HOUSNITCH

 Editor's note;

HOUSNITCH was asked for an interview. First from KTRK Channel 13 ABC news then from the Houston Chronicle. It was decided that friend or foe I would speak with them. One question in particular has been on my mind since both interviews were long over. I was asked about being a journalist (which we have never ever said we were), and then I was asked had I attempted to talk to both parties when discussing an issue in print. YES I have attempted, and hunters have been received better in a herd of deer! But we need to make one thing clear....we are not journalists...the people who contribute to this site are civil servants who are tired of the city tax dollars being wasted, and tired of seeing inept incompetent people in charge of this city's "HOUSE". With that in mind let me draw a picture......"I am in my home....I hear what appears to be screams from my neighbor's house...upon opening my door & really listening...I hear what sounds like a beating taking place. A while later I see my neighbor in her backyard...she has bruises on her body, her eyes are swollen and her lip appears split....I do not have to ASK her what happened. But the next time I hear the screams I call the police. The police are slow in responding (for some reason, maybe a lot of calls this evening), the screams are getting louder this time, I call the police again....I hear angry shouts now, and crying...I ask my other neighbor to call the police, my neighbor across the street also calls...THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG IN THAT HOUSE.....I did not have to ASK anyone WHAT their response was.....it is the same at the City's "HOUSE"....THERE ARE THINGS VERY WRONG IN OUR HOUSE.....The brave men and women who have reported this all to the OIG (office of the inspector general)....have had NO response....some complaints more than 2 years old.. this page asks our neighbors to help us . That is our goal. We wish to reach as many people as possible to ask the Mayor, the OIG and our council members to stop what is going on in the house......the more people we reach...the more people who call, write or question the sooner we will have a cleaner house, cleaner government, and a better place for all of us to live, raise our children and grow old in. HOUSNITCH does not exist without the brave men & women who bring the documents to the net.....I am not a journalist....I just hear the beating taking place.....and I am knocking on doors and asking my neighbors to make the same calls for help........

Brenda Flynn Flores

HOUSNITCH  went on the road this weekend dear readers. We met with some of our counterparts in San Antonio. There seems to be great interest among the city employees there who wish to stop the waste in their city.

HOUSTON....you have set the standard...we also have inquiries from Dallas & El Paso...we will keep you updated. It could just be that along with a new millennium comes a newer, better way of thinking and standards for government.

(wave the red flag!!!)

Let's check in on a couple of our stooges.....We see that council is getting the message on just letting contracts go unchallenged......the following appeared last Wednesday.....

As you can see---It has been tagged.....This is one of our stooges' project. Ms Hilda Garza Scott....seems that the original $1,099,000.00 she gave to her husband's company (TSC) wasn't enough---now he wants more---

WHY IS THIS WOMAN STILL ON CITY PAYROLL?????

WE did a comparison here at P W & E...of four state projects....(this is a project where the state sends us the money---and the City oversees it). WE took four such projects...under 4 different companies...and we made a comparison of the cost----and contract details.

Forget that TSC is a former Deputy Director's company...forget that it is his wife who is letting the contracts.....let's just look at these four "apples". We say "apples", because we do not want anyone to say we are comparing "apples" to "oranges"...with the exception of amount of feet to be designed...these four companies are doing the same job---

But----let's look at how TSC is padding their contracts....We found SIX areas that really are just "grasping" for more money:

Please Council members.....DOES every project have to have a contingency follow-up request for more funds? The Mayor OBVIOUSLY is not going to stop this waste of taxpayer dollar.....he doesn't have to...he has no opponent in the upcoming election. Keep tagging 'em & we'll tell you WHY you need to..... IF any council member wants to see the full comparison ( a line by line comparison...Hilda Garza Scott has one...) we have only given you the highlights here... You'll see just by calling for the full comparison that TSC has inflated & padded their contract----don't approve this extra $300,000 plus!....QUIT giving away the taxpayers money. That you are actually watching how our tax dollars are spent will get you more votes than challenging the Mayor will lose you. THIS BILL HAS BEEN PAID! VOID ANY MORE REQUESTS FOR MONEY

And just WHO is negotiating contracts on the taxpayers behalf?

P.G.A.L. that's who......and we have paid them over $2,700,000 , in the past two years to do so.   Consultants watching consultants......Least you should all forget---P.G.A.L. has been occupying offices at 611 Walker...(Public Works & Engineering) for more than a year. We pay for their phones, their space...desks, all office equipment, cell phones, rental cars, gas, copiers, etc. etc. etc. But HEY!!!!!!! They did throw our Mayor one real nice fundraiser didn't they?!!! And look who you speak to for more information---another of or 3 Stooges....Mr. Gary Oradat... lo & behold this RCA is signed by another of the stooges...Hilda Garza Scott....

HEY MAYOR....WE UNDERSTAND "YA GOTTA DANCE WITH THEM THAT BRUNG YA"....BUT YOU'RE RIPPING OFF THE BAND!!!!!!

Can't you at  least PRETEND that you  care about the taxpayer!

(Where are you going after this gig Mayor?...we can bet not very far if you keep this up!)

Here's a project that is coming up before council soon----we'll just let you in on it now...give you the inside scoop so to say....

This is a request for council action to terminate this contract....a contract that was let more than a year ago-----but you see this is a Herb Lum, Michael Ho production...... (we thought about letting them join the ranks of the stooges....but they aren't that high enough in caliber). Not only are they asking for terminating the contract.... they are the one's who caused this foul up in the first place. ALL Herb or Michael had to do was to ask the design consultant for an alternate plan. And instead of the construction company starting at one point, they could have started at another...... They NEVER once called in the Design Engineer to discuss any problems---

We are going to have to pay the contractor almost $85,000 dollars because Herb Lum & Michael Ho didn't use any lines of communication. In all honesty the contractor deserves this amount for being kept hanging around for more than a year. It is a blatant waste of taxpayer dollars that we have no one doing their job over there. Their salaries alone are a waste...when do you plan to fix this Mayor?.......WE here at P W & E have some suggestions that we want to bring to the attention of the council members when this item comes up on the agenda---

You may want to ask "Why this project has been delayed for so long without  consulting with Design Engineer (Cobb, Fendley & Associates, Inc.) for possible alternate solution." "Why the construction Division handled this design without requesting assistance from design engineer." This is a TYPICAL mishandled case in the construction due to lack of experienced leadership & sound management and is increasingly becoming the issue of this Department. This Contractor will receive an $84,921.88 free ride and this administration has tried to cover up the facts. The City has to appropriate additional funds for updating plans & preparing for re-advertising. What tedious work AGAIN! Legal needs to prepare an amended contract for this work. It may well be another year before it even gets off the ground. Who will ultimately pay for this? Who else----the taxpayers. It is strongly recommended that an investigation be conducted.

Thank you to all the union members who wrote in and let us know how to contact them----please keep it up---The Houston chapter supplies over 50% of the money that runs the Union and has the potential to take over the Union and run it for the Houston employees. If the 14,000 City Employees become
organized they will take over the entire city. The powers that be are terrified   of that. We can take back our union & our city if we continue to work together! 

Until next time---Be Well----and here's all the addresses----ya'll know what to tell em---

MAYOR

City Council

611 WALKER

VOTE NO ON PORT BONDS

HOUSNITCH