Posted on Aug 19, 2009 | Tagged in: Fort Bend County , economy
Need another reason to move to Fort Bend? Then we have great news for you. CNN/Money Magazine (Money Magazine August Issue) lists the county of Fort Bend, Texas as 6th for the most job growth over the past eight years in a nationwide list of counties.
Fort Bend has seen a 61.3% growth in jobs from 2000 to 2008. This staggering growth is said to be attributed to the county's low crime rate, low cost of doing business, and low taxes, according to the president of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council, Jeff Wiley. The county has worked hard on improving its infrastructure to attract employers and growth among the community.
One business bringing its success to Fort Bend is Minute Maid, who recently relocated to Sugar Land, Texas. This single move brought 275 jobs to the Fort Bend community. Another project, Kansas City Southern/CenterPoint Properties, is starting just west of Rosenberg, and is bringing over 750 jobs. Biotics Research Corp is also expanding its facilities with an additional 35,000, bringing more jobs to Fort Bend, as well.
Posted on Aug 12, 2009 | Tagged in: Rosenberg , Fort Bend County , economy
Those looking for a new job in the Greater Fort Bend and Rosenberg area have some good news. Biotics Research Corp. has a $2 million project that is expanding its facilities with an additional 35,000 square feet being built, creating 25 new jobs upon completion. The new area will expand the warehouse and manufacturing end of the company.
Denis DeLuca, president of Biotics Research Corp., had this to say, "Biotics has been a leading manufacturer of vitamins and dietary supplements with a global market for its products for over thirty years. Going forward with this expansion, with the help of the incentives from the city and county, we are very confident our market share will continue to increase”.
Barkley Peschel, Vice President Development & Operations of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council states that “Rosenberg represents a fresh new wave of business expansion and relocation potential for Fort Bend County,” and that “although Rosenberg is a well established commercial center in Fort Bend, the continued growth of the area and of Greater Houston is creating many new business opportunities on the forward edge of that growth, and Rosenberg is that forward edge in the southwestern sector of the region.”
Posted on Aug 6, 2009 | Tagged in: Lamar C.I.S.D. , Fort Bend County , education
Great news for Fort Bend residents! Nearly all of the Lama Consolidated Independent School District's ratable schools received either "Exemplary" or "Recognized" status by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) this year. The ratings were revealed last Friday, showing 15 LCISD schools with the highest rank of "Exemplary", which is 3 more than last year's 12.
This is no simple feat since, according to TEA information, schools must achieve a 90% or better passing rate in all Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test subjects “for all students and all student groups that meet minimum size criteria, and a completion rate of at least 95% and an annual dropout rate of 2% or lower”. This is nothing short of remarkable for all of these schools.
11 other schools within the district received the “Recognized” rating, which is the second highest score given out by the TEA. This is up from 7 schools last year.
Posted on Jul 31, 2009 | Tagged in: Fort Bend County , community
Social networking is all the rage today in the younger generation of America, but many cities and counties, like Fort Bend, are catching this trend for themselves.
The Community Resources Division of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce will be presenting “Social Networking—Conversing with Your Community” in an effort to take advantage of ‘now media’ sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Recently, businesses and organizations have realized the potential and benefits of engaging in social exposure through these networks, especially in terms of advertising. But local government agencies have followed suit as well, spreading community and emergency information immediately and efficiently.
“Conversing with Your Community” will touch on these aspects, as well as “look at how to engage [the] community in a meaningful way that will build loyalty, boost confidence in a company brand or organization and allow for quick dissemination of news.”
Posted on Jul 21, 2009 | Tagged in: travel , Fort Bend County
With the money that has been pouring in from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Fort Bend County officials have decided to use the $3.35 million federal fund for the creation of a new Park & Ride facility, along with the integration of eight new buses and a high-tech transportation information and communication system.
The station facility site is planned for the county’s fairgrounds in Rosenburg, off Texas 36 and just south of US 59. With this new facility, the county will be able to expand the commuter bus program, and will include stops along its routes at the most popular and pedestrian-heavy areas, such as the University of Houston-Sugar Land and the Texas Medical Center.
Preparation and installation for the high-tech transportation data processing equipment has been secured with the federal funding. Features of the new technology applications include a “smart card” system using electronic fare payment, mobile data terminals for all buses, and automatic vehicle locators.
Posted on Jul 13, 2009 | Tagged in: Sugar Land , Fort Bend County , charity
A local Sugar Land resident has taken it into her own hands to help Fort Bend children get new shoes. Or rather, she’s taken it onto her own feet.
Leola Anifowoshe is the founder of Shoes4School, a division of Keep Kids in School, Inc., a 501 (3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, the only shoe charity of its kind in the Fort Bend area and surrounding counties. She and a group of volunteers strive to provide new shoes for area homeless and low-income children.
In order to spread awareness of the cause, Leola and her husband organized the “Sole Fest Concert 2009,” the organization's first ever music festival and health fair held at Oyster Creek park located at 4033 Hwy 6 in Sugar Land, only about 8 miles from the RiverPark West community.
Posted on Jul 7, 2009 | Tagged in: Fort Bend County , events
Want to learn more about your environment and the Texas landscape? Then the 2009 Fall Texas Master Naturalist Program, Coastal Prairie Chapter, is the perfect opportunity for you.
This program is a series of volunteer training courses that offer specific training in natural history, wildlife and the ecosystems of the area, including specialized study in birds, ecology, fish, mammals and soil science. “The goal is to help improve volunteers’ understanding of natural resources and related management activities, enabling them to earn Master Naturalist certification.” All volunteers perform these training duties in their own communities, “providing natural resource education and participating in community service and outreach projects.”
The Texas Master Naturalist Program is sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and AgriLife Extension. Classes will be held on eight consecutive Thursdays beginning September 10th from 9am to 3:30pm. The group will meet at various locations throughout Fort Bend and Waller counties. To learn more about this program, please visit their official website at www.coastalprairie.org or call 281-663-7042. Fall 2009 applications and training schedules are also available for print.
Posted on Jun 30, 2009 | Tagged in: economy
According to the real estate forecaster Local Market Monitor, the latest Home Price Forecast has officially listed the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area as expected to hold some of the strongest home prices in the nation over the next 12 months.
“These are markets that did not have a large boost in home prices over the last few years and therefore, even though the economy is doing poorly, no adjustment in prices has been necessary,” said Ingo Winzer, president of Local Market Monitor. “Steady economic growth and price appreciation have helped these markets remain stable.”
Because of Houston’s past stability in this area of the economy, turmoil is expected to be less profound than in other areas across the nation. This will create numerous opportunities for city- and state-wide growth in both the housing and employment sectors.
Posted on Jun 22, 2009 | Tagged in: economy
According to a new study from the Brookings Institution, out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas of the Unites States, Texas boasts four of the top five cities to have performed the strongest during the recession through the first quarter of 2009.
The Washington D.C.-based think-tank’s MetroMonitor reports that San Antonio has taken the lead in this study, followed closely by Austin, Houston and Dallas. Oklahoma City came in second, the only out of state city to ranked in the top five. Austin was also one of only two cities, along with McAllen, Texas that actually experienced an increase in economic output over the past year.
“The rankings were based on four indicators: Percent employment change from peak quarter to first quarter 2009; percent change in unemployment rate from March 2008 to March 2009; percent gross metropolitan product change from peak quarter to first quarter 2009; and percent change in housing prices from first quarter 2008 to first quarter 2009.”
Posted on Jun 15, 2009 | Tagged in: Richmond , Lamar C.I.S.D.
After defeating over two dozen other school districts, the Lamar Consolidated School District was selected as the Best Large School District of Texas and received a grand prize of $100,000 as the winner of the H-E-B Excellence Award, the state’s largest monetary recognition program for educators.
The Richmond community of River Park West is located in the LCISD and hosts some the award-winning schools within the district. The new Hutchinson Elementary School has achieved Exemplary Ratings from 2005-2007, and half of the local high school graduates are recommended or distinguished program participants, making them “Texas School Grant Eligible.” As proof of LCISD’s commitment to the establishment of premier education, over 75% of graduates are college-bound, compared to the national average of only 25%.
The H-E-B Excellence Award program began its campaign to find such honorable schools in 2002, awarding over $3 million to 773 educators and 155 schools and districts across the state. The program specifically recognizes “the best in Texas education,” from school districts as a whole to individual teachers, as well as cash prizes for educator’s achievements.
