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Harris Health’s ‘Ask My Nurse’ Answers the Call during COVID-19 Pandemic
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to keep people away from healthcare facilities unless truly necessary, Harris Health System has temporarily expanded its Ask My Nurse telephone help line. In its two months of expansion, the help line has already received nearly 60,000 calls—roughly 253% more than a usual month of calls.
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Overlay Scheduled for Oak Meadows Neighborhood
Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin is pleased to announce Houston Public Works will be performing an asphalt overlay project in the Oak Meadows subdivision. Construction is scheduled to begin tomorrow, May 15, and is expected to be completed by the middle of July 2020, weather permitting. The project is approximately $1,875,000 and will be paid for using dollars from the Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund.
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Temporary Closure of All Fort Bend County Testing Sites Due to Anticipated Inclement Weather From: "Patel, Taral" <Taral.Patel@fortbendcoun
Fort Bend County Judge KP George announced the closure of all County Covid-19 testing sites for the rest of today, Friday, May 15th & tomorrow, Saturday, May 16, 2020 due to the anticipated upcoming inclement weather.
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ACLU Files Lawsuit to Block Tennessee Requirement That Puts Voters at Risk During COVID-19
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit today seeking to make absentee voting available to all eligible Tennessee voters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Local Mercedes-Benz Dealership to Donates 10,000 Face Masks across Woodlands
Mercedes-Benz of The Woodlands will be giving 10,000 FDA-approved masks to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19: Protecting the Right to Vote
There is a long history of voting rights inequality and blatant voter suppression in Texas. From the number of polling locations available in low-income communities to poll taxes to voter intimidation tactics focused on communities of color, we have had to fight to perform our constitutional duty to cast ballots.
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COVID-19 Testing PSA 4
Black Americans are three times more likely to contract COVID-19 and six times more likely to die from it. It’s critical that you and your family get tested. Harris County offers free testing to everyone – you don’t have to have symptoms. Please get tested. Complete the online screening tool at readyharris.org. No online access? Call 832-927-7575. Video by: Harris County Public Health
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Westbury HS among winners in Michelle Obama, MTV voting challenge
Westbury High School graduating seniors learned during a video call with Michelle Obama that they are one of only 20 campuses in the nation and the only one in Texas to be named winners in a voter registration challenge co-chaired by the former first lady.
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Congressman Al Green Commends House Passage of HEROES Act
On Friday, May 15, 2020, Congressman Al Green voted in support of the most recent coronavirus relief legislation – H.R. 6800, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. He released the following statement:
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COVID Testing Sites
As of Friday, May 15, the City of Houston reported 5,340 COVID-19 cases and 114 deaths. Statewide, there are 45,466 confirmed cases, and over 1.4 million cases across the country.
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Governor Abbott Releases Statement, Provides Details On Increased Cases In Amarillo
Rise In Cases Comes As State Employs Targeted Testing Strategy
Governor Greg Abbott today released a statement and detailed the ongoing containment plan for the COVID-19 outbreak in Amarillo that is reporting over 700 positive cases today. On Monday, May 4th, Governor Abbott deployed a Surge Response Team (SRT) to Amarillo consisting of Medical Incident Support Team personnel from the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force (EMTF) and 70 members of the Texas National Guard.
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A Survivor's Story: Rapper is earning master’s degree after being declared dead 3 times and taking GED 5 times
After rap artist Kirk Williams received his master’s degree recently from JSU it marked another Cinderella story for a man who at age 14 had been a drug dealer, homeless and was once declared dead three times by medical personnel after being shot while protecting his sister in an assault.
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"Southwest Sunrise" by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Wendell Minor
You don't wanna. Your favorite toys are in a box and you don't wanna leave them there. All your games, your stuffies, your outside toys, packed away. You said goodbye to your friends and teachers because your family is moving and you don't wanna. But as in the new book "Southwest Sunrise" by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Wendell Minor, just wait. When you get there, you might see things in a different color.
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A Continuing Terror, The Murder of Ahmaud Arbery
Today there is a national outcry about the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. The public condemnation has forced a belated response. Those accused of his murder have finally been arrested. His murder has become a global embarrassment for whites. For blacks, however, it is another humiliation, a continuing terror. It is the normal silence, however, that condemns thousands of African Americans to unjust deaths and millions to shattered lives. When the camera turns away, the savage injustice that embarrasses us becomes simply business as usual.
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HISD names Houston law enforcement veteran as new police chief
The Houston Independent School District has named Pedro Lopez Jr., a Houston Police Department assistant chief with 32 years of experience, as the new chief of the HISD Police Department.
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Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, Chair of The Rainbow PUSH Criminal Justice Project, Calls for Release of Seniors in Prisons in the US
Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes, III. Chair of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s Criminal Justice Project, is seeking to minimize the loss of life in prison where the incarcerated are existing in conditions where they cannot follow the protocol of physical distancing and are without hot and cold running water and are forced to survive in cells that are in many instances unsanitary.
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Eric Dick is the board president for Harris County Department of Education.
Published on May 14, 2020
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HCDE continues in distributing food, masks, hand sanitizer, and gloves
"Harris County Department of Education is committed to helping our community through this troubling time." Eric DickFamilies Receive Care Packages March 27 at J.D. Walker Head View photos from packaging and distribution events. Care packages for Harris County Department of Education Head Start families were assembled and distributed by HCDE staff March 27. The program called “Because We Care” provides food items meeting healthy food guidelines selected by nutrition staff at HCDE Head Start during the COVID-19, stay-at-home order.
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Eric Dick is the board president for Harris County Department of Education.
Published on May 14, 2020
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HISD names Houston law enforcement veteran as new police chief
The Houston Independent School District has named Pedro Lopez Jr., a Houston Police Department assistant chief with 32 years of experience, as the new chief of the HISD Police Department.
