What is a little jersey among friends?

Yesterday it all began. The beginning of what will hopefully be the end.

Nah, we’re not talking preppers, we’re talking EARLY VOTING!!

The first day of early voting began not with criminal behavior, but plenty of dumb!

Phone calls were fly’n and tongues were wag’n and the trash talk’n well, it was award win’n.

But one candidate takes the cake!

Well, we here at the Star hear tell the chief deputy was in a polling place, try’n to place his vote when he was told he would have to leave since his shirt screamed vote for ME! So, his bride, well, she had the class to walk away and return with her shirt inside out, as not to violate the rules, but wait – not the chief deputy wannabe sheriff. Nope! As those in line watched, he yanked off his shirt, in front of God and grandmas, turned it inside out, right there in line, and put it back on.

We hear the crowd whispered he’d have gotten more votes if his wife had done that.

She musta’ had better raise’n.

Voters sent a strong message to the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, ousting two incumbents during the city and schools election on Saturday, May 12.

In the Position 6 race, Jenny Bailey soundly defeated incumbent Marilyn Glover 56% to 44%, according to unofficial results released by the Fort Bend Election Commission. Bailey, who promised accountability and transparency during her campaign, and was a vocal opponent of the iPad program, said voters were sending the message that they are unhappy with some of the decisions the board has been making.

“I have kids in the school district,” Bailey said. “I see the frustration every day across the board from the teachers to the students, to the staff. I believe that the community feels like they just haven’t been heard.”

In the Position 7 race, Dave Rosenthal defeated perennial candidate Rodrigo Carreon and incumbent Cynthia Lenton-Gary. Rosenthal captured 52% of the vote to Carreon’s 6% and Lenton-Gary’s 41%. He has been a vocal critic of the district’s $26.4 million dollar Global Center for Science and Technology as well as the iPad program.

“People are angry,” Rosenthal said. “People want money spent wisely. They don’t want iPads when teachers are being laid off.”

Three newcomers campaigned for the Position 2 seat being vacated by Sonal Bhuchar who is running for District 26 state representative in the Republican primary. Grayle James narrowly defeated Patt Snyder, 44% to 40% while Denatta Williams received 15% of the vote.

“I believe that the need to make changes comes from what people are seeing in the schools,” James said. “Teacher morale is low and we need to fix that. We need to get everybody working on the same team.”

The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees has come under fire in recent years in part over teacher layoffs, re-zoning issues, school accountability, approval of the iPad program, and a contract extension for Superintendent Timothy Jenney. Despite the new board-elect members running campaigns that criticized the district’s actions, working together, said Fort Bend ISD President Susan Hohnbaum, is where the emphasis needs to be now.

“As we do each May, we look forward to new members, fresh ideas, and renewed energy to continue the important work of providing and maintaining a quality education for each of the students in Fort Bend ISD,” said Hohnbaum.

The Fort Bend ISD school board-elect members will be sworn in after the Board of Trustees meeting on May 21.

In Sugar Land, Himesh Ghandi defeated Bill Cathey and Naomi Lam for the City Council At-Large Position 1 seat which is being vacated by Tom Abraham who is term limited. Ghandi, who serves on Sugar Land’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which came under fire for approving 325 apartments in Sugar Land’s historic district, acknowledged that the city needs to ensure that new developments “are of a high quality and in the best interests of the city”.

“Even though I am young and perhaps the youngest council member the city has ever had, I represent a different generation and can bring a different perspective,” Ghandi said. “We need to continue running Sugar Land at the highest possible level.”

He’ll be sworn in on May 22.

In other races

In the Meadows Place mayoral race, Charlie Jessup defeated William Myers, 353 votes to 141.

Voters in Stafford approved two charter amendments that will allow an official to take office immediately after taking the oath of office while the other provides for the appointment of the Charter Review Commission.

By Elsa Maxey

Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham reports that for the first day of early voting this Monday for the partisan Primary Election, the turnout is good. Over 1,700 votes were cast, “total of 1,746 of which 1,483 were Republican and 263 Democrats,” he said. “Of the Dems, almost all were in Precinct 2,” reports Oldham. He also said that Fort Bend County’s busiest site was Pecan Grove. There were 370 Republicans voting there and15 Democrats. At press time on Tuesday, “voting seems much slower today,” said Oldham.

The results of Saturday’s May 12 election are not quite official yet since the votes have to be canvassed. That will be probably between Tuesday of this week and Wednesday, May 23, according to an election advisory to cities, school districts, and other political subdivisions from the director of elections in the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

Oldham said “we had more than our usual number of ballots by mail that were not returned for the May 12 election.” It is suspected that this was due to the confusion of the two elections this month being so close.

EARLY VOTING

In the meantime, eligible voters in Fort Bend County may vote at any of the early voting sites up until May 25 for the May 29 Primary Election for Republican and Democratic candidates.

Voters need to show identification to vote that include the Voter Registration Certificate, a Texas Driver’s license, or other, although a photo ID is not be required. A list of the Early Voting sites and sample ballots are found on the Fort Bend County elections website –fortbendvotes.org.

Other races: Meadows Place

In Meadows Place, Alderman Shirley Isbell will be giving up her Place 2 seat to Terry Morgan, whose running bid stirred a bit of controversy since he is not a homeowner but rents and resides in the city, which affirms residency. Isbell’s husband, John F. Isbell, who ran unopposed, was elected to the Place 1 post. David A. Wilkens kept his Place 3 alderman seat since he ran unopposed.

Arcola

The City of Arcola will have a new mayor. Incumbent Mayor Mary Etta Anderson lost her bid to Evelyn Jones, who also ran against Fidel Torres. Other mayor races were in Sugar Land, Fulshear, Kendleton and Meadows Place, where incumbents Mayor James Thompson, Mayor Tommy Kuykendall, Mayor Darryl K. Humphrey opposed by Belinda D. Battle, and Mayor Charles Jessup, who was challenged by William B. Myers and later withdrew his bid, were all reelected.

Stafford

Both propositions representing charter amendments that were on the City of Stafford ballot passed by an overwhelming majority. One amendment will allow an official to take office immediately after taking the oath of office, and the second one allows city council members to appoint Charter Review Commission members.

WCID #2

This Saturday’s ballot affecting water district customers, mostly in Stafford and some in Missouri City, had four candidates vying for three seats on the Fort Bend Water Control and Improvement District No. 2. The three with the highest votes made the cut. Long-term incumbent John Ferro, who received the most votes, was reelected. Julius (Jody) Court and Former Stafford City Councilmember John Rose also each won a seat on the water board. Amanda Rodriguez, who had been appointed by the state to fill a vacated position and ran for the first time, did not garner enough votes to be elected nor did Lana Hoesing.

There were also numerous MUD directors races throughout this area. A report from the Elections Administration indicates that there could be a runoff in the MUD 146 race. “We have to wait until Friday on any overseas ballots,” said Oldham noting that they will need to have been postmarked on, or before May 12.

Katy

Reports of Katy ISD, which handled its own election this past Saturday along with the City of Katy, show that two Fort Bend County residents were elected to the school board. Bryan Michalsky, who has lived within the district boundaries for over six years, and Charles Griffin, a district resident for over 13 years, will serve as trustees for Position 6 and Position 7, respectively.

Missouri City

With the excitement of elections in the air this month beginning with this past Saturday’s city, school and MUD races, accounts relayed to the Star indicate that Missouri City, which did not have any city items on a ballot, did not want to be left out. Some city officials there along with community residents, we hear, hosted a no city election celebration. That’s the spirit!

The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved a salary increase for its teachers and staff for the 20012-2013 school year at the regular board meeting on May 7. All district staff, including teachers, will get a 3 percent pay raise during the next school year because of an additional $15 million that the school district expects to get in funding from the state.

“Our employees have worked very hard over the past couple of years with little to no increase in compensation,” said Dr. Timothy Jenny, Fort Bend ISD Superintendent. “They deserve a raise because of their commitment and value to our students, and to remain competitive among other like businesses.”

Under the plan, entry level teachers will see their starting salary increase to $44,750, up from $44,000 and the average teacher salary in Fort Bend ISD would increase to $52,006. The average salary in Houston ISD is $52,369. The district also expects to hire additional staff at a cost of about 4 million to meet growth.

In the past two years, Fort Bend ISD has lost close to $50 million of state funding, resulting in teacher layoffs and a salary freeze for non-teaching employees. Teachers did receive a step increase in the 2010-11 school year but did not receive an increase in 2011-12.

The district’s Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Tracy Hoke, told the school board that the rating agency, Fitch, recently upgraded the district’s financial rating from AA to AA+ and she quoted the agency: “The district’s financial position is strong…Historically, the district’s proactive administrators have prudently managed resources to sustain a healthy financial profile; this track record largely mitigates concerns over the recent budgetary challenges.”

The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees will hold a public budget meeting on May 21 at 4:30 pm at the FBISD Administration Building, 16431 Lexington Blvd., to receive information, comments and views on the proposed 2012-2013 school district budget and tax rates.

The administration recommends the Board set the proposed 2012 Maintenance and Operations tax rate at $1.04 and the Debt Service tax rate at $0.30.

Budget adoption is scheduled for June 11.

Last year the City of Stafford and Missouri City entered into an agreement to build a new animal shelter. Stafford would assist with one/fourth of the costs for the facility that would be built in Missouri City. Originally, the bid was $400,000 to which Stafford wrote a check for $100,000. A glitch in the plan was announced at the May 2 City Council meeting when the Board was informed that Missouri City’s estimation was off by 60%. An additional $67,000 was now being requested from Stafford to cover their portion of the increase. Charles Russell, Stafford’s city engineer, stated that although he “didn’t know who provided the original estimate to Missouri City, materials and fuel have increased since then.”

For the money, ($167,000 plus $1,600 for monthly rent), Stafford will receive the use of five kennels, however, Missouri City has the right to reclaim these spaces if their needs expand. If that were to happen, a refund would be amortized and given back to Stafford. On average, the City of Stafford picks up 16 to 17 strays per month; five or six per week. Half are usually adopted and the other half euthanized. Mayor Scarcella said that Missouri City’s potential for growth and need of the additional spaces would eventually happen and this was only a temporary fix. He would like the City of Stafford to look into possible alternatives for the future, mentioning that setting up their own shelter might one day be necessary.

The decision to appropriate action was set aside for one week for Stafford to speak with the City of Sugar Land as it was brought to their attention space might be available at their shelter. The City of Sugar Land does not euthanize their animals, if possible, and if Stafford were to rent space from them they would have to change their policy to reflect Sugar Land’s.

The City of Sugar Land’s Animal Shelter keeps their costs low by utilizing volunteers and recovering fees through adoptions. Mike Leech explained, “The City of Sugar Land Animal Services division relies heavily upon dozens of volunteers who in 2011 donated more than 3,000 hours of service. In 2011 more than 350 animals found new homes through the adoption program. Thus far in 2012 the adopted total is trending toward more than 400 animals.”

In the end, the City of Stafford unanimously approved the additional funds to Missouri City. Councilmember Robert Sorbet, asked that the Council keep in mind ways in the future ways, such as prevention, as a possible way to address the stray issues.

“One of these things is not like the other; one of these things just doesn’t belong”…

It is disturbing when a song from Sesame Street can so define the management over at your local Sheriff’s Office.

A few years back there were rumblings over at the Sheriff’s Office about a female jailer that had been an inmate in the jail prior to her employment.

At that time it was just rumblings; no documents were on the county website and the chatter died down.

Time passed and the rumblings started back up, this time louder, when that female was promoted to Corporal over fellow employees who had seen her booking photo in the system in their own jail. Then, when her Texas Peace Officer’s license was cancelled by the State, those rumblings became full blown thunder claps.

However, that cancellation did not last long when a Sheriff’s posse made a trip to Austin and spoke before the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Educations (TCLEOSE) and its current Assistant Presiding Officer, Sugar Land’s Assistant City Manager of Public Safety Steve Griffith. She got a one-time waver for her past criminal charges.

In 2005 Mallory Curtis was arrested by DPS for an outstanding warrant from Hayes County for Theft by Check. Curtis was young and according to those close to her had been living in San Marcos. About the time she was arrested she had just recently returned to Fort Bend County to work.

Although public record, her arrest on this warrant would have never been an issue until she found herself on the fast track for promotions at the Sheriff’s Office. You see, fellow employees were questioning how someone who was listed in the inmate computer system for a class B misdemeanor out of another county could hold a Texas Peace Officer license, much less be promoted from jailer, to deputy, to corporal, or to her current position, background Investigator, to which she was appointed in December of 2011;

According to records obtained through a February Open Records Request, Mallory Curtis applied to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office in September 2006, at that time she was a student at the Wharton County Junior College police academy. Based on her application to the Sheriff’s Office, Curtis acknowledged that she had been arrested for theft by check in February of 2005.

However, according Sergeant K. Bratton who was assigned to complete a background investigation on Curtis, there was nothing unusual in Curtis’ background. Interestingly, Sergeant K Bratton is the same person who sent all the paperwork on Curtis to Hayes County just months prior. Either Bratton failed to look at her own law enforcement agency’s documents while investigating a potential new hire, or she intentionally omitted it.

Either way, it is scary if this is the kind of investigation that is done on a new hire. In the end, background investigator Sergeant K Bratton stated in her report to personnel: “Based on the information I was able to obtain, I could find nothing that would prevent Mallory D Curtis from being able to work at the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office.” Curtis began her employment with Fort Bend County in January 2007.

According to TCLEOSE records, in mid 2011, Mallory Curtis Melendez had her police officer’s license cancelled because she was ineligible to obtain one in the first place.

The Texas Administrative Code Licensing Requirements state…” (the applicant) has not ever been on court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense above the grade of Class B misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor within the last ten years from the date of the court order;” however, with the proper supporting documentation or mitigating circumstances the Commission may approve the application of a person who received probation or court-ordered community supervision for a Class B misdemeanor at least five (5) years prior to application if an agency administrator sufficiently demonstrates the facts in writing.

Either way, she was not eligible to obtain a Texas Police Officer or Texas Jailer’s License in January of 2007, nor did she meet those guidelines in 2011.

Shockingly, during the time Curtis Melendez’s Peace Officer’s license was cancelled, she was allowed to maintain her pay status and was sent over to work in the Internal Affairs Office. Eventually, in September 2011 Curtis Melendez, without ever experiencing a pay cut or loss of supervisory wages, was returned to her Corporal position in the jail. Then just months later, December 24, 2011 Mallory Curtis Melendez and Vanessa Brady, the chief deputy’s wife, were both promoted

Each was gifted with the newly created position of Background Investigator. Neither had to test nor be subjected to a selection process for the newly created positions.

Is it possible that in 2012, the son of Asian immigrants who moved to America for a better life; away from tyranny and oppression, is less valuable to the operation of justice in Fort Bend County than a former, according to her application, Hooters waitress who was handled by the Fort Bend County jail for Theft by Check?

Since February, Jimmy Du has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of an investigation, whereby he has been accused of using a county computer for political reasons.

According to Du, he sent out a notice to friends asking them to attend a Sheriff Candidate’s forum and make an informed decision when they vote. Du said after that he was called to a supervisor’s office and suspended. Within days he was called to meet with Chief Brady, who chastised him for talking to the media. Since that meeting with Brady in February, Du said he has not heard from anyone at the Sheriff’s Office.

However, as of this month Du remains on the active deputy Sheriff list that is posted by the Sheriff on the County Clerk’s website. As the result of this terminal suspension, Du has lost his health insurance and has no idea what will happen next as he has not heard from his supposed employer since February.

Now which of these things does not belong? The fast track former Hooters, Sam’s Boat, Z-Bar waitress with a criminal background, who self-admitted to using marijuana and cocaine and being arrested for theft or the young Asian deputy who used a county computer to encourage fellow employees to vote. She has never missed a paycheck while he has not had a paycheck since February.

“One of these things is not like the other; one of these things just doesn’t belong”…

BULLY

Over 13 million American kids will be bullied this year, making it the most common form of violence experienced by young people in the nation. The new documentary film Bully, directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, brings human scale to this startling statistic, offering an intimate, unflinching look at how bullying has touched five kids and their families. Bully is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories each represent a different facet of America’s bullying crisis. Filmed over the course of the 2009/2010 school year, Bully opens a window onto the pained and often endangered lives of bullied kids, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders.    It documents the responses of teachers and administrators to aggressive behaviors that defy “kids will be kids” clichés, and it captures a growing movement among parents and youths to change how bullying is handled in schools, in communities and in society as a whole.

THE STORIES

Alex, 12 — For 12-year-old Alex of Sioux City, Iowa, the slurs, curses and threats begin before he even boards the school bus. A sweet-natured kid just starting middle school and wanting more than anything to fit in, Alex assures his worried parents that the kids who taunt and hit him are only “messing with him.” But bullying has trailed Alex thorough life like a shadow, and as his seventh grade year unfolds, the bullying only escalates.

Kelby, 16 — Since 16-year-old Kelby came out as a lesbian, she and her family have been treated as pariahs in their small town of Tuttle, Oklahoma. The onetime all-star athlete, Kelby has faced an outpouring of hatred from classmates as well as teachers, and has been forced to leave her sports teams by attacks. Refusing her parents’ offers to leave Tuttle, the gutsy teenager is bolstered by her adoring girlfriend and a few staunch friends, resolving to stay in her town and change a few minds.

Ja’Meya, 14 — In Yazoo County, Mississippi, 14-year-old Ja’Meya was picked on every morning and afternoon of the hour-long bus ride between home and school. On the morning of September 1st, the quiet, unassuming girl had had enough and brandished a loaded handgun she’d taken from her mother’s closet to scare off her tormentors. Incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility and charged with multiple felony counts, Ja’Meya fearfully awaits the outcome of her case, supported by her loving mother.

David and Tina Long — In October 2009, 17-year-old Tyler Long of Murray County, Georgia, hanged himself after years of abuse at the hands of his classmates and indifference from school officials. As his parents, David and Tina Long, mourn the loss of the son they tried to protect, and demand accountability from the school that failed him so miserably, his death has sparked a war in a community forced to face its bullying demons.

Kirk and Laura Smalley — Following the bullying-related suicide of their 11 year-old son, Kirk and Laura Smalley are determined to prevent other children from suffering Ty’s fate. As schools around the country prepare for the start of a new academic year, Kirk launches an anti-bullying organization, Stand for the Silent, coordinating a series of vigils that underscore the high stakes of America’s bullying crisis.

Bully

Starring: Ja’Meya Jackson, Londa Johnson & Alex Libby
Director: Lee Hirsch
Company: The Weinstein Co.
Now Showing: In Local Area Theatres
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Grade: A+

DVD REVIEWS

FREE DVD GIVEAWAY

We are doing a Free DVD Giveaway! If you are interested in a chance at winning a free copy of W.E., Lidia Celebrates America, Art:21, Grand Coulee Dam, Great White Shark, Big Cats, Secrets of the Sun, Jesse Owens, Something Ventured, Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, Playback or Vegas: Season Three Volume One, it is really easy! All you have to do is send me an email at HoustonMovieGuy@gmail.com. The subject line of the email should read DVD GIVEAWAY. In the body of the email, be sure to put your name, full mailing address and which DVD or Blu-ray you would like. Winners will be selected by random drawing. Best of luck!

VEGAS: Season Three, Vol. One – CBS Paramount

In this popular series, handsome, fun loving, private eye, Dan Tanna, drives around Las Vegas in his vintage Thunderbird solving private cases but is also on retainer to a wealthy casino owner to keep crime out of his hotels. He is helped by his smart and sexy assistant and his enthusiastic, yet inept, legman.

PLAYBACK – Magnolia

While digging into their town’s infamous past, a group of high school students unwittingly unlock an even darker secret. Now, an evil spirit has been awakened and will stop at nothing to find his true heir.

TIM & ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE – Magnolia

Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim specialize in a style of comedy in which the awkward pauses between laughs are at least as important as the actual jokes. When taken in the 15-minute chunks of their various television projects for Adult Swim, the results can be both strangely hilarious and cerebrally upsetting–the sort of thing David Lynch might produce if given the keys to a public access studio. Watching their first feature, however, can leave the viewer feeling like they’ve been locked inside with Lynch for a four-day weekend. All of the duo’s trademarks are present and are down right hilarious!

SOMETHING VENTURED – Zeitgeist Films

Directed by Emmy-Award-winning filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine (Ballets Russes), Something Ventured maps the creation of an industry that went on to become the single greatest engine of innovation and economic growth in the 20th century. The story is told through the visionary risk-takers who dared to make it happen: Tom Perkins, Don Valentine, Arthur Rock, Dick Kramlich and others. The film also features some of the country’s finest entrepreneurs and their stories with the venture capitalists to grow world-class companies like Intel, Apple, Cisco, Atari, Genentech, Tandem and others. Beginning in the late 1950s, this small group of high rollers fostered a one-of-a-kind business culture that encouraged extraordinary risk and made possible unprecedented rewards. They laid the groundwork for America’s start-up economy-providing not just the capital but also the guidance to allow seedling companies to reach their full potential. Our lives would be dramatically different without the contributions that these venture capitalists made to the creation of PCs, the Internet and life-saving drugs.

JESSE OWENS – PBS

On April 2, 1936, when the 22-year-old son of a sharecropper entered the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, he was barely able to control his anger in the face of Nazi racism. But instead of letting himself be distracted, the young athlete channeled his emotions into one of the most remarkable achievements in athletic history: four gold medals in two days. Beginning in the poor Cleveland neighborhood where Owens grew up, American Experience details his early career; describes Adolf Hitler’s outsized ambitions for the 1936 Olympics; explores the movement in Western democracies to boycott the event; and explains the pressures on Owens to attend. The film also reveals why, despite his success in Germany, Owens struggled to find a place for himself in a United States that was still wrestling with its own deeply entrenched racism.

SECRETS OF THE SUN – PBS

Now, with the help of new spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes, scientists are seeing the Sun as they never have before and even re-creating what happens at the very center of the Sun. Their work will help us understand aspects of the sun that have puzzled scientists for decades. Secrets of the Sun reveals a bright new dawn in our understanding of our nearest star, one that might help keep our planet from going dark.

BIG CATS – PBS

Most wildlife documentaries focus on animal behavior, but Inside Nature’s Giants goes inside the largest animals on the planet to explore their anatomy, reveal their intricate inner workings and uncover their evolutionary secrets. In this episode, veterinary scientist Mark Evans and comparative anatomist Joy Reidenberg dissect a lion and tiger at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK. On the outside, the lion and the tiger look very different; but once their skins are removed, even the experts find it hard to distinguish the two. One of the first questions they tackle is the anatomy of the roar–a characteristics that separates big cats from small. Then they move on to the big cats’ powerful forearms, protractile claws, and powerful killing bite in an attempt to dissect the anatomy of the kill. Finally, the team travels to South Africa’s Welgevonden Game Reserve to observe the lion in the wild to try and discover whether something about the cats’ social lives can account for their wildly different appearances.

GREAT WHITE SHARK – PBS

Most wildlife documentaries focus on animal behavior, but Inside Nature’s Giants goes inside the largest animals on the planet to explore their anatomy, reveal their intricate inner workings and uncover their evolutionary secrets. In this episode, veterinary scientist Mark Evans and comparative anatomist Joy Reidenberg travel to South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal Coast, where miles of beach protection nets have been put in place to safeguard humans from a deadly threat: the great white shark. Usually the sharks they catch are quite small, but they’ve just pulled up the body of a giant, weighing in at over 2,000 pounds and measuring almost 15 feet–this is the largest great white caught in the nets since 2002. It presents an international team of experts with a rare opportunity to explore this hunter’s anatomy to find out how it has evolved into the oceans most feared predator.

GRAND COULEE DAM – PBS

When Grand Coulee Dam was being built during the depths of the Great Depression, everything about it was the biggest in the world. The mile-long behemoth was the largest hydroelectric power-producing facility in the world and was completed just in time to power the nation’s defense plants and the atomic reactors for the Manhattan Project. But despite its tremendous achievements – including the plentiful production of clean energy – the negative consequences of its construction are equally noteworthy. In a single stroke, Grand Coulee prevented access to one of the greatest salmon rivers in the world, threatening huge populations of fish with extinction, depriving the local Native people of their most important economic and spiritual resource. This American Experience film explores how the crucial tension between technological achievement and environmental impact hangs over the project’s legacy.

ART:21 Season Six – PBS

Season 6 of the Peabody Award-winning series “Art in the Twenty-First Century” includes featured artists Marina Abramovic, Ai Weiwei, David Altmejd, El Anatsui, assume vivid astro focus, Lynda Benglis, Rackstraw Downes, Glenn Ligon, Robert Mangold, Catherine Opie, Mary Reid Kelley, Sarah Sze, and Tabaimo.

LIDIA CELEBRATES AMERICA – PBS

When immigrants came to America, they brought with them not only their grandmothers’ recipes, but also centuries-old traditions. Join beloved chef and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich on an eye-opening culinary journey as she visits with families sharing their traditions, getting a rare and deeply personal glimpse into the wonderful diversity of American culture and food. From jumping the broom to tying the knot, wedding celebrations in America are as diverse as the nation itself, and Lidia cordially invites viewers to be her “plus one” on this cross-country matrimonial odyssey.

W.E. – Anchor Bay

Madonna’s Academy Award nominated film (2011 Best Achievement in Costume Design, Arianne Phillips) delivers an elegantly stylish and beautifully dramatic look into the lives of two fragile yet passionate women intertwined across the decades. In 1998, New Yorker Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish) becomes enamored with what is believed to be the greatest romance of the 20th century – King Edward VIII’s (James D’Arcy) surrender of the crown for the woman he loved, the chic and charismatic American, Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough). Through a series of secret letters, Wally discovers the lifetime of romance Edward and Wallis shared together.

Ready for the tournament are: Mike Shaw, Fort Bend Toyota; Matt Barger, Houstonian Golf & Country Club; Vince Finnegan, Finnegan Auto Group; Shanta Kuhl, Central Fort Bend Chamber Alliance President/CEO; John Kennedy, Houstonian Golf & Country Club (Not pictured: Ron Ewer, Legacy Ford, and Chris Gillman, Gillman Honda).

The Central Fort Bend Chamber Alliance and the Rosenberg-Richmond Auto Mile will proudly present the 27th Annual Chamber Golf Classic on Monday, May 21 at the exclusive Houstonian Golf and Country Club in Richmond. For information, contact Angie Wierzbicki at 281-342-5464 or angie@CFBCA.org.