch. The resident told police that two checks had been passed at a local Wal-Mart using his indentifying information.

Another Bellaire resident, of the 5200 block of Mimosa, reported that an unknown suspect had used his personal information to open an account with SBC Communications. Both incidents are under investigation.

Computers stolen

Bellaire police are investigating two thefts of lap-top computers from students at Episcopal High School, 4650 Bissonnet. One student’s father reported September 1 that his son’s lap-top was stolen while it was left unsecured in a boys’ locker room. The second lap top theft, also from the boys’ locker room, was reported to police on September 2.

Canoe Stolen

The theft of a canoe was reported to Bellaire police on September 1. The victim told police that it was taken from the garage rafters of a rental property in the 4900 block of Spruce, sometime between February and September.

Residential Burglaries

Bellaire police are investigating the theft of a bicycle stolen from the garage of a residence in the 4400 block of Darsey. On September 1, a resident told police the garage and front gate had been left open.

Bellaire police also are investigating the September 4 burglary of a home on Prospect Place. Police responded to an alarm there and found a broken window near the master bedroom. Unknown suspects had forced entry into the residence and removed property. The case is under investigation.

Obama’s back-to-school speech has generated controversy in many Texas school districts.

HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said the district is leaving the decision about whether to watch the President’s speech up to teachers.

Those teachers who plan to watch the speech and build a lesson plan around it are sending letters home to parents. Parents will have the opportunity to “opt out,” Uhl explained. Parents can now fill out a form posted on HISD’s web-site, at www. HISDConnect.com, and return it to their child’s school adminstrators

HISD schools will provide “alternate learning activities” for those students whose parents don’t want them to watch the president.

“If parents have any doubt, they can send a note to their child’s teacher or contact their schools,” Uhl said.

“There is absolutely no reason for a parent to keep a child home on Tuesday, since we are accommodating their wishes,” Uhl said.

According to the White House, Obama will challenge students to work hard, set goals and take responsibility for their education. In advance of the speech, the U.S. Department of Education sent schools suggested activities for students  before, during and after Obama’s speech.

In a statement to parents posted on the district’s web-site, HISD officials said the president’s 11 a.m. address challenges students “to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.”

“Each school’s administrators and teachers will make the decision as to whether to include the 15- to 20-minute address in the school day in conjunction with a lesson aligned to HISD’s curriculum.

“The district is not requiring any school or class to view the address, and parents may opt their child out of the activity. If a school decides to make President Obama’s address part of the instructional day, any of that school’s students who are excused from viewing it will engage in an alternative educational activity during the speech,” the school officials said.

The commission will consider the plan – which could bring more new, higher-density housing to the city – at a meeting at 7 p.m. September 8. The commission will meet at City Hall, at 7008 S. Rice.

The commission also will discuss ways to put the comprehensive plan into effect.

Also on the agenda of the meeting is a request by Faith Lutheran Church to operate a day school on its campus, which is located near Avenue B and Bellaire Blvd. The church’s request is a specific use amendment to the city’s current zoning plan.

Lunceford is an architect and Reiner is executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators.

Although Lunceford filed earlier and has campaign yard signs scattered throughout HISD’s central/southwest-area District  5, Reiner filed Wednesday as a candidate in the November 3 general election.

Johnson, who was elected to the HISD Board in 2001 and 2005, served as president in 2005.

She was a teacher and counselor before serving on the school board.

District 7 incumbent Harvin Moore Jr. and District 6 incumbent Greg Meyers are unopposed

 There are three candidates in the campaign for District 1trustee. They are Anna M. Eastman, a community volunteer, Alma Lara, a former HISD school principal, and Linda C. Toyota, a development officer for the YMCA.

HISD District 9 board member Larry Marshall, a former HISD administrator who has served as board president, drew three challengers in his bid for reelection to the District 9 seat.

They are George L. Davis, a business administrator for the Houston Community College System, Michael Williams, of Stewart Cadillac, and Adrian Collins, an aide to State Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston.

District 7 incumbent Harvin Moore Jr. and District 6 incumbent Greg Meyers are unopposed.

 The other four members on the board are not up for election this year.

Seniors will learn about the college admission and application procees, how to order transcripts and recommendations, about scholarships and hear directly from college admission representatives.

Most importantly, seniors will learn about plans for “After Prom” activities.

Representatives from Houston Baptist University, Louisiana State University, Rice University,

Texas A & M University, University of Houston, University of Texas – Austin, and the University of

Texas – Dallas will hold a panel discussion and answer questions from the audience.

Garbage collection scheduled for that Monday will be on the next regular day, Thursday, September 10, 2009.

In addition, the Bellaire Public Library will be closed Saturday, September 5.

All HISD schools and administrative offices will be closed on Monday, September 7, 2009, in observance of Labor Day. Schools and offices will reopen Tuesday, September 8.

.

Bellaire City Councilman Will Hickman has no challengers in the November 3 general election. There will be 13 other candidates running for Mayor and three city council seats.

Bellaire City Councilman Will Hickman was “reelected” Wednesday — unless a challenger files as a write-in candidate and mounts a successful, long-shot campaign.

Hickman, who was elected to the Bellaire City Council in 2005, is likely to serve a second term on the council. He avoided a challenger, in what promises to be one of the liveliest elections in recent city history.

A write-in candidate could decide to challenge Hickman, but isn’t likely to win. The deadline for write-in candidates is at 5 p.m. September 7.

Hickman said he still hopes to win voters’ support in November.

“I appreciated their votes last time and I ask for their votes this time, to keep doing what we’ve been doing.” Hickman said. “No major change of course – to maintain the infrastructure, maintain police and fire, improve drainage and hopefully, to keep the tax rate down.”

Although Mayor Cindy Siegel is seeking reelection to a fourth term, she faces repeat challenger Robert Riquelmy.

Three Bellaire City Council seats are up for grabs in the November 3 general election, due to term limitations and one upcoming vacancy.

There are 11 candidates in the races to succeed resigning City Councilman John Jeffery and term-limited Councilmembers Peggy Faulk and Pat McLaughlan.

Four candidates have filed for Place 3 on the Bellaire City Council. Marie Anstead, a Bellaire resident for four years who listed her occupation as “director of regulatory affairs” filed her application Wednesday. And Richard Franke, a Bellaire resident for 10 years who is a CPA, also filed Wednesday. Attorney Corbett Daniel Parker and media executive Roseann Rogers had previously filed as candidates in the race to success Faulk.

There are a total of four candidates in the campaign to fill McLaughlan’s seat. Tina Blum Cohen, a Bellaire resident for 10 years who is president of a building company, filed as a candidate Wednesday, joining attorneys Andrew Friedberg, James B. Jameson, and Dr. Johnnie P. Frazier, a pediatrician, on the ballot.

Three candidates are running to fill the Jeffery’s unexpired term. They are Bellaire businessman Jim Hotze, attorney Scott Scheinthal and attorney Mandy Nathan.

The contest for Jeffery’s seat is a special election being held jointly with the November 3 general election. Jeffery, who is moving away from Bellaire, is resigning from the council. His successor will take office shortly after the election results are officially certified by Harris County officials – sometime in mid-November — leaving the winner to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in 2011

There will be six women – Anstead, Cohen, Frazier, Nathan, Rogers and Siegel – on the ballot. Six of the candidates are attorneys’ two are certified public accountants, one is an M.D.