Buffalo Bayou Restoration and Liver Cancer Research: Houston Matters for Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Houston residents have until the end of this month to submit public comments on a plan to eliminate vegetation and trees along the banks of a one-and-a-half-mile stretch of Buffalo Bayou running from the southeast corner of Memorial Park to the eastern edge of River Oaks Country Club.

The Harris County Flood Control District says the purpose of the Memorial Park Demonstration Project is to “restore Buffalo Bayou to a natural, stable condition,” to preserve the bayou’s role in preventing flooding in Houston, and to “repair severe erosion on the banks of the bayou.” The project would cost around $6 million, paid for by the City of Houston, the Harris County Flood Control District and River Oaks Country Club.

However, some citizens and environmental groups oppose the project. They’re concerned about the loss of vegetation and trees, and its impact on wildlife. They also question the methodology behind the plan, and doubt whether it will actually reduce or prevent erosion.

On this edition of Houston Matters, we learn more about this proposed project and what it may or may not accomplish. We welcome your questions and comments for Jason Krahn, Project Manager for the Memorial Park Demonstration Project at the Harris County Flood Control District, and Evelyn Merz, Conservation Chair for the Houston Sierra Club.

Also this hour: A conversation about liver cancer and the Hispanic population in Texas. According to a Texas Public Health Association report, cancer is the leading cause of death among Hispanics. Dr. Howard Monsour, Chief of Hepatology at Houston Methodist Hospital, notes a more specific and startling statistic – that the number of cases of hepatocellular carcinoma – liver cancer – among Hispanics has risen 90 percent since 1993.

Why is it happening? We ask Dr. Monsour, and welcome your questions about what we know about the connections between this population and this form of cancer. We also hear about a task force being set up to research and try to address this trend.

Plus: We meet French graffiti artist Sebastien Boileau, the man behind “Houston’s biggest mural.”