VOL 3 No.7
Phone: 281-980-6745 PRSRT STD
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U.S. POSTAGE PAID STAFFORD, TX PERMIT NO.10
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010
Early voting in progress By SESHADRI KUMAR Early voting for the March 2 party primary elections has begun in 17 locations within Fort Bend County. Early Voting sites are scattered throughout the county and are near to the major commuter routes used by Fort Bend County Residents. The Early Voting period ends on Feb. 26. The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday March 2. Eligible voters of Fort Bend County may vote at any of the 17 early voting sites and, unlike absentee voting by mail, no reason need be given for voting early. When voting Early, or on Election Day, voters are asked to select between the primary ballots of the two major parties which will be nominating candidates for the November General Election. Identification is required in order to vote. Voters should be prepared to show their voter registration certificate or Texas Driver’s license, or other form of ID before voting. One new location has been added for this election. Aliana Clubhouse at the intersection of West Bellfort and new FM 1464 will replace Garcia Middle School as an Early Voting location. A complete list of the county’s Early Voting sites may be found at the County’s election website, www. fortbendvotes.org. Other important election information, including Election Day polling places and sample ballots, are also available online. Election Workers are still needed to man the polls for the March 2 Primary Election in Fort Bend County. According to Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham, “We still have a need for both Judges and Clerks to work in voting locations throughout the County. We have a special need for workers who can speak both English and Spanish.” “This is a great opportunity for someone to earn extra money and, at the same time, serve their community,” Oldham added. Election Day workers will earn $8.50 per hour for work-
ing this election and will also be paid for attending training classes. Poll workers must be registered voters in Fort Bend County, but experience is not required. Information about becoming a poll worker may be found on the Fort Bend County Election website, www.fortbendvotes.org or by calling the Elections office at 281-341-8670. In Fort Bend County, contested races in the Republican Primary include: District Judge, 268th Judicial District Brady G. Elliott Roxie Roll Commissioner Pct 4 Steve Smelley James Patterson District Attorney Nina Schaefer Richard D. Raymond John Healey County Court at Law #2 Jeff McMeans Rick Forlano Justice of the Peace, Pct 1, Pl 2 Gary A. Geick Robert L. “Bob” Thomas Jr. Mary S. Ward County Chairman Mike Gibson Rick Miller Other races in the Republican Primary include: Governor Debra Medina Kay Bailey Hutchison Rick Perry Member, State Board of Education, District 10 Rebecca Osborne Marsha Farney Brian Russell U.S. Rep. District 9 Dave Bannen Steve Mueller U.S. Rep. District 14 John Gay Ron Paul Tim Graney Gerald D. Wall Contested races in the Democratic Party Primary include: U.S. Rep. District 14 Robert Pruett Winston Cochran Jeff Cherry U.S. Rep. Dist. 22 Kesha Rogers John Weider Doug Blatt
Governor Bill White
10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 Seshadri Kumar www.fbindependent.com Publisher & Editor 281-980-6745 Fort Bend Independent is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodical postage application pending. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487.
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Sugar Land identifies Professional Minor League Baseball team Sugar Land city officials have short-listed a professional minor league baseball team to build a stadium. A Memorandum of Understanding with Opening Day Partners, LLC (ODP) to provide a professional minor league baseball team and develop a stadium in Sugar Land’s Cultural/Entertainment District is on this week’s city council agenda. The MOU designates ODP as the city’s exclusive negotiation partner for 90-days while each party works toward more formal and binding agreements. ODP has a strong background in minor league baseball with more than 27 years of experience in developing multi-use ballparks and successfully owning and/or operating minor league teams of all classifications, according to a press release issued by the city of Sugar Land. ODP -- a community-focused operator that emphasizes year-round community events and activities at their stadiums -- has designed, constructed and operated 14 ballparks since 1982, more than any other organization in professional baseball. ODP is led by Chairman Peter Kirk, one of the best known owner/operators in minor league baseball; President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Danos; and Hall of
Famer Brooks Robinson. Professional minor league baseball is planned to be part of a larger destination activity center for Sugar Land, providing opportunities for entertainment and recreation for Sugar Land residents, as well as attracting non-residents from the surrounding area. “We established a vision for a cultural entertainment district within our community over a decade ago,” Mayor James Thompson said. “We have worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring this plan closer to reality.” A Visioning Task Force composed of a cross-section of citizens in 2007, as well as planning activities and workshops, resulted in the creation of a formal vision for a destination activity center called the Cultural/Entertainment District on land surrounding the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and University Blvd. Three specific venues were identified for initial development – an indoor concert venue, a minor league baseball stadium and a festival site – and later supported by citizens in a November 2008 special election. With community direction and public support, the City first pursued professional minor league baseball. During the past year and a half, Sugar Land:
Farouk Shami Star Locke Felix Alvarado Alma Ludivina Aguado Bill Deer Clement E. Glenn Lt. Govenor Linda Chavez-Thompson Ronnie Earle Marc Katz State Rep. Dist. 27 Dora Olivo Ron Reynolds County Judge Rodrigo Carreon Phillip Atisebaomo JP Pct 1 Pl 2 Aurelia Moore R.J. Blue Marty Rocha JP Pct 2 Joel G. Clouser Sr. Tony Sherman County Chair Elaine Bishop Steve Brown Contested Precinct Chair races in the Democratic Party Primary are: Precinct 1040 Eva Zamora Marsha Rovia Precinct 2030 Noel Pinnock, Skip Belt Precinct 2059 Sherry Haytten Rodney Griffin Precinct 2090 Emuka Bede Rose Wall Precinct 3082
Frederick Longfoffer Dan Payne Precinct 3104 Syleta Harkins Hal Heitman Precinct 3113 A.R. Kahn Diana Wheeler Vilma C. Valencia Contested Republican Precinct races: Precinct 1103 Kirk W. Deatrick Larry J. Satterwhite Precinct 2061 John J. Hubenak Allen Murrell Precinct 3004 M. Azam Akhtar Greg Goodrum Precinct 3009 Terese Raia Lewis Luckenbach III Precinct 3019 Jane Stockton Charles C. Gregory III Precinct 3020 Ashley DeLay Will K. Blakemore Precinct 4124 Don H. McCall M. R. Yousuf Precinct 4127 Tobin Englet Bill Leavitt Precinct 4129 David R. Wood Bill Moore
● identified a specific site; ● performed a market assessment; ● determined specific goals for a suitable venue; and ● through a thorough public process involving formal Requests for Solicitations of Interest, identified the best private sector partner to assist the City. Sugar Land’s pursuit of a public-private partnership for the development and operation of a ballpark is intended to result in a first-class facil-
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. Fort Bend County Attorney Roy Cordes last week accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to his wife Helen Cordes. The award was presented by the Fort Bend Regional Council on Substance Abuse, Inc. at their Inaugural Recognition Luncheon held Feb. 11 at Safari Texas. Over 225 community leaders, friends and family gathered to honor Helen for her tireless devotion and dedicated service to FBRC. “Helen served FBRC with a passion for our mission in many capacities. Her leadership and long years of service to FBRC are still evident in the programs that we provide to children, families and individuals in Fort Bend County.”—Photo by Larry Pullen
Birds of Fort Bend
The Cedar Waxwing is a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers. A common winter bird they have a sheen that makes them almost look plastic or wax like! Spotted in the area since January, and large flocks of medium-sized birds have occurred the past two weeks. They should hang around for another month or so. They love the berries of the wax myrtles that line Oyster Creek! Every year, the flocks descend on these trees and noisily feed on the berries so you’ll need binoculars to see them. Their call is a high-pitched buzzy sound and you’ll hear them as they fly overhead. In the spring, they’ll head to the northern U.S. and Canada to breed, but you can see them high in trees, especially those with berries in our area. If the berries ferment, it’s quite common to see “drunken” birds. They also eat insects and are quite aerobatic. To see more pictures of Cedar Waxwings and other Fort Bend Birds, visit http://traction.typepad.com/birds/. Photo by Margaret Sloan.
Introducing the new Back Pain Program at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land. You don’t have to live with pain
ity ready for the 2012 baseball season. The facility is anticipated to be a flexible multi-use design that will provide the potential to support college and high school baseball tournaments, concerts and other dynamic uses. “Communities all over the country have identified the benefits of pursuing the development of entertainment districts to promote economic development and quality of life,” said Thompson.
It’s time to start experiencing relief with a personalized treatment plan from our new comprehensive Back Pain program. Our skilled health team specializes in joint and back pain, offering both minimally invasive surgical techniques and non invasive treatments. To learn more, call 281.725.5225 or visit SugarLandBackPain.com.