New: @georgepbush says it's not his office's fault that Houston/Harris County failed to win a dime of $1 billion in flood protection 💰 it disbursed.
He blamed rules set by HUD.
We read those rules. This is false.
Like, 👖-on-🔥 false.
Our investigation found a different reality than Bush's team presented: Not only does HUD give states significant discretion to decide how to spend their funds, but the criteria Bush’s General Land Office developed discriminated against populous areas. houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-t…
How do they discriminate?
One category ➗ the number of residents a flood project would benefit by the **total jurisdiction population.** This means that Houston (2.3m) and Harris Co.'s (4.7m) populations hurt, rather than helped their chances.
No other state used this metric.
Another category scored applicants based on their avg. property values, rather than the 🏘️ values **where a project was planned.**
This meant that Houston's richest 'hoods (with no project applications) hurt the chances of poor 'hoods (with several apps) to receive funding. ⬇️
So what was the result of this?
Money disproportionately flowed to smaller TX counties at the expense of large ones, regardless of damage sustained during Harvey.
The average winner received $530 per resident. Houston-area counties got far less.
Dead last: Harris Co., $19.23.
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.@GHPartnership committed to fighting racial injustice after George Floyd's death.
The influential biz group often comments on policy issues.
But it has been silent on the #TX voting bills, which Houston leaders say discriminate against voters of color. houstonchronicle.com/politics/houst…
10 board members want to change that. They wrote a letter to GHP leaders with a proposed statement opposing parts of SB 7 and HB 6, which they say would "impose unnecessary and overreaching burdens on Harris County voters," especially Black and Hispanic residents.
The bills currently in the Lege specifically target practices Harris County debuted in 2020 to increase ballot access, including longer voting hours (including 24-hr session), 3x the # of early voting sites and drive-through option. From @JeremySWallace ⬇️ houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…
2.6 million power outages in TX now, from Red River (-2°) to Rio Grande Valley (21°). To Northerners who don't understand the big deal:
- Many TX 🏘️ lack heat; rely on 🔌 space heaters
- 🏘️ improperly insulated & vulnerable to pipes freezing
- Few snow plows, salt, snow tires ❄️