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Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Top afternoon stories:
Study of Addicks and Barker Reservoirs
The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct a comprehensive study of the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs and surrounding watersheds, the HCFCD said Wednesday.
The $6 million study will be fully funded by the federal government and will include Buffalo Bayou and its tributaries. The Corps will serve as the lead agency.
The agreement marks the beginning of a three-year study period in which the Corps, with input from the HCFCD, will evaluate and recommend projects and operational changes to improve the effectiveness of the reservoirs in reducing flood risks upstream and downstream.
Over the next year, the study team will focus on identifying and evaluating alternatives, and developing a recommended plan for more detailed analysis.
Texas Dioceses to publish names of clergy accused of abuse
The 15 Catholic dioceses in Texas will publish the names of members of the clergy accused of sexual abuse by January 31, 2019, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston announced Wednesday.
The 15 dioceses participating in this initiative of disclosure are Amarillo, Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Galveston-Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, San Angelo, San Antonio, Tyler and Victoria.
The Archdiocese detailed that each bishop will release his own list and added the lists will go back at least to 1950. The lists will be updated as new information becomes available.
According to the Archdiocese, the Texas bishops agreed on jointly releasing the names at a recent meeting in Austin "as part of ongoing work to protect children from sexual abuse and promote healing and a restoration of trust in the Church."
Texas Task Force deployed to Florida
Seven Houston firefighters have been sent to Florida in preparation of Hurricane Michael. They are members of Texas Task Force 1, which has been activated by FEMA.
"Some of the Houston firefighters, in the last just year alone, they've gone to now Michael, Florence, Maria, Irma, and Harvey," Texas Task Force 1 Training Manager Stephen Bjune told News 88.7. "As soon as landfall happens, we'll go in and start helping those local responders, those local communities that have been impacted by major Hurricane Michael."
Bjune said 70 team members, ten support personnel, six boats, and four search dogs arrived in Florida Tuesday night, along with specialized equipment.
UH president delivers fall address
Renu Khator, president of the University of Houston, delivered the President's Fall Address Wednesday to look back at the successes UH has achieved and share her vision for the future.
Khator began the tradition of an annual fall address after assuming office in January 2008.
Over the past year, there have been several accomplishments including an increase of 2 percent in student enrollment compared to last fall, as well as establishing the UH College of Medicine to focus on preparing primary care doctors and the fact UH climbed 21 spots in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report rankings.