HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner would rather lay off firefighters and city employees than find a workable plan to fund firefighters pay, said Houston District D City Council Member Dwight Boykins in his appearance this week on "Houston Newsmakers" with Khambrel Marshall.
“People who are making between $30,000 and $50,000 a year will be unemployed under what the mayor’s doing,” he said. “Their health care, their retirement are all in jeopardy because he chooses the easy way out -- to lay them off to pay back the firefighters for getting (Proposition) B passed," he said.
Why haven’t any of Boykins' proposed plans received support from council? What other solutions are being considered? Is Boykins planning a run for mayor? These questions and more are answered on this week’s Houston Newsmakers.
Officer nearly killed in Santa Fe school shooting speaks out on one-year anniversary
Santa Fe ISD Officer John Barnes was first on the scene of last year’s tragic school shooting that killed 10 and injured a dozen more at Santa Fe High School. He talks about what he did and what he has in common with all police officers in times of trouble.
The Ensemble Theatre celebrates 43rd year
Eileen J. Morris is the artistic director of The Ensemble Theatre and says in its 43rd year the venue is more relevant than ever.
“We’re here to be able to produce works that speak to the African-American experience with diverse audiences and artists as well,” she said. “We’re invested in the community. We own our own facility, and we’re always producing art, all year long.”
Rice Engineering students create life-saving device
It’s called a bag valve mask, and it pushes air into the lungs of an intubated patient.
But what happens when fatigue sets in after a few minutes of manual squeezing? Students from Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering used $117 worth of parts to make what could be a life-saving device and talked about their motivation on this week’s "Houston Newsmakers."
More Information
- Dwight Boykins, Houston City Council, District D
- 832-393-3001
- Twitter: @DwightBoykins
- Email: districtd@houstontx.gov
- Eileen J. Morris, artistic director, The Ensemble Theatre
- Dequina Moore, Actress, "Josephine Tonight"
- 713-520-0055
- Twitter: @TET_Houston
- Carolina De Santiago & Madiston Nasteff, Rice University Brown School of Engineering
- 713-348-0000
- Mike Williams
- 713-348-6728
- Email: Mikewilliams@rice.edu