Remembering Rita and Plan Houston: Thursday’s Show (September 24, 2015)

Hurricane Rita made landfall ten years ago today. Fearing the worst, on the heels of Katrina, officials ordered a mass evacuation, which turned out, in many ways, to be more damaging than the storm itself. An estimated 2.5 million people tried to clear out ahead of what was initially a category five hurricane. Rita weakened to a category three by the time it made landfall, tracking east to hit Beaumont.

On this edition of Houston Matters, we hear from three residents who share their memories of the chaos that ensued. Then Edel Howlin talks with former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, who many held accountable for some of that chaos. They discuss what went wrong and what officials learned from Rita.
Also this hour: Five members of Houston’s City Council Wednesday used the council’s tag rule to delay a vote to adopt a General Plan. We hear the concerns a pair of council members raised last week about Plan Houston, and then talk about it with Houston city planner Patrick Walsh, and Joe Webb, the Chairman of Blueprint Houston.

Then: Misty Copeland made headlines this summer when she was named the first African-American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. But 25 years ago, it was Lauren Anderson who made history, becoming the first ever African-American woman to become a principal dancer in a major company, in this case, the Houston Ballet. News 88.7’s Amy Bishop talks with Anderson about the work she’s doing today — teaching at Houston Ballet’s Center for Dance.

Plus: A new exhibit at the Houston Public Library uses photographs, documents, and oral histories to tell the stories of Latinos who served during World War Two. Houston Matters' Maggie Martin visits the exhibit with Mika Selley, the Hispanic Collections Archivist for the library.