The January meeting included election of officers for 2010. The
follow officers were elected. Many thanks to these volunteers.
---------------------
President - John Ridgway
Vice President - Bob Gaspard
Treasurer - Sylvia Vavra
Secretary - Nicole Ridgway
Asst. Secretary - Jaclyn Young
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The
next meeting is Thursday February 25th at 7:00 pm at Houston Brethren
Church (Main and E 23rd). The topic will be the TX Dot project to
change the feeder road at I-10 and Yale.
Sunset Heights has a group on Facebook now.
If you would like to contribute news or stories for the newsletter, please send a note to
.
Feel free to forward this newsletter to your neighbors.
New Sponsor
We have a new sponsor! Jenni's Noodles House.
If you have been to their Post Oak and Shepherd locations and wished they
were closer, you are in luck. They have a new location planned for our
neighborhood this summer. Thank you to Jenni's for their support.
100th Year Anniversay
This year, 2010, is the 100 year anniversary of the Sunset Heights Neighborhood.
Lady
Cocchina volunteered to chair the committee and her nomination was
accepted. Thank you Lady for being the chairperson for the 100 year
celebration. And thank you to the committee members who came out to Waldo's Coffee for the first committee meeting of ESHA and SHCC volunteers.
The first thing we're reaching out to the community
for is a theme. Have any great ideas for this celebration? Know anyone
with some ideas they would be willing to share?
Please send
all theme ideas to . If your theme is
selected, it will be used in promotional materials such as banners,
emails, posters, and t-shirts!
The next thing we are looking for is history! Master Car Care
on Yale contributed their excellent pictures to the Sunset Heights
history project this week. Thank you Master Care Care. If you have
any Sunset Heights pictures to contribute please contact us at .
The pictures don't necessarily have to be old, just interesting
pictures that tell a tale about Sunset Heights and its residents and
businesses. Maybe you have a picture your house that used to exist on
your property or of your house before and after a remodel. Maybe you
have old maps, or pictures of artifacts. For example, we have some
pictures of street car tokens and glass soda bottles from Sunset
Heights.
The
Sunset Heights Civic Club is non-profit organization that depends on
your involvement. Membership is just $15 and that money goes towards
neighborhood efforts like stocking the dog waste bags at Halbert,
Halbert 2nd Saturdays, the matching grant obtained to resurface the
tennis courts, the websites, the newsletters, support of the
Anti-graffiti Squad and more. You can also donate more than $15 if you
like. Donations of $100 or more entitled you to be a sponsor which
allows you to have a graphic ad in the monthly newsletter.
3. Just come by the monthly meeting and do it in person and get involved.
One
question that comes up frequently is whether or not we are non-profit.
The civic club is a 501(c)(4) organization. That means the civic club
is a non-profit and tax exempt, but donations to the civic club are not
tax deductible.
Trash
Big trash day is March 15th for 77008 and March 12th for 77009. They will be picking up tree waste this time.
Recycling
days
for 77008 and 77009 are the same, they are the Thursdays of March: 4,
18. Recycling and trash pickup are on the same schedule again.
The Texas Department of Transportation is planning on extending
the feeders of I-10 between Yale and Patterson. The project had two
goals to increase mobility by having a continuous feeder and to keep
White Oak Bayou from filling up sunken part of the I-10 freeway. Two
new retention ponds are planned as part of this construction because
the freeway would no longer be taking in water. One of the fears
expressed by residents is that ponds will not enough capacity and that
the feeder construction could act as a dam and cause water to back up
flooding the neighborhood. This will be the topic of the February
Sunset Heights meeting.
The Greater Heights Super Neighborhood position letter can be read here.
Here is the Houston Heights Association position letter.
Because
of its mission to preserve and enhance the quality of life in the
Heights, the Houston Heights Association is opposed in principle to
road construction or other infrastructure projects that could generate
increased congestion or risk of flooding in our historic neighborhood.
In
the case of the proposed TxDOT project to construct access ramps at
Yale Street to and from Interstate 10, based on information brought
before us:
(1) We consider that the project may lead to a
significant increase in traffic volumes for through traffic between the
610 Loop and Interstate 10 that does not have its origin or destination
within the Heights, resulting in an increase in traffic congestion in
our historic neighborhood; and
(2) As currently planned, we
consider that the project may pose a risk of increased flooding in our
historic neighborhood; and
(3) The Houston Heights
Association specifically requests that TxDOT apply its new policy of
Context Sensitive Design to this project and coordinate with City of
Houston, the Harris County Flood Control District and the community; and
(4)
The Houston Heights Association requests that all flood water detention
and mitigation issues be addressed and implemented concurrently with
road construction.
The Houston Heights Association welcomes the opportunity to work with TxDOT and our elected officials to address these issues.
However,
without further study and any necessary actions to alleviate these
community concerns, the Heights Association is opposed to the current
execution of the project.
Adopted by the Houston Heights AssociationBoard of Directors February 15, 2010
Crime
The Citizen Patrol logged 40.75 hours for January. We had two more people complete training in February. The Citizen Patrol is
always looking for more volunteers. Residents can become volunteers by
attending a training session held by HPD and passing a background
check. Volunteers help HPD by watching the neighborhood and reporting
information about suspicious activity, if a crime in progress is seen
the volunteer calls 911 immediately. Please send an email to
if you are interested in getting on the waiting list for training.
Here are stats up through Feb 16th
.
This
month's PIP will have people from the Census Bureau speaking and
passing out information about the importance of the upcoming Census
count.
As
we all know it has been wet, cold, and gray but the City of Houston
Parks and Recreation Department got out there and did a bunch of work
to remove the old, unsightly slab next to the basket ball court at
Halbert Park. The slab is all that remained of what used to be public
restrooms. That is what is roped off by yellow tape right now.
Because of the weather it's very muddy, so steer clear. Thank you
HPARD! It is going to look beautiful once the grass grows in with
spring right around the corner.
Census Info
What follows is a communication from "Houston Counts"
Make Your Self Count!
Welcome to the weekly eNewsletter for Houston
Counts, Houston's effort to ensure a complete and accurate count for
our community. As Mayor Parker likes to say - "The Census is about
Money. It's about Power. It's about Pride." Take pride in your city and
help spread the Census message by sending this e-newsletter to all your
contacts. Everyone deserves to know the importance of being counted in
the 2010 Census. Here's what we all need to know and share:
§It's about Money:Our
community could lose as much as $1,700 per year for every person that
is not counted. That's money that we pay in federal taxes that could
end up going to another city or another state to help fund their health
departments, or school districts to support their lunch programs, or to
fund another city's road projects. We need to make sure that Houston receives every benefit it deserves.
§It's about Power:Every
level of government uses Census data to draw district boundaries for
elected officials. As a result of this Census, not only will the City
add two more single-member council districts, but the Texas Legislature
will also use these numbers to redraw state legislative boundaries, and
the Houston
area is likely to gain at least one more U.S. Representative. We need
to have an accurate picture of our community to make sure elected
representation is fair.
§It's about Pride: It's time to stand up and be counted, to help Houston take its place as one of the most important cities in America.
Volunteers Needed!
Join the Houston Counts street teams! Become an office volunteer! Join the Speakers' Bureau! Volunteer now by contacting or 832-394-2010 and let us know how you can help.
Census Fact: The Census is safe.
All
Census Bureau employees take an oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for
life to protect the confidentiality of Census data. By law, the Census
Bureau cannot share respondent information with anyone, including the
IRS, INS, ICE, FBI, CIA or any other government agency. The penalty for
unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 and/ or imprisonment of
up to five years.
Support Houston Counts Online
Click here to become a fan of Houston Counts on Facebook and here
to follow us on Twitter. Get the scoop on the latest Census happenings,
get live Twitter feeds from Census events, participate in Census
quizzes and receive prizes! Ask your friends, family and business
contacts to follow us online.
Upcoming Events
Community Family Centers Kick off Rally
Friday, February 26, 9:00am-11:00am, 7524 Avenue E, HoustonTX77012
This
informative event features great music provided by Johnny Lazo of
Tejano Hits Radio.com, tons of raffles and fun! For more information,
go to Community Family Centers online or call 713-923-2316.
Delta Census Day
Saturday, February 27 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PalmCenter, 5514 Griggs Road, Houston, 77021
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is hosting a free and
fun-filled information event to help promote and educate the community
about the 2010 Census. Food, entertainment, vendors, speakers, and lots
of FUN are on the agenda!
HoustonCounts at the Lunar New Year
February 27 and 28
VietHoaCenter @ BeltwayPlaza (8300 W. Sam Houston Parkway South @ Beechnut)
Houston
Counts joins in the fun of Lunar New Year Houston. The festival is a
free, outdoor event for family audiences and is the grand finale of Houston's New Year celebrations. More information is available at www.lunarnewyearhouston.com.
Census Sabbath
March 5 through 7
Faith-based groups throughout Houston
will promote the Census among their congregations on Census Sabbath
weekend. Make sure yours is too. Census Sabbath information in English
and Spanish is available online here.
Census Community Assistance Forum
March 27, 2010
Location to be determined, 9am - 2pm
This multi-cultural event is c o-sponsored by the NALEO Educational Fund, The Leadership Conference, Unity
Diaspora Coalition, Boat People SOS, Mi Familia Vota, and many others.
The event will provide assistance to anyone needing help completing a
questionnaire and mailing the form in a variety of languages. We need volunteers who are bi-lingual in Spanish, Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, Korean and many other languages. E-mail to volunteer.
Restaurant Review of the Month
Cedar Creek.
Onion
Creek on White Oak has been a popular burger and beer hang out since it
opened in 2002. It was later joined by Dry Creek, a BYOB located in the
funky renovated gas station on Yale. Then Cedar Creek at 1034 W 20th
St joined the Creek group. With juicy delicious burgers, friendly bar
service, plenty of outside seating with views of TVs, free WiFi, frozen
mimosas with brunch, many beers on tap, this place lived up to our high
expectations. There is actually a creek. You can warm yourself at the
fire pit. Keep an eye on the time, the kitchen is not open the same
hours as the bar, so check out the kitchen hours on the web site.
Looking forward to spring so we can bicycle there and then eat
outside. I'll be back for more of those fried green tomatoes. http://cedarcreek.squarespace.com/
The transformation: http://cedarcreek.squarespace.com/gallery/
Branchwater Tavern.
The
scene is half bar and half restaurant. Located at 510 Shepherd south
of Washington as the name suggests has a good bar, it also has a large
bourbon list, a surprising wine selection, and it is loud. But the
food did not say "bar", it was worthy. The snapper was moist and
served with fresh in-season vegetables, the burger was very juicy and
full of flavor, the duck was also prepared well. Don't let the packed
parking lot scare you away, use the valet. http://www.branchwatertavern.com/
Newsletter 
Big trash day is March 15th for 77008 and March 12th for 77009. They will be picking up tree waste this time. 
The Citizen Patrol logged 40.75 hours for January. We had two more people complete training in February. The Citizen Patrol is
always looking for more volunteers. Residents can become volunteers by
attending a training session held by HPD and passing a background
check. Volunteers help HPD by watching the neighborhood and reporting
information about suspicious activity, if a crime in progress is seen
the volunteer calls 911 immediately. Please send an email to
if you are interested in getting on the waiting list for training. 