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Posted on · On Tuesday's Houston Matters: Battling quarantine fatigue, City Controller Chris Brown, Texas farmers and COVID-19, and the life and work of Nobel Prize-winning Houston cancer researcher, Jim Allison.
Posted on · On Tuesday's Houston Matters: The Astros are hit with harsh punishments after their sign-stealing scandal. City Controller Chris Brown discusses the city's finances. We meet the new provost at Rice, an expert on the science of earthquakes. And we examine the financial and social challenges faced by small town America.
Posted on · During this fundraising week, Houston Matters is highlighting coverage of a number of important issues and developments that weâve felt compelled to revisit a number of times over the course of the last year, like campus carry, the state of the oil and gas industry and efforts to mitigate traffic. Today, though, we turn our […]
Posted on · On Tuesday (Sept. 20, 2016), the Kinder Institute for Urban Research held a panel discussion on the future of Houston's pension system. The discussion came just a few days after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced an "historic” pension reform plan. We discuss the mayor’s plan and what hurdles remain to address the city’s unfunded pension […]
Posted on · Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has thus far insisted that however the city's pension woes are resolved won't include changing from a defined benefits to a defined compensation system. We explore the differences between the two structures. We also consider what each means for city employees and why the mayor and the city's three pension boards […]
Posted on · The problem is well-documented by now. The City of Houston has growing and unfunded pension obligations to meet but is limited by state control and a revenue cap. Back in September, the Houston-based nonprofit Laura and John Arnold Foundation laid out this challenge facing the city in a report entitled “Swamped: How Pension Debt is […]
Posted on · At inauguration ceremonies this morning (Jan. 4, 2016) at Jones Hall, Mayor Sylvester Turner took the oath of office, along with new city council members and City Controller Chris Brown. In his inaugural address, Mayor Turner shared some of his personal journey in politics and a positive message regarding the challenges facing the City of […]
Posted on · Houston's City Controller serves as an independent watchdog over the city's finances.
Posted on · With so much attention focused on the upcoming Houston mayoral election, and the impending vote on the city’s equal rights ordinance, there is the potential for higher-than-usual turnout, which may impact other races as well. 55 people are running for City Council seats. But in some districts, incumbents are running unopposed while 8 candidates are […]
Posted on · Early voting begins this week for a March primary election which will determine the major party candidates for a number of statewide offices. While itâs clear who both Republicans and Democrats will put forward for Governor, the Lieutenant Governorâs race appears up for grabs. On this edition of Houston Matters, weâll learn about that and […]