My Portfolio - The Houston Chronicle

Groundbreaking planned for veterans memorial

27-July-2010: Life-sized statues, granite slabs, flags and heartfelt words etched in stone will be part of the Ring of Honor - Brazoria County's first outdoor memorial to veterans.

"Its completion is some distance away, but we're working on it furiously," said Charles Crook, the county's purchasing director, of the monument, which will be in Angleton. "It should be quite an impressive monument." More...

All the World's a Stage

17-June-2010For the actors of Dionysus Theatre, the message of its musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, mirrors that of the theater itself — acceptance.

The production, whichopened June 12 and continues through June 30, follows a diverse group of junior high misfits in the throes of puberty as they experience the mania of competition under the supervision of adults who have barely escaped the trauma of childhood themselves. More...

Deer Park Makes the Cut!

15-March-2010: When Bloomberg BusinessWeek named Deer Park "best affordable suburb" in Texas earlier this month, the magazine credited the city's ongoing business development as the key to its evolution from a small town outside Houston to a city that can stand on its own.

Debbie Westbeld, Deer Park’s economic development administrator, credits the city’s growth and strong economic foundation to its “pro-business attitude, low tax rates, affordable real estate and the natural advantages of our close proximity to Houston and the Port.” More...

Tour waterfront homes renovated since Ike

12-March-2010: This year's Houston Symphony League Bay Area home tour marks its 10th year by showcasing the Hurricane Ike recovery renovations of four waterfront homes in Kemah.

Scheduled for the weekend March 26-28, the event dubbed "A Day by the Bay" includes a pre-tour party and supports the league's music education program in Clear Creek ISD elementary schools. More...

Pasadena man enjoys service on Navy aircraft carrier

11-March-2010: U.S. Navy Petty Officer Vu Tran left his studies in architecture at the University of Houston to enlist in the Navy in February 2007 so he could gain experience and challenge himself with something very different from what he did in the civilian world.

"It seems like a lifetime ago," said Tran. "I took a break from school. I wanted to see what's out there before I settled down." More...

Deer Park resident honored by Memorial Hermann Southeast

18-Jan-2010: Diane Champion said she's one of those lucky people who “wouldn't trade jobs if I had to.”

After 12 years as a nurse at Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital, and about 20 years in the field, Champion was selected as the hospital's employee of the year for 2009. More...

Baytown offers CERT training

18-Jan-2010: Sooner or later disasters strike and the city of Baytown's Emergency Management Coordinator, Bill Vola, said he believes in the Boy Scout motto “Be prepared.”

“We don't know when a disaster is going to strike,” said Vola. “Watching it on TV it means one thing, but huddled in the wreckage of your home it means another thing entirely.” More...

Couple makes community service a priority

5-Jan-2010: The Leggingtons have made hard work and community service equal priority in their careers - his in medicine and hers in the military.

The Pearland area couple, Jacqueline, 32, and Robert, 35, met on a blind date and married in April 2005. Robert Leggington is a board certified nephrologist (kidney specialist) who works at Renal Specialists of Houston's Baytown office. Jacqueline trains soldiers for active duty with the National Guard and Reserve. More...

Church pumpkin patch aims for Top 10 sales

28-Oct-2010: Debbie Allensworth would rather throw pumpkins from a truck than catch them.

The St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church associate has served as director of the pumpkin patch project for the last seven of the 11 years the church has sold pumpkins in the building’s large front yard. More...

Ham radio classes are NASA retiree's calling

15-Oct-2009: Nick Lance arrived in Clear Lake just before the first manned Apollo mission and went on to spend 40 years with NASA before retiring last August.

But when he wasn’t doing his day job as a project manager in advanced life support technology, Lance, 59, was pursuing his avocation as a ham radio instructor. More...

Rabbi opens up home to Jewish community

18-Aug-2009: Moving to a new town in a new state might make some people feel isolated.

But 30-year-old Rabbi Yossi Zaklikofsky and his family have spent their first five months in Pearland welcoming new neighbors into their spacious brick home to worship, study and enjoy a sense of Jewish community. The house in Shadow Creek Ranch also serves as the new Chabad Pearland Jewish Center. They previously lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. More...

Find a Baby Bird?

13-Aug-2009: Most teachers are used to students or the occasional parent showing up at their classroom door, but Lisa Young of Clear Lake never knows what creature will turn up next.

So when a police officer arrived with an orphaned baby rabbit and a teacher delivered an injured great horned owl, she knew just what to do. More...

Friendswood ISD Earns a Clean Sweep

06-Aug-2009: The Friendswood Independent School District received an exemplary rating for the 2008-09 school year from the Texas Education Agency.

The ratings, which were released Friday, showed all six campuses in the Friendswood district earned exemplary status – the highest possible. Superintendent Trish Hanks called the rating "very challenging" to achieve. More...

Galveston College Professor mixes politics, education Interest in Government

30-Jul-2009: M. Theron "Bujo" Waddell has been bringing his passion for politics and government to the classroom for 40 years.

The 67-year-old professor recently was recognized for his decades of service teaching politics and government at Galveston College, some of it based on real-life experience. More...

Just call him 'The Cake Lady'

15-June-2009: The smell of fresh cakes and pies are an integral part of Grant Girouard's week.

Born and raised in Friendswood, Girouard, 41, has owned and managed The Cake Lady Bakery since his mother Rose died of ovarian cancer three years ago. He works with his father and one of his two brothers, creating custom cakes and a variety of baked goods. More...

Ike leaves Kemah family with its hands full

3-March-2009: With their damaged house in Kemah just a few steps behind the two FEMA trailers they now call home, Larry and Melissa Beach do what they've always done - take care of their children.

With 13 of them at home to care for, they don't have it easy. More...

Housing boom now under way in Texas City

16-April-2008: With several subdivisions approaching completion and numerous others under construction or in the planning stages, Texas City's housing market is going strong.

At a time when many areas are experiencing housing slumps, home construction remains active - and is even expected to thrive. More...