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Soaking storms will shift east on Friday and target more of the Gulf Coast after rumbling to life Thursday afternoon in parts of Texas. Floods deluge roads: Several roads closing in northern and eastern Bosque County, Texas due to water over crossings or bridges. More than a dozen school districts closed: The Houston Independent School District has announced campuses will be closed on Friday and will reopen next week. Schools will reopen on Monday, May 20,” the school district said in a message on Facebook. A handful of Houston-area school districts announced they would close Friday as well, including Aldine Independent School District, Channelview Independent School District and Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

Persons: Mary Benton, Samuel Peña, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Houstonians, Seth Waller, Bell County . Organizations: CNN, Houston Fire Department, Texas -, Florida Panhandle, National Weather Service, Hyatt, CenterPoint Energy, Houston Mayor, Houston, College Station, Houston Independent School, HISD, City of, Facebook, Aldine Independent School District, Channelview Independent School District, Fairbanks Independent School District Locations: Texas, Louisiana, Houston, Gulf, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas - Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Hyatt Regency, Bryan, College, Bosque County , Texas, Bell County, Bell County . McLennan, Falls, City of Houston, Cypress

The storm also battered New Orleans overnight, with severe thunderstorms and flooding possible again Friday, according to the local branch of the National Weather Service. A home is severely damaged by a fallen tree after heavy winds and rains ripped through the region on May 17, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Across Houston, photos and videos on social media showed intense flooding and downed trees, as well as toppled electrical towers and power lines. Another video showed baseball fans leaving the stadium amid the bad weather. Strong winds appeared to have blown off roof panels at a Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston, a video posted to X showed.

Persons: Melissa Phillips, Ike, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Logan Riely, Harris, Lina Hidalgo, Hidalgo, Samuel Peña, Whitmire, Greg Abbott, Abbott, Brett Coomer, Jon Shapley Organizations: Hearst Newspapers, Getty, Houston Mayor, National Weather Service, Houston Independent School District, Houston Fire, Texas Gov, Texans, Facebook, Houston Astros, Hyatt Regency Locations: Parkway, West, Cypress, Texas, Houston, Romayor, New Orleans, Houston , Texas, Southeast Texas, Sowden, Houston's Harris County, Fargo Plaza

☆ I left Houston for a small Texas town. Now I own a house, my kids like it more, I feel safer, and my neighbors are like family.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Quiana Darling lived in a rental in a dicey Houston neighborhood with her two sons. She bought her first home for $324,000, put her kids in a good school, and has neighbors like family. I had no family in Houston, it was just me and my kids. Back in Houston, I had so many troubles with the Houston Independent School District and thought that Katy would be a better option. I will say, that's been the biggest improvement in my quality of life — my kids are happy and thriving in school.

Persons: Quiana Darling, —, Katy, I'm, Katy Katy, there's, that's Organizations: Service, Houston Independent School District, HISD Locations: Houston, Katy, Katy , Texas, Austin, She's

☆ Opinion | State’s ‘Misguided Takeover’ of Houston Schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “Anger Rises in Houston Over the State’s Schools Takeover” (news article, Aug. 13):The politically motivated and downright misguided takeover of the Houston Independent School District sets a deplorable example for struggling school districts nationwide. The solution to poorly performing schools should not be to close libraries and force misbehaving students to watch videos in those repurposed spaces. To place them in closed libraries and force them to watch videos of their classes only confirms for those students that they’re troublemakers and that reading lacks value. Superintendent Mike Miles, a former Army ranger “who has no official certification,” is better suited to run an Army base, not schools. His plan to compensate teachers for improved scores on standardized tests is also imprudent, for such tests provide a limited measure of students’ aptitude, are often biased and narrow the scope of classroom instruction.

Persons: they’ve, Mike Miles, “ Organizations: Houston Independent School District, Army Locations: Houston

☆ VC Ian Chiu's passion for education began when he shared his secrets to getting scholarships in a book. Now he helps edtech startups make a difference as a top investor at Owl Ventures.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At 18, Ian Chiu started writing a book with his brothers on how to land college scholarships. Now as managing director at Owl Ventures, Chiu has coached founders that are edtech success stories. If you ask Owl Ventures' Ian Chiu about the moment he first realized he could help others through education, he will immediately have an answer. So the three brothers decided that writing a guidebook on getting scholarships could be a fun project to share their newly acquired knowledge. But beyond the business side, writing the book also showed Chiu how his work helping others access better education opportunities could make a difference in people's lives.

☆ Houston lifts boil-water order affecting more than 2 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

HOUSTON — Houston officials lifted an order Tuesday that had called for more than 2 million people in the nation’s fourth-largest city to boil their tap water before drinking or using it. The boil order had been in effect since Sunday, when a power outage at a purification plant caused pressure to drop. The order led to the closure of businesses and schools, including the Houston Independent School District, which canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. The city said water quality samples sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed the tap water meets regulatory standards and is safe to drink. The power system at the water plant undergoes regular maintenance, Turner said, but he did not give a timeline for how often.

Residents of the country's fourth-largest city were told to boil water Sunday after pump-driven water system pressure dropped because of an electrical outage, triggering concerns of possible contamination. "We believe the water is safe but based on regulatory requirements when pressure drops below 20 psi we are obligated to issue a boil water notice," Turner said. A power outage Sunday at the East Water Purification Plant caused pressure to drop below 20 psi, or pounds per square inch, the state threshold that triggers boil water notices, Houston Public Works said. Water system pressure can use the weight of liquid to occupy cracks and crevices that might otherwise be exposed to outside incursions, such as urban runoff. "Houston’s water system is different than other systems in that we don’t use water towers to provide pressure to the system," it tweeted.

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