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AL HOANG
Houston Council Member
District F
City Hall Annex
900 Bagby, First Floor
Houston, TX 77002
Tel: 832-393-3002
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Pay Utility Account Online
Public Works and Engineering, Utility Customer Service, is pleased to offer you various payment options to pay your utility accounts online.
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Report Criminal Activity
The Stop Houston Gangs Task Force, has created a website to educate the public about criminal gangs and to provide a way for residents to safely report tips to thwart the potential threat.
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File Police Reports Online
Houston citizens can file police reports from home, work, or anywhere with Internet access.
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BARC Pet Adoptions
BARC provides the best adoption value the City has to offer. The adoption fee includes the cost of surgical sterilization (spay/neuter) of the animal, vaccinations, and other necessary medical services while the animal has been in the care of BARC. The fee also includes the first year’s city license.
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Dear Residents and Friends of District F,
As many of you know, my top priority as your council representative is to improve and maintain our community’s overall quality of life. One of the ways we work to achieve this is by ensuring neighborhood nuisance complaints (such as graffiti, trashed or weeded lots, junk motor vehicles, etc.) are addressed and resolved in a timely manner.
My office and I work with Department of Neighborhoods (DON) inspectors, as well as HPD’s DRT unit and our Legal Department to review, investigate and, if necessary, begin the process to abate certain issues. We meet monthly to review pending cases and to make sure the most egregious (abandoned, unsecured properties, for example) are investigated as quickly as possible.
While the city takes neighborhood nuisance complaints very seriously, the legal steps required to satisfy a property owner’s due process rights can be cumbersome and time consuming, so please be patient. In March, we investigated nuisances in the Parkglen, Catalina Square and Brays Village neighborhoods, and we are working to resolve several of those issues.
If you need to report junk motor vehicles, weeded lots, open and vacant buildings, graffiti or other nuisances on private property, please call the city’s service helpline at 3-1-1 or 713-837-0311. Once a service request has been created, you can follow-up by contacting DON at 832-394-0600 or my office at 832-393-3002.
Briarmeadow Park Reopening
After nine months of extensive renovation, Briarmeadow Park ( 7703 Richmond) is finally ready to reopen! So please join me Saturday, April 27 at 9 a.m. for the ceremonial ribbon cutting to officially reopen the park. We will be joined by Council Member Oliver Pennington, Parks Director Joe Turner and Briarmeadow HOA board members. Improvements include new concrete sidewalk, concrete plaza, decomposed granite trail, new tennis courts and new playground. The parking lot received a new asphalt overlay, and new entry fencing, picnic shelter, and site furniture were installed. Site grading and drainage has been improved and new trees have been planted. Work at the park began July 2012.
Alief Park Clean-up Project
Last month, the District F office partnered with the Department of Neighborhoods and several students and teachers from YES Prep School on their monthly community service project. The students selected Alief Park for their March project, and together we cleaned the park grounds, playground, and parking lot. In total, we picked up enough trash to fill 33 30-gallon trash bags. I commend the students’ work and greatly appreciate their dedication to community service!
Respectfully,
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NEW CITY RECOVERY CENTER READIES FOR OPERATION
 The Houston Recovery Center renovation, home to the City of Houston’s new sobering center, is expected to begin full operation in the next few days.
The sobering center is meant to be an alternative to jail for people whose only offense is public intoxication, allowing them to regain sobriety in a safe, medically-monitored environment. Once detainees are sober, they will meet with professional counselors who will offer long-term treatment referrals to appropriate social service agencies. By not booking these offenders into the city jail, officers are able to return to their neighborhood patrols more quickly.
The 84-bed facility is located in a two-story building at 150 North Chenevert Street in downtown. It will be managed by a local government corporation created last year by Houston City Council. Annual operating costs are expected to be $1.5 million, compared to the $4 – 6 million it currently costs to process public intoxication cases at the city jail.
The sobering center is an option only for those detainees who have committed no other crime, have no outstanding warrants and have been taken to the facility by a police officer. There are separate facilities for both men and women.
The second floor of the building will be the new home of the Houston Police Department (HPD) mental health unit.
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FREE INCOME TAX PREPARATION FOR HOUSTONIANS
 Neighborhood Centers Inc. is providing free income tax preparation by certified IRS volunteers. The service is available to families throughout the Houston area who earned less than $70,000 and single individuals who earned less than $50,000. Neighborhood Tax Centers offer 15 locations throughout the Houston area (several in southwest Houston) with convenient hours including nights and weekends.
In 2012, Neighborhood Tax Centers prepared 31,962 tax returns, putting $42 million back in the pockets of working families. Families save an average of $200 in tax preparation and predatory refund loan fees, amounting to an overall savings of about $6 million in 2012.
For more information on the free Neighborhood Tax Center locations, hours of operation and languages available, contact the 2-1-1 Texas/United Way helpline by dialing 2-1-1 or visiting www.neighborhood-centers.org/tax.
April 15, 2013 is the due date for filing your federal individual income tax return for the 2012 calendar year.
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MILLER OUTDOOR THEATRE 90TH SEASON
 The Miller Outdoor Theatre 2013 Season opens on April 4 at 8 p.m. with Thoroughly Modern Millie, produced by HITS Theatre. There’s something for everyone on stage at Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park. From daytime programs especially for young children to family friendly evening performances of music, dance, theatre and more, this is Houston’s best entertainment value.
Located on nearly eight acres in the heart of Hermann Park, Miller Outdoor Theatre is the only free open-air theatre of its kind in the United States.
It is a home away from home for some of Houston’s most dynamic arts organizations such as HITS Theater, Houston Grand Opera, Dance of Asian America, Festival Chicano, Houston Symphony, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and a host of other multi-cultural groups and theater companies. Every performance in its March to November season is free.
For 90 years, Miller Outdoor Theatre has been a place where special memories are made: of squealing with delight while rolling down the hill–over and over again….of first dates and surprise proposals…of the Houston Symphony and fireworks on July 4th…of the first time to experience Shakespeare or an opera or mariachi or the music of Motown…of crowds of thousands simultaneously leaping to their feet to offer a standing ovation …of sharing great performances with friends and family and total strangers…these are Miller memories.
The stately oak trees on either side of the stage that flanked the original bandstand built when Miller opened in 1923 still stand sentry today. Miller Memorial Theatre, as it was originally called, looked a bit different back then, but one thing remains the same: audiences have never been charged admission for the quality and quantity of entertainment it provides. Houston can boast that Miller is the only proscenium venue of its kind in the country that presents over 120 performances each season – totally free of charge.
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HPL CHILDREN’S BOOK CELEBRATION
Enter to Win!
 Children can win a catered lunch with Jarrett Krosoczka, author of the “Lunch Lady” graphic novel series! The illustration contest is open to children ages six to 12. Deadline to enter is April 18, 2013. The Houston Public Library wants to see your Lunch Lady- or Punk Farm-inspired art! Fifty winners will be rewarded with a catered lunch during the fourth annual Children’s Book Celebration on Saturday, May 4.
Contest winners and one adult guest each will be treated to a delicious meal and an autographed copy of Jarrett Krosoczka’s newest Lunch Lady book, “Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain.”
How to Enter:
Create a Lunch Lady or Punk Farm inspired masterpiece and send it to the library; you may submit your contest entries to your local HPL location or you may submit entries by mail.
Please mail submissions to:
Houston Public Library
Attn: Programming & Youth Services, Deborah Moore
500 McKinney St.
Houston, TX 77002
Your contest submission must include :
- Child’s full name
- Child’s age & grade if applicable
- Full name of parent or guardian AND if this is a class project the teacher’s name
- School attending (if not applicable write home school)
- Contact information so that we may contact you if you win:
- Two Phone Numbers OR
- Phone number and E-mail address
Please Note: You may use any art medium you like. Traced or copied artwork or images will not be accepted; please do not use copyrighted images. One person per entry and one entry per person. The deadline to enter is April 18. Winners will be notified by April 25.
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