Rep. Kristi Thibaut recently signed a letter to President Barack Obama requesting that certain military assets be utilized to help better secure the Texas/Mexico border. Read More »
State Rep. Kristi Thibaut is a freshman representing HD133 out in west Harris County. She’s a former legislative aide and was a fundraiser for various organizations before winning election in 2008 in her second attempt. Hers is a true swing district and this will be one of the top races in the county as she faces off against former Rep. Jim Murphy for the third straight election.
This weekend will be 12th time for event that helps families save on school supplies
Houston accountant Alma Gomez was in the downtown Macy’s on Monday checking out merchandise as she prepared for the sales tax-free holiday weekend that starts later this week.
“I do it every year,” Gomez said of the tax holiday. “It’s very important for parents trying to save some money.”
The sales tax holiday weekend is from Friday until Sunday . Texas shoppers will save about $8 on every $100 they spend on tax-exempt items.
During the weekend there is no sales tax on most clothing, footwear and student backpacks under $100. Last year, school supplies were added to the list.
State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, the author of the bill creating the sales tax holiday in Texas, touted the weekend event at a news conference Monday at the downtown Macy’s. He was accompanied by state Rep. Kristi Thibaut, D-Houston.
Ellis said he would like to see the state increase the number of days for the holiday, and he wants more items, including computers, added to the tax-exempt list.
Many retailers are holding their own promotions during the sales tax holiday to lure shoppers. Macy’s, for example, is having “One Day” sales on Friday and Saturday.
Sales tax holidays are successful at bringing shoppers to stores, National Retail Federation spokesman Craig Shearman said, although they are typically most effective when they are new to a state. This weekend will mark the 12th sales tax holiday in Texas.
Sales tax holidays have a psychological appeal in that people don’t like paying taxes, Shearman said, and there is a greater practical benefit this year: “So many families are struggling and trying to stretch their dollar.”
Nineteen states have announced sales tax holidays this year, according to the NRF, a record number. Most state sales tax holidays are back-to-school related.
Senator Rodney Ellis was joined by Representative Kristi Thibaut at Macy’s in downtown Houston to kick-off the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, which runs this weekend, August 20-22. The state officials were also joined by students from Aspire Special Needs Centre and the Chinese Community Center Youth Program.
“The tax holiday means real tax relief for hardworking Texas families who need to see their dollars go farther in order to provide the necessities for their children,” said Senator Ellis. “I will continue to fight for expansion of the list of tax exempt items to help Texans in these hard economic times.”
In 1999, Senator Ellis passed Senate Bill 441, a $506 million tax relief package which created the 3-day sales tax holiday, eliminated the sales tax on over-the-counter medicines and cut business taxes. The tax holiday is designed to give hard-working Texans a tax break on necessities such as back-to-school clothing.
This weekend marks the twelfth annual sales tax holiday in Texas. This past legislative session, Senator Ellis co-sponsored a bill that expanded the list of tax exempt item to include most school supplies priced at less than $100 purchased for use by a student in an elementary or secondary school.
“The Sales Tax Holiday will provide much needed relief for families across Texas as we prepare for the upcoming school year. This weekend is a great way to stimulate the local economy and give parents a well-deserved break,” added Rep. Thibaut.
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs predicts shoppers will save $59.3 million in state and local sales taxes during the Sales Tax Holiday, which takes place each year on the third Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August. A complete list of the tax exempt items can be found at the Texas State Comptroller’s website: http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx98_490/tx98_490.html.
Comcast today announced that 73 local high school seniors are receiving a helping hand for college in the form of $1,000 scholarships from the Comcast Foundation. The Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship Program recognizes students in local communities who have demonstrated leadership skills, academic achievement and a commitment to community service.
“It’s wonderful that these deserving students are being awarded scholarships that will help them further their education,” said State Representative Kristi Thibaut. “And it’s terrific to see Comcast deliver on the commitment to power dreams in the community by investing in the future of these young people.”
A commitment to community service is an essential component in the selection of winners of Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarships. Local winners in Houston have participated in a wide variety of community service activities, such as helping revitalize communities as part of mission work, mentoring and coaching younger students, volunteering at hospitals and participating in local blood, food and clothing drives.
Local community organizations like Reading for the Blind, Star of Hope Mission, American Red Cross, Special Olympics and the Houston Area Women’s Center have benefited from their service.
“We want to motivate young people to achieve their potential, to be involved in their schools, and to be catalysts for positive change in their communities,” said Tony Speller, senior vice president for Comcast’s Houston Region. “As the cost of college continues to rise, we’re proud to present each of these young people with the Comcast Leaders and Achievers® Scholarship in recognition of their hard work and the leadership they have shown.”
Three lucky students each received an additional $4,000 Comcast Founder Scholarship as part of a random drawing held recently during the scholarship awards ceremony. Since the program’s inception there have been over 13,300 scholarship winners totaling over $13.4 million.
Each year, Comcast works with high school principals, guidance counselors, and school administrators to select the scholarship recipients. The program is managed by Scholarship Program Administrators – an independent, not-for-profit organization that manages corporate and corporate foundation scholarship programs.
For additional information, visit www.comcast.com/scholarships.
About The Comcast Foundation
The Comcast Foundation was founded by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 to provide charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. The Foundation primarily invests in programs intended to have a positive, sustainable impact on their communities. The Foundation’s focus areas are volunteerism, literacy, and youth leadership development. Since its inception, the Comcast Foundation has donated more than $64 million to organizations in the communities nationwide that Comcast serves. More information about the Foundation and its programs is available at www.comcast.com/inthecommunity.
With the summer heat approaching, electric bills will be skyrocketing. Rep. Thibaut and the people at the Residential Energy Efficiency Program have partnered together to raise awareness about this free weatherization program to reduce energy costs. Read More »
Her status is elevated a bit higher with every introduction. She’s been called “sergeant,” then “general.”
Just a few months ago, at a quarterly networking breakfast she organizes, she was introduced as “the mayor of Alief.” By May 4, it was “prime minister.”
It matters little to Marie Lee as long as it’s good for Alief. And if she’s involved, it will be.
Lee, 78, moved to Alief from Pearland in 1989. A former administrator for the U.S. military who retired as chief administrator for the Veterans Administration in 1992, Lee’s community work began as a mentor for young high school students who worked for the VA.
It wasn’t long before she turned her attention to her own neighborhood, where street lights and the city sewer system needed repairs.
“I always had city officials sitting around my table,” she recalls. In 1999 she ran for a Houston City Council seat but lost.
In 2006, Lee revived the Alief Community Association and has been its president ever since. She has led clean-up and preservation efforts at the Alief Cemetery and founded the Alief International Parade, which will be staged for the third time this year on Sept. 25.
The networking breakfasts, which were begun six years ago, bring together the diverse mix of business people who populate the community that is also known as Houston’s International District.
So at the May 4 breakfast, state Rep. Kristi Thibaut surprised Lee by presenting her with a resolution from the state of Texas that commends her dedication to the community of Alief. The document acknowledges her work for ACA, the effort to plant 100 trees at the Boone Road Park, help with the annual Alief Health Fair and her “energy, determination and commitment to service” that “contribute to the quality of life in Alief.”
Lee received a standing ovation from the crowd who attended, but most who know her recognize that won’t be enough.
She’s currently working with U.S. Rep. Al Green on a new community event, an Honor a Veteran luncheon to be held July 8 for up to 200 service men and women. Letters went out last month, and the “prime minister” expects to have sponsors lined up by June 18.
A proposed coal-fired power plant in mostly rural Matagorda County, 90 miles from the traffic-choked freeways and smokestacks of Houston, has moved to the center of the debate over the big city’s air. Read More »
Area legislators joined Public Citizen this week in urging environmental agencies to deny the White Stallion coal plant its air permit because if built, the facility would degrade air quality in Houston. The emissions from this proposed power plant would exacerbate the problem of smog in the Houston-Galveston-Beaumont region, which already is in violation, or “non-attainment,” of federal ozone standards and may soon have to meet higher standards as the result of a new proposal to strengthen the federal ozone rule. Read More »
Slightly more than two months after spirited local runoffs, voters will start returning to the polls Tuesday for a whole new round of elections.
Early voting begins Tuesday (President’s Day is preventing the usual Monday launch) for lengthy party balloting on everything from governor to precinct judges. Read More »