HCDD announces new Housing Resource and Data Center. It offers access to housing, community and economic information related to HCDD and City of Houston’s region and national stats.  Stakeholders may access data; housing and economic market studies; growth and development forecasts; and housing opportunities.  Special features include interactive Mapping, My City Mapping.  Visit www.houstontx.gov/housing for more information.

Many Houston-area youth will graduate from more than high school this spring. Some will also graduate from one of several COH Department of Neighborhoods youth programs.

DON offers these programs to help young people develop important values and skills such as responsibility, accountability, networking, communication, teamwork, and problems solving.

Youth this spring participated in several DON youth programs including the Mayor’s Youth Council, the United Minds Youth Leadership Council, the Ladies Choice girl groups and the Young Fathers program will turn their tassels as graduates of the class of 2015.

Many of these students have been participants of these programs during all four of their high school years. DON youth programs provide opportunities for young people to develop important values and skills such as responsibility, accountability, networking, communication, teamwork, and problems solving. They participate in service learning and community outreach projects, group activities, workshops and instructional classes.

Mayor Annise Parker presented the second annual Mayor’s Art Scholarship Competition Awards totaling $3,750 to six local high school students April 15.

The art scholarship contest fosters collaboration among Houston area high school fine arts departments and recognizes excellence in student art. This year's contest focused on the life and culture of Houston-area neighborhoods.

The awards were sponsored by the Department of Neighborhoods Mayor’s Office of Education Initiatives, the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and Houston Arts Partners. The presentation kicked off an exhibit of art entries submitted by more than 50 students, which is on view in the City Hall Annex through May 8.

2015 Mayor’s Art Scholarship Recipients

12th Grade winners

First place ($1,000) — Hee Won Cho, Connected Society, Memorial HS, Spring Branch ISD; second place ($750) — Jacqueline Villarreal, Blended, Sam Rayburn HS, Pasadena ISD; third place ($500) — Raina Baggerly, Midnight Snack, Sam Rayburn HS, Pasadena ISD.

11th Grade Winners

First place ($500) — Victor Mendoza, Portrait of the Dead, Cy-Lakes HS, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD; second place ($500) — Han Wen Zhang, Amalgam, Clements HS, Fort Bend ISD; third place  ($500) — Mikhaela Sarmiento, Spaghetti, Cypress Ranch HS, Cy-Fair ISD.

For more information about the Mayor’s Art Scholarship, visit www.houstontx.gov/education.

Kevia Stroder's colleagues with the city's Parking Management Division have known for quite a while how good she is at her job. But word is getting around the entire state now.

The Texas Parking and Transportation Association made sure of that when it recognized Stroder as its 2015 Employee of the Year. The association made the presentation at its annual conference recently in Corpus Christi.

Stroder is a compliance supervisor. Parking Management Assistant Director Maria Irshad said Stroder has consistently strived and succeeded in meeting performance goals and is a valuable asset to the division.

"Kevia has served the community in ways not shown by data on a spreadsheet," Irshad said. "Congratulations, Kevia. Keep shining. You are an excellent teammate and I’m proud to call you my colleague and friend."

	The $500 giftcard presentation included (left to right) ARA's Melonie Curry and Paul Dugas, Parkmobile's Tina Dyer, winner Aaron Lipman, ARA's Maria Irshad,  Jerry Keeth and Rami Arafat.

People like to complain about paying to park. But recently, city of Houston Parking Management and its vendor, Parkmobile, made it worthwhile for Aaron Lipman and Amy Higgins. They both used Visa Checkout (Visa's version of Paypal) in the pay-by-phone app. During November and December they and other parkers who used Visa Checkout received one hour of free parking and were entered into a sweepstakes with a chance to win one of two $500 Visa gift cards. Lipman and Higgins each scored a card when they were randomly selected after the promtion ended.

Parkmobile and Parking Management employees were on hand to present Lipman with his card. Higgins, unable to attend, received her card in the mail.  

Houston Airport System employees gave generously during the city's 2014 charity fundraising drive, the Combined Municipal Campaign. And recently their efforts were recognized at the CMC recognition ceremony with two awards.

HAS was praised for having the highest increase of employees participation and highest percentage of employees who committed to donating 1 percent or more of their salary.

HAS employee participation jumped from 46 percent in 2013 to a sky-high 100 percent in 2014. Total donations increased by $14,067.

CMC committee revved up participation through its nine themed events, including the Breast Cancer Ice Cream Social on Oct. 7 that benefited the Susan G. Komen charity.

“This is the one time a year that you get to pick your own charities,” said Melissa Saxton, Ellington Airport management analyst IV and HAS CMC co-chair. “Whatever it is you desire, this is your opportunity to donate. You can donate money or participate in the events as a form of donating.”

Find out more about the CMC.

The Houston Airport System posted recording-setting passenger traffic numbers in 2014, according to a year-end traffic report.

More than 53.1 million passengers filtered through Houston airports last year — a 4.5 percent increase that eclipsed the previous record of 50.9 million passengers in 2013.

“This is an exciting time for the city and for the Houston Airport System,” Mayor Annise Parker said. “The development we see all around Houston is mirrored by the steady growth at our airports — the kind of numbers that befit the fastest-growing major city in the United States. We’ve been remarkably successful in attracting new international air service to Houston and are moving forward with investments and projects that will ensure that growth continues.”

Both Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport saw their total passenger traffic jump. Bush set record highs in both combined passenger totals — more than 41.2 million in both domestic and international passengers, a 3.6 percent increase — and in the number of international passengers — more than 9.8 million, a 9.2 percent increase from 2013’s 8.9 million. The airport also saw a 2 percent increase in domestic passengers, up to more than 31.4 million.

Not to be outdone, Hobby Airport saw more than 11.9 million passengers, a 7.5 percent increase over the previous-record 11.1 million of 2013. The growing numbers are nothing new. Demand for travel from Hobby Airport has increased steadily over the past decade, growing by more than 34 percent over the past 10 years.

Read more details and get more figures about the airports' record year.

Steven Guillory recently joined Human Resources as its division manager of safety.

He now leads 10 safety supervisors who identify and eliminate workplace dangers through hazard analysis, safety training, investigation, trend analysis, inspections and evaluations.

More than half of Guillory’s 15 years of professional safety experience has been with the city. He started at the Houston Airport System as a safety representative and then in Public Works and Engineering as its safety supervisor.   

In HR, Guillory is responsible for developing and managing the city’s comprehensive health and safety program.

Houston’s southeast area, also known as the Old Spanish Trail(OST)/South Union community, will receive a major economic boost with the construction of mix-use housing. The Village at Palm Center will include 154 apartments and 68 townhomes located at the former abandoned old flee market located at the corner of Griggs and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Community leaders joined by local officials and stakeholders for the demolition of the King’s Best Market building and parking lot.  200 units are reserved for affordable housing to low and moderate residents. The affordability is for no less than 10-years. 

This project will be located next to METRO’s light rail to include a 14,500 square feet of retail space. Amenities include green space, 4,000 square-foot community center, fitness center, on-site daycare facility, parking garage and 24 hour security.   The project is funded with $15 million of Community Development Block Grant dollars.  The final cost of project is projected to be $41 million. 

Houston's BARC animal shelter has established a discounted rate of $20 for city employees to adopt a pet.

The rate is effective immediately and includes spay/neuter surgery, a microchip with lifetime registration, a one-year pet license, and all age-appropriate vaccinations. City employees interested in adopting a dog, cat, kitten or puppy may visit BARC's website at www.HoustonBARC.com and go to the Adopt a Pet page for details and requirements.

 BARC is located at 3200 Carr Street in Houston. It is open from noon to 5:30 p.m. daily except Mondays and Thursdays.

For the latest news and information on what's going on at the shelter, go to the BARC blog at http://barchoustonblog.com.