Free Republic

A Texas judge invited Disney to move from Florida amid its ongoing feud with Gov. Ron DeSantis. In a letter addressed to Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek, Fort Bend County Judge KP George invited the company to consider Fort Bend County as "a welcoming and diverse place to do business."

HOUSTON -- Good news for drivers heading into Monday morning: Sam Houston Tollway's main lanes are now fully open in both directions. That means tens of thousands of commuters can now get back to their regular routes. But with the good news comes some bad news: Harris County Tolls will start up again Tuesday at 4 a.m. on all toll roads except for the section of Sam Houston Tollway between Highway 59 and Highway 290. Tolls will be waived because some feeder roads are still closed. Fort Bend County Tolls resume Monday. The toll way opening is a few days...

A retreat from the Texas Department of Transportation's plan to build a new multi-lane toll road through East Texas is a clear victory for Angelina County and Diboll, local officials said last week. "I'm glad they went back to the original plan," Diboll Mayor Bill Brown said. Instead of a new Trans-Texas Corridor toll road paralleling U.S. 59, Tx- DOT now plans to widen 59 with a new bypass around Diboll and Lufkin. The planned 59 bypass, needed to avoid the signalized intersections in Diboll and Lufkin, provides in the original plan four exits for Diboll. That will be good...

Minutes south of Interstate 10 and Sealy, the pastures along FM 1458 are their own silent world in the morning. Mists lift to reveal black cattle, brown and spotted horses, snow-white egrets underfoot in lush green grass. Then a concrete mixer comes churning down the blacktop. Just up the road is a small subdivision. More are sure to come as city dwellers, including weekenders and retirees, move out in search of a quieter, simpler life — and relief from city traffic. Although the gradual influx may bring greater changes in the long run, what disturbs residents most is the planned...

Thanks to an extended comment deadline, almost three weeks remain for people to let their feelings be known about the Trans-Texas Corridor. The most recent study of the proposal, which includes a stretch in Fort Bend County, must be approved by the federal government for the Texas Department of Transportation to proceed with planning and, eventually, construction. TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have extended their formal comment period through April 18. During this time, individuals are encouraged to submit written comments on either the project itself or what is called the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS), which is a...

The proposed Trans Texas Corridor did not find any fans, or any support, in Fort Bend County this week. At public meetings hosted by the Texas Department of Transportation in both Katy and Rosenberg, speaker after speaker, many in emotional tones, voiced their opposition to the proposed transportation corridor. No one spoke up in support of the proposal at either meeting. The Tuesday night session took place at Katy High School’s Performing Arts Center with over 200 residents in attendance. The evening before at the Rosenberg Civic and Convention Center, a similar crowd showed up to voice their opinions. In...

A handful of Kendleton residents were among several dozen to speak out against the Trans-Texas Corridor at a public hearing Monday night in Rosenberg. “I personally think it's a slap in the face for Texas to take the land for pennies on the dollar, to put a road on it and to make you pay a toll for it,” said Jeremy West, one of the speakers from Kendleton. The Trans-Texas Corridor is a proposal for a network of highways, rail lines and utilities throughout Texas that would be financed by private interests who would seek to profit through tolls and...

Gov. Rick Perry's ambitious Trans-Texas Corridor plan, and his advocacy of toll funding for future roads, hit the skids in a skeptical Legislature last spring. The road shows no signs of getting any smoother as state transportation officials try to sell the plan to Houston-area audiences. "This will wipe me out," Dee Bond told a panel of corridor advocates at a town hall meeting in Rosenberg last week. The panel, which included Texas Transportation Commissioner Ned Holmes of Houston and Steve Simmons, deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, was there to explain and gather comment on a...

Leaders with the Texas Department of Transportation sought to allay fears about the Trans-Texas Corridor Thursday night in Rosenberg with a “town hall” meeting. The meeting proceeded fairly smoothly, but hardly seemed to put a dent in the large crowd's seemingly uniform opposition to the proposal of a massive transportation corridor. Hank Gilbert, a regular speaker at TTC events and leader of an anti-TTC non-profit group, drew cheers for suggesting TxDOT officials have failed to make the case for a large, privately owned transportation cluster. “No good argument has been made for the TTC that would allow farmers to be...

State Sen. Glen Hegar says he opposes a route that would bring the mammoth Trans Texas Corridor through his district. The Texas Department of Transportation has kicked off a series of public meetings to discuss the project. Meetings are scheduled for Tuesday in Hempstead (6:30 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 22892 Mack Washington St.) and Jan. 29 in Bellville (at the Austin County fairgrounds, also beginning at 6:30 p.m.). No meetings are scheduled in Washington County, which likely wouldn’t be impacted much by the highway project. Much of the discussion in public meetings already held centers on Interstate...

With more than 1,000 people moving to Texas on a daily basis, a top state transportation official told an audience in Rosenberg Wednesday the I-69 portion of the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) will bring not only economic development, it will bring much-needed funds to Fort Bend County. Texas Transportation Commissioner Ted Houghton told business leaders attending the Fort Bend Regional Infrastructure Conference the TTC will act as a funding mechanism to allow construction and maintenance along the U.S. 59 corridor, as I-69 will incorporate the existing highway's “footprint”, drawing new highways, railways and utility rights of way along the route. “The...

A bill that places a two-year moratorium on private toll road agreements in Texas was signed by Gov. Rick Perry on Monday. The bill, Senate Bill 792, was pushed by opponents of the Trans Texas Corridor, which is a proposed set of privately-funded toll roads throughout Texas. The final version of the bill represents a compromise between opponents of the TTC and Perry, its main backer. Specifically, the bill prevents the Texas Department of Transportation from entering what are called comprehensive development agreements, or CDAs, which are contracts for private companies to build and profit from toll roads in Texas....

For years, Fort Bend County officials enthusiastically supported the proposed I-69 highway, which would replace what is now U.S. 59. A promise of added lanes to the highway - and international trade - has been the driving force behind this initiative. Growing discontent over the direction of the project, however, led the county last year to decide against renewing membership with the non-profit, intergovernmental group that is pushing Interstate 69. And recently that same group was dealt a major blow with Harris County's decision to withdraw. County Judge Bob Hebert said the county pulled out not because of disagreement over...

President George W. Bush will be in Fort Bend County Monday to rally an expected crowd of 5,000 Republican activists, whose support will be needed to keep Congressional District 22 in the party's hands. Monday's rally represents the first time Bush has visited Fort Bend County since becoming president, and possibly the first time a sitting U.S. president has visited the county. The event will be held at 5 p.m. at the Sugar Land Regional Airport, and entrance will be limited to those who have secured tickets in advance. County Republican Party chair Gary Gillen said tickets will not be...

The political grass roots closest to the soil — precinct chairs — are enjoying some time in the sun because of their role in selecting a Republican congressional nominee to succeed Tom DeLay. Most of the time, precinct chairs labor anonymously in the unglamorous elective positions that typically are won uncontested if anyone seeks them at all. But for now, the precinct leaders have one of the hottest jobs in local politics. "We've been discovered," said Harris County precinct chair Kathy Haigler. "We are the lowest level of public officials that exist. We are the last ones on the ballot....

The latest, proposed route of the I-69 "NAFTA Highway" is slightly different from previous expectations, with a major segment skipping Fort Bend County. The NAFTA Highway is a proposal to link Mexico, the U.S. and Canada through a major highway starting at Laredo and Matamoros and running through Port Huron, Mich. The highway proposal also includes a separate route connecting the main corridor to the Houston Ship Channel, and that will likely run through Fort Bend County. For years, local officials have speculated the main corridor of the highway would run through Fort Bend County in place of U.S. 59....

Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday called his plan for a multi-billion dollar transportation corridor the only solution to the growing transportation needs of Texas. The Trans Texas Corridor proposal has been met with skepticism, and Perry addressed the issue before approximately 1,000 guests at a luncheon in the Sugar Land conference center on Thursday. The Trans Texas Corridor would run throughout the state in largely rural areas, possibly including Fort Bend County along the proposed I-69 corridor. The Trans Texas Corridor would include rail lines, tolled highways and utility lines, running adjacent to each other. Some have expressed concern at...