[City Pulse]
[00:00:18]
I'M TRAVIS LEMONS HERE TO SHARE RECENT CIVIC HIGHLIGHTS, INCLUDING A WEEK THAT SAW TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FANS COME INTO HOUSTON TO ATTEND THE FINAL FOUR.
WE'LL GET TO MAYOR TURNER'S BASKETBALL SKILLS LATER ON, BUT LET'S START WITH WHAT HE'S DOING TO KEEP HOUSTON BEAUTIFUL AS HE ADDRESSES ILLEGAL DUMPING.
HERE IS HTV CHEVON HERNDON WITH THE STORY.
ONLY A BLOCK SEPARATES THESE TWO ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES IN HOUSTON'S FIFTH WARD COMMUNITY, A PROBLEM THAT HAS PLAGUED RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND WHAT WE FIND OFTENTIMES IS THAT, UH, WE CAN COME CLEANING UP AND THINGS WILL COME RIGHT BACK A WEEK OR TWO LATER TO COMBAT THE PROBLEM.
HOUSTON MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER IS ANNOUNCING THE ONE CLEAN HOUSTON INITIATIVE.
THE PROGRAM WILL USE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO CLEAN UP HOUSTON'S NEIGHBORHOODS, ESPECIALLY AREAS TARGETED BY REPEAT OFFENDERS.
UNDER MAYOR TURNER'S ONE, CLEAN HOUSTON, IT'LL PROVIDE RAPID CLEANUP, BETTER ENFORCEMENT, AND EDUCATION AND PREVENTION.
WE ARE ALLOCATING AN ADDITIONAL $11.5 MILLION FOR SUPPLEMENTAL HEAVY TRASH, ILLEGAL DUMPING AND LITTER CONTROL.
WE ARE ALSO EXPANDING OUR SOLID WASTE FLEET WITH 11 SINGLE OPERATOR GRAPPLER TRUCKS TO STREAMLINE BUCKY WASTE COLLECTIONS AT A COST OF $3 MILLION, AND INCREASING THE HIRING BONUSES FOR SOLID WASTE DRIVERS TO $5,000 AS A WAY TO REDUCE OUR CURRENT VACANCY RATES.
SO WHEN YOU HAVE SITUATIONS LIKE THIS, THIS REPRESENTS ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.
THIS ATTRACTS VERMIN, BUT NOT ONLY THAT, THESE ARE HAVENS FOR CRIME.
THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE CAN CONDUCT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, HIDE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.
IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT IN ADDITION TO IT BEING AN EYESORE, THE BIGGER ISSUE IS THAT THERE ARE SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING.
AS CLEANUP GETS UNDERWAY, IT'S A WELCOME SITE FOR RESIDENTS LIKE ANTHONY JONES.
WE DO OUR PART AS A COMMUNITY TO TRY TO PICK UP LITTLE PIECES HERE AND THERE.
MAYBE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE DUMPING ILLEGALLY OR THINGS LIKE THAT, SEE THAT BECOME A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSCIENTIOUS OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, I'M SHAVONNE HERNDON FROM ILLEGAL DUMPING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS PARTNERED WITH MAYBERRY HOMES INCORPORATED AND THE MIDTOWN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, AND RECENTLY BROKE GROUND ON SOUTHERN PALMS, A NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMUNITY.
UH, WHEN I ENTERED OFFICE, I VOWED TO INCREASE THE AFFORDABLE HOME INVENTORY IN OUR GREAT CITY.
TO BE SPECIFIC, UM, MY GOAL IS TO ADD 3000, UH, SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND 7,000 MULTIFAMILY APARTMENT UNITS.
NOW, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WE HAVE ALREADY EXCEEDED THE 7,000, AND WITH TODAY'S ANNOUNCEMENT, 3, 2, 1 RELEASE, WE ARE 44 HOMES CLOSER TO ACHIEVING OUR GOAL OF BUILDING THE 3000 SENIOR FAMILY HOMES.
VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE 40 HOUSES THAT ARE GONNA BE GOING IN.
ALL OF 'EM ARE SIMILAR IN DESIGN, THREE BEDROOMS, TWO AND A HALF BATH, TWO CAR GARAGES, ABOUT 1,650 SQUARE FEET AND PRICE POINT WISE.
SO I'M GOING TO END WITH THAT.
IT'S ALL BEEN SOLD BELOW MARKET.
I DON'T KNOW WHO THE NEXT MAYOR WILL BE, BUT I DO KNOW WHO'S THE MAYOR NOW.
AND I DO KNOW, I DO KNOW THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
THIS WILL BE TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR 40 FAMILIES AND BEYOND TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.
EACH PART OF HOUSTON DESERVES THE ARRAY OF HOUSING THAT WILL COME HERE FROM SOUTHERN PARK.
THE COMBINATION OF BANKING, TAX CREDITS, OTHER FUNDING, FEDERAL DOLLARS, I HOPE, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE BUILD IN COMMUNITIES WHERE WE HAVEN'T HAD THE INVESTMENTS AT THE LEVEL THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
SO WE ARE PLAYING CATCH UP IN SO MANY WAYS.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A SMART CITY? YOU'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT AS JESSE BOUNDS, THE DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION FOR THE CD OF HOUSTON EXPLAINS HOW DATA AND TECHNOLOGY HELP DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN VARIOUS WAYS.
WHAT ARE SMART CITY PROJECTS? YEAH, SO REALLY SMART CITY.
THERE'S THE, UH, FORMAL DEFINITION OF SMART CITY, WHICH IS, UH, IS TECHNOLOGICAL.
SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, USING, UH, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES LIKE SENSORS, AI, UH, ADVANCED ANALYTICS TO, UH, DRIVE IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATIONS TO IMPROVE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY USE THOSE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, UH,
[00:05:01]
TO IMPROVE THE CITY.UH, OUR, OUR TAKE ON IT IS REALLY A SMART CITY, IS ONE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WORK, WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER, AND REALLY, UH, FOCUSES ON, UH, CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
SO FO USES THAT DATA THAT THEY'RE GETTING FROM ALL THESE REALLY INTERESTING SENSORS AND, UH, THROUGH, THROUGH, UH, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, THEY ACTUALLY USE THE DATA, UH, TO INFORM THEIR DECISIONS.
AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S THE, IS THE SMART CITY THAT WE'RE REALLY GOING AFTER IS, UH, HAVING A WORKFORCE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON THAT USES DATA TO INFORM THEIR DECISIONS.
BASICALLY, WHATEVER YOU GUYS ARE DOING, IF SOMEBODY CAME UP TO YOU AND SAID, WHY ARE YOU DOING IT? YOU WOULD HAVE, I'M GUESSING, A PLETHORA, JUST SHEETS OF INFORMATION AND DATA.
HEY, THIS IS WHY WE DECIDED TO DO THIS.
THIS IS WHY WE DECIDED TO DO THAT.
AND, UH, AND A LOT OF THE RESOURCES ARE ON OUR, WE HAVE A SMART CITY WEBSITE, UH, THAT'S ON, UH, ONLINE CALLED, UH, IT'S HOUSTON TX.GOV/SMART CITIES.
AND, UH, IT SHOWCASES SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, IN DOWNTOWN FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE, UH, CAMERAS THAT ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, TRACKING EVERYTHING FROM WRONG WAY, DRIVING TO, UH, YOU KNOW, ANOMALIES LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, RIOTS, UH, FORMING OR, YOU KNOW, CROWDS FORMING OR, UH, GUNSHOT DETECTION OR, YOU KNOW, THE, THERE'S A WHOLE RANGE OF DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS THAT WE'RE USING WITH THESE CAMERAS THAT ARE SMART.
IN THE INTERVIEW, JESSE BOUND SAID, INNOVATION IS ABOUT WORKING SMARTER, NOT HARDER.
THE SAME COULD BE SAID OF THE MAYOR'S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
AS WE GO TO THE BREAK, HERE'S A SHORT TEASER TO OUR CONVERSATION WITH ANGEL PONSE, THE DIRECTOR OF MOPD, THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBILITY REVIEW PROGRAM.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE TO ME WHAT THAT IS? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? THE REASON THAT THIS PROGRAM IS VERY IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, HOUSTONIANS, THAT SOMETIMES DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR COMMUNITIES, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR, UH, PLACE OF, OF, OF WORK, A PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE PLACE OF WORSHIP, UM, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR COMMUNITIES IN GENERAL.
WE'VE HAD INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE CALLED OUR OFFICE THAT ARE NOT ABLE TO EXIT THEIR HOMES AND GO TO THEIR VEHICLES.
THE PEDESTRIAN ACCESSIBLE REVIEW PROGRAM MAKES SURE THAT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN HOUSTON HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR COMMUNITIES.
THE PROGRAM IS EASY AS SIMPLE WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY MAKES A REQUEST TO OUR OFFICE.
WE WORK WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO IDENTIFY THAT, THAT AREA AND, UM, MAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED.
LOTS OF PEOPLE WITH COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS COMING TOGETHER FOR A GREATER GOAL, REPRESENTS HOUSTON AS A WHOLE AND EVERYBODY HAS A DIFFERENT STYLE.
WE ARE VERY PROUD OF HOW DIFFERENT WE ARE.
HURRICANES, FLOODS, PANDEMICS.
WHAT'S NEXT? ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE NEXT HOUSTON EMERGENCY? ARE YOU STOCKED UP ON TOILET AND PAPER? THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT.
WHAT YOU NEED IS TO PREPARE A WELLNESS.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A CHRONIC DISEASE LIKE DIABETES OR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.
THESE CONDITIONS CAN BE A SPECIAL HEALTH CHALLENGE.
IF YOU MUST LEAVE YOUR HOME WITHOUT ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES ON A SHORT NOTICE, LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT GO BAG FOR YOU@GOHEALTHYHOUSTON.ORG.
THAT'S GO HEALTHY HOUSTON.ORG.
[00:10:09]
BACK FROM THE BREAK.THERE IT IS ACTUALLY MORE LIKE HOOP.
AS HOUSTON HOSTED THE 2023 NCAA MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, MAYOR TURNER TOOK IN A MAJORITY OF THE ACTION AND EVEN PUT HIS SKILLS ON DISPLAY.
AND WITH THAT CHARGE TO THE CITY ON MONDAY, MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER AND CITY LEADERS WELCOME THE INCOMING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FANS WHO WOULD SOON BE ENTERING THE AREA FOR THE 2023 NCAA FINAL FOUR WEEKEND.
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME, UH, SINCE I'VE BEEN MAYOR, UH, FOR THE NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR.
SO VERY, VERY MUCH EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
INDEED A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT WITHIN ITSELF FOR MAYOR TURNER.
AFTER HE KICKED OFF THE FESTIVITIES, TURNER ANNOUNCED MARCH 28TH, 2023 AS NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR DAY IN HOUSTON.
THROUGH A PROCLAMATION, THE NCAA MADE SURE THE COMMUNITY WAS A PART OF THE FESTIVITIES AS WELL.
WHILE AT THE BLUE TRIANGLE, MAYOR TURNER CELEBRATED THE NEWLY RENOVATED BASKETBALL COURT MARKING A MILESTONE FOR THE CITY AND INVESTING IN HOUSTON'S YOUTH.
UH, THIS, UM, CENTER THE BLUE TRIANGLE, UM, HURRICANE HARVEY, BUT HURRICANE HARVEY DID NOT CLOSE ITS DOORS FROM ONE HARDWOOD TO ANOTHER.
ONCE THE NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR COURT WAS COMPLETE, MAYOR TURNER WAS ABLE TO GET A FIRST TEAM GLIMPSES OF THE FINISHED FINAL FOUR COURT.
ON SATURDAY MORNING, 4,000 YOUTH PARTICIPATED IN THE NCAA DRIBBLE.
THIS IS MAYOR TURNER SHOWING OFF HIS SKILLS.
MOMENTS BEFORE THE EVENT GOT UNDERWAY ONTO THE GAMES THAT FEATURED FLORIDA ATLANTIC.
TAKING ON SAN DIEGO STATE AND MIAMI VERSUS YUKON, THE MAYOR ENJOYED THE ACTION WHILE ALSO MARVELING AT THE SOLD OUT CROWD.
ALTHOUGH YUKON IS CROWNED 2023 NCAA CHAMPS, THE SEAL OF APPROVAL IS SHOWN WITH THIS CHAMPIONSHIP SMILE.
KNOWING HOUSTON DID ITS PART BEHIND THE SCENES IN CHAMPIONSHIP FASHION.
THE PLAY HOST ONE OF THE LARGEST SPORTING EVENTS IN THE NATION IS A BIG DEAL.
IT'S A WIN TO BE ON THE NATIONAL STAGE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, I'M SIVAN HERNDON FOR A LAST STORY.
TALES WERE WAGGING AT BARK'S ANNUAL ADOPT A PET EVENT.
LOTS OF FOLKS CAME OUT HOPING TO GIVE A DOG OR CAT A FOREVER HOME JUST IN TIME FOR EASTER.
THIS YEAR WE'RE OFFERING $13 ADOPTIONS FOR ALL PETS.
THAT'S CATS, KITTENS, DOGS AND PUPPIES AS WELL.
A PET IS A MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF STUDIES THAT SHOW PETS ARE GREAT AT REDUCING STRESS.
THEY'RE GREAT COMPANION, THEY'RE GREAT FOR KIDS TEACHING RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU KNOW, UH, IT'S GREAT TO COME TO A SHELTER LIKE BARK AND ADOPT AND GIVE A HOME TO A SHELTER PET THAT MAY HAVE HAD A ROUGH START ON THE STREETS OR LESS OF AN OPPORTUNITY.
WHEN YOU HAVE A LOT OF LOVE TO GIVE AND YOU HAVE TIME FOR ANIMAL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET ONE FROM HERE FROM BARK.
WE ARE TAKING HAZEL HOME TODAY.
I LOST A DOG IN DECEMBER AND MY OTHER DOG WAS LONELY AND I SAID, WE'RE GOING TO BARK BECAUSE I PREFER TO ADOPT THAN TO GET FROM A BREEDER.
WE CAME TO BARK TODAY 'CAUSE MY SON WANTED, UH, TO ADOPT, UH, FOR A SOCIAL EMOTIONAL PET.
AND SO WE FOUND SANDRA THAT'S LOVING AND NEEDS A HOME.
SO I THINK SANDRA'S VERY COOL.
I'VE NEVER HAD A ACTUAL CAT PEPPER SE I HAVE PETTED LIKE STREET CATS, BUT I'VE NEVER HAD ONE THAT'S ACTUALLY MY OWN HERE AT BARK.
YOU KNOW, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO LEARN ABOUT OTHER WAYS YOU COULD HELP OUT OUR STRAY POPULATION.
YOU KNOW, ADOPTION IS ONE OPTION, BUT IF YOU CAN'T GIVE A PET A PERMANENT HOME, FOSTERING IS ALWAYS AN OPTION.
VOLUNTEERING AT THE SHELTER, WE HAD A LOT OF LOVE TO GIVE A DOG, AND SO TODAY WAS THE DAY.
THAT'S GONNA DO IT FOR THIS CITY PULSE.
UNTIL NEXT TIME, DO BETTER AND BE KIND.