[City Pulse]
[00:00:17]
IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE HAD A MOMENT TOGETHER.
A LOT HAS HAPPENED BETWEEN THEN AND NOW, AND BY A LOT, I MEAN A HURRICANE AS THE HIGHLIGHT REEL OF ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS FOR CITY DEPARTMENTS AND HOUSTON.
WE HAVE HAD ABOUT AS MUCH FUN DEALING WITH OUTAGES AND STORM DEBRIS AS AIRLINES HAVE RUNNING ON MICROSOFT WINDOWS.
LET'S GET STARTED WITH A RECAP OF THE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY TO HURRICANE BARREL COLLABORATION.
IF WE'RE UNITED, WE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.
WE'RE GOING TO COME OUT OF THIS AS SAFE MORNING.
YOU SOUND IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
THE EMERGENCY CENTER WHERE WE'RE LOCATED RIGHT NOW IS THE NERVE CENTER OF THE CITY DURING EMERGENCIES.
THEY'VE BEEN PREPARING THE LAST 48 HOURS.
THEY'RE THE BEST PROFESSIONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM IN THE COUNTRY.
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EMERGENCY AND ALL HANDS ON DECK.
WHAT'S THE LOCATION? CALL 9 1 1.
OUR FIRST RESPONDERS ARE RESPONDING.
FIRE, POLICE, HOUSTON, FIRE AND MEDICAL.
WHAT'S THE LOCATION OF YOUR EMERGENCY? WE ARE GONNA BE WORKING DILIGENTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND THE NIGHT UNTIL THIS IS OVER.
WE'LL BE HERE ALL NIGHT LONG AND WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL EVERY HOUSTONIAN.
EVERY COMMUNITY IS SERVED BY THE FIRST RESPONDERS, HEALTH PUBLIC WORKS AND EVERY SERVICE THAT A GREAT CITY PROVIDES.
WE'LL BE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS, OF COURSE, AT TXDOT LIKE WE DID JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO TO HELP RESTORE POWER TO THE INTERSECTIONS AS QUICKLY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
AND, AND WE WILL COME THROUGH IT.
WE WILL REBUILD BECAUSE WE ARE HOUSTON STRONG.
MORE THAN 2 MILLION RESIDENTS WERE AFFECTED BY POWER OUTAGES.
VOLUNTEERS HELP KEEP HOUSTON STRONG WITH HANDING OUT FOOD, WATER, AND ICE PHOTOJOURNALIST.
KEITH JACKSON CAUGHT UP WITH MAYOR WHITMEYER AT THE WEST GRAY MULTI-SERVICE CENTER AS HE TALKED ABOUT HOW PEOPLE AND COMPANIES WERE STEPPING UP AFTER BARREL.
YEAH, HOUSTONIANS HELPING HOUSTONIANS.
WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN AT THE CITY TO, UH, REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE AT THE WEST GRAY MULTI SERVICE CENTER.
WE GOT VOLUNTEERS, WE'VE GOT CITY EMPLOYEES, WE'VE GOT ELECTED OFFICIALS.
WE'RE ALL COMING TOGETHER TO LOOK OUT FOR HOUSTONIANS.
WE'VE GOT, UH, CISCO ASSISTING US AND SPONSORING US WITH SOME, UH, SOME FOOD AND WATER.
WE'RE LITERALLY DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN.
WE WANT THE POWER WE TURN, WE'RE TALKING TO THE CENTER POINT.
WE WANT 'EM TO STEP IT UP AND DOUBLE THEIR EFFORTS.
I'M GETTING SOME ENCOURAGING NEWS ABOUT MAYBE SUNDAY EVENING.
A MAJOR PART OF THE OUTAGE WILL, WILL HAVE BEEN RESTORED.
WE'LL WORK ALL WEEKEND AROUND THE CLOCK.
SO I'M JUST HERE TO SAY WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING I CAN.
I WILL HELP ASK PEOPLE TO HELP US, HELP THEM BY STAYING OFF THE STREETS AFTER DARK, BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE DARK NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE STILL HAVE, UH, TRAFFIC LIGHTS THAT ARE OUT.
WE HAVE 1400 TRAFFIC LIGHTS OUT.
THAT'S THE SAME NUMBER OF ALL OF SAN ANDONE TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE.
SO WE'VE GOT A MAJOR CHALLENGE, BUT WE'RE UP TO IT IF WE STAY UNITED AND COLLABORATE.
WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR CONGRESSIONAL PERSON, LIZZIE FLETCHER.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN HERE.
WE'RE ALL DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN, EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT.
WE COULDN'T MAKE IT WITHOUT OUR PARTNERSHIP TO OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND CERTAINLY FOR PRIVATE SECTOR LIKE CISCO.
WE'VE GOT AN 18 WHEELER THAT THEY'RE UNLOADING, AS I TALKED TO WITH WATER, FRESH FOOD, ALL THE NECESSITIES AND FOOD THAT'LL GET US THROUGH THIS CRISIS.
COMPLETING THE TRIFECTA OF BARRELS.
WRATH OF DESTRUCTION, MATT MUSEL WITH HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION, TRAVELS TO THE
[00:05:01]
HEIGHTS AND CHECKS OUT THE WORK THE DEPARTMENT IS DOING IN REMOVING PUBLIC TREES THAT WE'RE UPROOTED.AS HURRICANE BARREL CLEANUP CONTINUES FOR HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION WORKERS, IT'S BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND HOUSTONIANS HELPING HOUSTONIANS.
THIS IS A SCENE THAT'S BEING PLAYED OUT DOZENS OF TIMES EVERY DAY BY CREWS FROM THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
THE TREE THAT FELL ON THIS PRIVATE HOUSE WAS A PUBLIC TREE.
IT RESIDES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY, AND THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT IS FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR TREES RESIDING IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
HURRICANE BARRELS WINDS WREAKED HAVOC WITH TREES THROUGHOUT THE HOUSTON AREA.
CURRENT ESTIMATES PUT THE NUMBER OF TREES DAMAGED IN MEMORIAL PARK ALONE AT 600 I'VE BEEN HERE.
SO FOR HURRICANE HARVEY, HURRICANE IKE, UH, THE DROUGHT AND, UM, I WOULD SAY STORM WISE, THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST IMPACTFUL.
CLEARING THESE TREES HAS PROVEN TO BE A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE CLEANUP FROM THE DERECHO STORM IN MAY WAS NEVER COMPLETED.
THIS HAS BEEN, UM, THE FIRST TIME THAT WE'VE HAD TWO SIGNIFICANT STORMS, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, THAT BROUGHT, UM, WIND SPEEDS THAT EXCEEDED 90 MILES PER HOUR.
WORKERS IN 25 DIFFERENT CREWS ARE SCATTERED ACROSS HOUSTON EVERY DAY, CLEANING UP STORM DAMAGE DESPITE HAVING ISSUES AT THEIR OWN HOMES.
THESE GUYS COME IN EVERY DAY WITH A SERVANT ATTITUDE.
THESE GUYS HAVE DAMAGES OF THEIR OWN THAT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS.
UH, SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS PUBLIC SERVICE, CIVIL SERVICE AT ITS HIGHEST.
AS FOR THIS JOB IN THE HEIGHTS, A 100-YEAR-OLD SYCAMORE TREE THAT HAD WEATHERED COUNTLESS STORMS DURING ITS LIFETIME BLEW OVER ONTO THIS RESIDENT'S HOUSE AND HAD TO BE REMOVED.
WE WERE NOTIFIED OF THIS LOCATION VIA 3 1 1.
THAT'S WHAT PROMPTED US TO BE HERE TODAY.
AGAIN, IF YOU LIVE INSIDE THE HOUSTON CITY LIMITS AND HAVE TREE ISSUES, CALL OUR THREE ONE ONE HELP DESK.
HOUSTON PARKS AND REC HOUSTONIANS HELPING HOUSTONIANS, THOSE WHO NEED DISASTER ASSISTANCE CAN FIND RESOURCES@FEMA.GOV AND READY HARRIS.ORG.
ALSO, MORE THAN $4 MILLION HAS BEEN RAISED AS PART OF THE HURRICANE BARREL RECOVERY FUND, ESTABLISHED BY THE GREATER DISASTER ALLIANCE TO COMPLIMENT REGIONAL EFFORTS.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FUND, VISIT THE WEBSITE BELOW.
WHEN CITY PULSES RETURNS, WE RECOGNIZE PUBLIC SERVANTS ATTEND A GRADUATION, AND OUR INTERNS PROVIDE INSIGHT TO THE BEHIND THE SCENES ENVIRONMENT AT HTV HOUSTON TELEVISION.
YOU ARE A LOCAL, YOU'RE ONE OF US, AND WE WANT TO GIVE YOU A RICHER, MORE EXCITING EXPERIENCE.
WE'LL SHARE THE FOOD THAT WOWED NATIONAL COOKING SHOWS AND TAKE YOU TO THE ATTRACTIONS THAT PUT US IN TRAVEL AND LEISURE'S TOP 50 PLACES TO VISIT IN 2023.
AND THEN WE'LL TAKE YOU OUT TO A BALL GAME TO SEE OUR WORLD SERIES CHAMPS.
BOOK YOUR STAY TODAY AT METRO.
YOUR SAFETY IS JOB ONE EVERY DAY, AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO MAKING YOUR RIDE EVEN SAFER WITH SECURITY CAMERAS ON OUR TRANSIT VEHICLES AND LIVE MONITORS ON MANY OF OUR BUSES.
BLUE LIGHT CALL BOXES AT OUR BUS AND RAIL FACILITIES.
METRO POLICE PROVIDING PEACE OF MIND AND MPD CONNECT THE APP THAT LETS YOU REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY INSTANTLY TO METRO POLICE.
METRO IS BUILDING A SAFER TRANSIT SYSTEM SO YOU CAN DRIVE LESS AND DO MORE BACK FROM THE BREAK.
AND WE BEGIN WITH GIVING THANKS.
ONE OF MAYOR WHIT MEYER'S FAVORITE PHRASES IS, LET'S GET TO WORK.
SO IT JUST MAKES SENSE THAT HE WOULD WANT TO BE PRESENT TO RECOGNIZE THE FIVE-YEAR MILESTONES OF CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEES.
HERE'S INTERN JALEN COLLINS WITH THE STORY.
JOIN US AS WE TAKE YOU INSIDE THIS YEAR'S PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION EVENT WHERE CITY HALL EMPLOYEES DEDICATION AND HARD WORK ARE HONORED AND CELEBRATED.
LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE EVERY DAY.
UH, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
UH, I SENSE IT IN THE COMMUNITY AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.
PEOPLE ARE SAYING WE'RE EXCITED, EXCITED ABOUT
[00:10:01]
YOUR ADMINISTRATION.SO THAT MEANS THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE JOB Y'ALL ARE DOING HERE AT CITY HALL.
THE ATMOSPHERE IS ELECTRICAL WITH APPRECIATION AND PRIDE.
IT'S A HEARTFELT CELEBRATION, NOT JUST OF THEIR BURDEN, BUT OF THE SERVICE THAT DRIVES THEM EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SENIOR ADVISOR, REBECCA WILLIAMS, PROVIDED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EVENT.
TODAY, WE'RE CELEBRATING THE MAYOR'S OFFICE SERVICE AWARD.
EVERYONE IN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE WHO'VE SERVED AN INCREMENTS OF FIVE WITHIN IT'S FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS, 15 YEARS, 20 YEARS AND BEYOND.
WE ASK MAYOR'S OFFICE EMPLOYEE DINA GARROW, HOW SHE FELT ABOUT WORKING AT CITY HALL.
I I ENJOY WORKING WITH MAYOR WOOD MEYERS, KING CRUZ AND STEWART, AND THEY'RE AMAZING.
SO WE'LL SEE IF GOD'S GOOD THEN, YOU KNOW, BLESSING ME.
THE CITY OF HOUSTON SEEMS TO BE IN GOOD HANDS WITH THE INCREDIBLE CITY HALL STAFF ON THEIR SIDE FOR HTV AND CITY PULSE.
NOW LET'S GO OUTSIDE THE STUDIO AND DOWN THE HALLWAYS OF HTV AND LEARN THE CREATIVE TOUCHES THAT GO INTO MAKING CONTENT FOR AIR NEWS REPORTER JALEN COLLINS AND PHOTOGRAPHER AUSTIN HUNTER EXPLORE THE DEPTHS OF HOUSTON TELEVISION TO SEE THE CREATIVE PROCESS IN THE WORLD OF NEWS REPORTING.
WHILE THEY'RE AT THE ESTABLISHMENT, THEY GAIN FURTHER INSIGHTS OF WHAT THE INTERNS THERE SPECIFICALLY DO AND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE A FULL-TIME JOB AS WELL.
ANOTHER SET OF REPORTERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, SKYLAR WYATT AND MADISON UA INTERVIEW HTV EMPLOYEE DARRELL HUGHES, SO THEY CAN RECEIVE INFORMATION ABOUT HIS JOB AND A TASK THAT HIS POSITION HAS TO COMPLETE TO GAIN THIS KNOWLEDGE.
THEY FOLLOW HIM AROUND AND TAKE A TOUR OF THE BUILDING TO NOT ONLY SEE THE WONDERS OF HIS WORK, BUT TO ALSO HEAR A STORY OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE IN THIS FIELD OF BUSINESS.
AS THE LADIES TOOK A JOURNEY WITH HIM, JALEN AND AUSTIN PROCEEDED TO FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS AS WELL.
AFTER THAT, THEY DECIDED TO INTERVIEW SKYLAR AND MADISON SO THAT THEY COULD SHARE THEIR ONGOING EXPERIENCE OF BEING HDV INTERNS.
UM, DEFINITELY LEARNED A LOT ABOUT FILMING ALL THE, UM, DETAILS AS TO GO AROUND WITH IT.
UM, LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE TECHNICAL PARTS OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, CAMERA WORK AND ALL THAT.
OVERALL, VERY INFOR INFORMATIVE STUFF THAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.
YEAH, AND I WOULD ADD LIKE WE LEARN HOW TO SHOOT AND USE CAMERAS AND USE EQUIPMENT AND EDITING SOFTWARE.
THE COMPANY PROVIDES A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE TO BOTH THE EMPLOYEES AND THE STUDENTS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN BEING IN THIS FIELD OF WORK.
SO IF YOU HAVE AN INTEREST AND WANT TO BE A NEWS REPORTER, THEN COME ON DOWN AND GIVE HOUSTON TELEVISION A VISIT.
UH, NEXT LEO BETTENCOURT RECAPS, THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S 31ST BIANNUAL SPRING GRADUATION FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE COMMUNITY REENTRY NETWORK PROGRAM.
WE CELEBRATE NOT JUST THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OUR GRADUATES TODAY, BUT THE RESILIENCE, DETERMINATION, AND TRANSFORMATION THEY HAVE DEMONSTRATED.
UH, MY NAME IS GREGORY ROBERSON AND I SPENT NOVEMBER 11TH, 2022 MARCH MR. SHANNON SMITH OF THIS YEAR BEHIND BARS.
IT WAS DURING MY INCAR IN MY IMPRISONMENT THAT I RESOLVED TO RECLAIM MY LIFE.
I WAS DETERMINED TO FIGURE IT OUT EVEN THOUGH I HAD NO IDEA WHERE TO BEGIN.
I WASN'T SURE HOW THE COMMUNITY REENTRY PROGRAM WOULD BENEFIT ME WHEN I FIRST HEARD ABOUT IT, BUT I KNEW IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT I SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AND I'M PLEASED I DID.
THE COMMUNITY REENTRY NETWORK PROGRAM HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING ME REDISCOVER MY SELF-WORTH, CONFIDENCE, PURPOSE, AND SENSE OF BELONGING TO THE COMMUNITY.
JULIUS KENARD, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS MOMENT TO FIRST THANK GOD.
THEN I'D LIKE TO THANK THIS PROGRAM FOR GIVING ME THIS OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ONLY GRADUATE, BUT TO BECOME A BETTER PERSON.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WELCOME MR. BEAUTIFUL.
THAT WILL DO IT FOR CITY PULSE THIS WEEK.
HOPEFULLY THINGS WILL BE MORE BEARABLE THE REST OF HURRICANE SEASON FOR HTV HOUSTON TELEVISION AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I'M TRAVIS LEMONS LEAVING YOU AS I ALWAYS DO.
UNTIL I SEE YOU NEXT TIME, DO BETTER AND BE KIND.