Friday, October 23, 2009

Winning Lotto Texas Ticket Bought in Alvin



Updated: Thursday, 22 Oct 2009, 3:31 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 22 Oct 2009, 3:31 PM CDT

JOHN
DONNELLY
ALVIN, Texas - Some lucky person who purchased a lottery ticket at an Alvin supermarket can now claim to be a multi-millionaire.

The winning Lotto Texas ticket that matched all six numbers was bought at an H-E-B store on 207 East South Street and is worth $76 million.

Because the buyer selected the cash option for the ticket, he or she will receive an approximately lump sum payment of $48 million before income tax is accounted for.

The H-E-B store will receive approximately $500,000 for selling the winning ticket, but the company's legal department must determine how the winnings can be distributed.

The winning numbers for the Oct. 21 Lotto Texas drawing were 9-20-42-51-53-27.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

$2.5 million bond issue on ballot in Manvel



By John Tompkins
The Facts
Published October 16, 2009

MANVEL — City Council wanted to seek a loan for a new city hall and expanded library, but voters wanted a say.

Residents will get a chance to decide whether the projects move forward when they head to the polls on Nov. 3 to consider a $2.5 million bond issue.

The bonds would pay for a new 8,000-square-foot city hall on property next to the current 1,600-square-foot building at 6615 FM 1128. The money also would pay to expand the current city hall to 4,000 square feet to become the city library and extend city water and sewer lines to the buildings.

If passed, the bonds would increase the city’s tax rate about 1.5 cents per $100 of appraised property value. That would be an additional $15 for a home valued at $100,000.

Early voting begins Monday.

Those who support the bond issue say the city is growing rapidly as housing developments continue to expand. Opponents say the development isn’t rapid enough to justify the bonds.

U.S. Census estimates show Manvel’s population has almost doubled to about 6,057 people in 2008, compared with 3,046 people in 2000.

That growth has led to a cramped City Hall, and council members don’t have a lot of room during meetings, Councilman Buddy Williams said. If the council has a hot issue on its agenda and a lot of residents show up to listen in, most of them won’t get in the door, he said.

“We’re living in a matchbox,” he said. “Half of the people can’t come in because of fire codes.”

Residents are suffering financially in the bad economy and it’s not a good time for the city to take on debt, resident Jimmie Joe Del Bello said. If City Hall needs to be bigger, the city can expand the current building, Del Bello said.

“I don’t think we need that project,” he said of the bond issue. “We can just add on to that thing.”

The city considered several options to build and pay for the changes, including seeking a $1 million loan or passing certificates of obligation, which don’t require voter approval. Some of the proposals included making the library an addition to an expanded city hall.

“We found it wasn’t as feasible as we thought,” Mayor Delores Martin said.

The city is looking to build a new library after a dispute with the former site’s landlord. The city recently moved the library from 7104 Masters Road into its current location at 19500 Highway 6.

As council considered passing certificates of obligation for an expansion several months ago, some residents voiced concern about the plan and asked if voters could decide whether the project was needed.

Council obliged and voted unanimously in August to place the issue on the ballot.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE


Monday, October 5, 2009

Thunder Over Houston Area May Be Jets!


The U.S. military has issued advanced warning that jet fighters could be scrambled in the Houston area on Oct. 6 as part of military exercises.

North American Aerospace Defense Command will conduct the flights in the skies over Southeast Texas. The pre-planned flights will take place in the late morning and early afternoon and residents should expect to hear and see NORAD fighter jets as they practice intercept and identification procedures.

Although exact flight plans were not divulged, a NORAD spokesman at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado said Houston airspace “could be included” in the exercises.

NORAD has conducted exercise flights of this nature throughout the United States and Canada since the start of Operation Noble Eagle, the command’s response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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