Galveston

A disaster-prone Texas tourist destination that for more than a century has been an on-again, off-again home to oceanfront amusements will once again lure thrill-seekers with roller coasters, midway games and carnival confections. PHOTOS: New rides at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier The $60-million Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier plans to open in May with 16 rides, including a vertical-lift steel coaster, a 100-foot-tall Ferris wheel with programmable LED lights and a 200-foot-tall swing tower offering panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico.

HOUSTON -- Justice Department officials have announced plans to monitor local elections Saturday in three areas of Texas to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Federal observers will monitor polling places in Dallas, Galveston and Jasper counties, according to a Justice Department statement released Friday. “Observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in these counties, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials,” the statement said.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston-Houston is being elevated to the rank of archdiocese because of the growth of Catholicism in Texas, church officials said. The designation by Pope John Paul II makes Texas the second state in the country, joining California, to have two archdioceses. Galveston-Houston will join San Antonio in administering to about 6.5 million Roman Catholics in the state. Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza was named archbishop.

A disaster-prone Texas tourist destination that for more than a century has been an on-again, off-again home to oceanfront amusements will once again lure thrill-seekers with roller coasters, midway games and carnival confections. PHOTOS: New rides at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier The $60-million Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier plans to open in May with 16 rides, including a vertical-lift steel coaster, a 100-foot-tall Ferris wheel with programmable LED lights and a 200-foot-tall swing tower offering panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico.

Between 4 and 8 a.m. on this stagnant highway -- the main northerly evacuation route away from Hurricane Rita in Texas -- traffic inched along Thursday at less than two-thirds of a mile per hour. At that rate, the thousands of cars choking every lane and often the freeway's bumpy shoulder would find it hard to make it to safety in, say, Dallas before the furious storm hit Saturday. With 234 miles to cover and less than 48 hours in which to do it -- well, you do the math.

Galveston-Houston Co., Houston, has elected Sir Graham Wilkinson and Richard A. Fenn as directors, expanding its board to 11.

Thanks for Hugo Martin's update on Galveston, Texas ["Battered Island on the Rebound," April 12]. I greatly enjoyed the article. I grew up in southeast Texas, and Galveston was the place to go for summer vacations and even great weekends. Galveston is a very charming city. Though it can't hold a candle to Malibu, it is, for all practical purposes, southeast Texas' version of Malibu. I can't believe all they've been through, but I am glad they are hanging in there and trying to rebuild.

Hundreds of people gathered in Galveston to celebrate an annual Mardi Gras tradition in a show of support for the island, ravaged by Hurricane Ike's powerful storm surge five months ago. Revelers and some of the floats in Saturday's parade paid homage to the storm. One float was decorated with the blue tarp material that still covers hundreds of roofs. Phrases such as "No lights" and "No phone" and the word "Ike" with a line drawn through it were written on the float. About 75% of homes in Galveston were damaged when the hurricane struck Sept.

Handguns make up only half of the new gun sales in the United States but are involved in nearly 90% of shootings that result in emergency room visits, according to a new three-city survey. The conclusion is part of a New England Journal of Medicine study that looked at gunshot wounds in Memphis, Tenn., Galveston, Texas, and Seattle between November 1992 and May 1994. A team led by Dr.

Shifting winds pushed an oil slick from the supertanker Mega Borg northeastward Sunday, buying officials a little more time to prepare for when it reaches shore, the Coast Guard said. Officials alerted communities north of Galveston to Louisiana that the tar balls may not be far away. They predicted late Sunday that tar balls from the spill would hit land Tuesday.

Misinformed and mendacious attacks on Social Security have become such familiar conservative shibboleths that it can be hard to muster the energy to beat them down anymore. Then along comes Rick Perry, the Texas governor. He's suggested that it's unconstitutional (a notion the Supreme Court disposed of in 1937) and after announcing his candidacy he called it a "monstrous lie. " Perry's solution is to return the sponsorship of government retirement programs to the states, which he insists can handle the job better than the federal government.

Thanks for Hugo Martin's update on Galveston, Texas ["Battered Island on the Rebound," April 12]. I greatly enjoyed the article. I grew up in southeast Texas, and Galveston was the place to go for summer vacations and even great weekends. Galveston is a very charming city. Though it can't hold a candle to Malibu, it is, for all practical purposes, southeast Texas' version of Malibu. I can't believe all they've been through, but I am glad they are hanging in there and trying to rebuild.

Here's a snapshot taken on a recent weekday morning in Galveston, Texas. Tanned surfers ride breaking waves. Souvenir hunters stroll past roadside shops. Sightseers pedal rented bicycles on the shoulder of Seawall Boulevard while hungry vacationers munch on blackened catfish and fried shrimp at beachfront eateries. But the picture is marred by the seven-story Flagship Hotel, perched on the Galveston Island pier. The ornate, beige-and-red hotel stands as a reminder of the $3.

Hundreds of people gathered in Galveston to celebrate an annual Mardi Gras tradition in a show of support for the island, ravaged by Hurricane Ike's powerful storm surge five months ago. Revelers and some of the floats in Saturday's parade paid homage to the storm. One float was decorated with the blue tarp material that still covers hundreds of roofs. Phrases such as "No lights" and "No phone" and the word "Ike" with a line drawn through it were written on the float. About 75% of homes in Galveston were damaged when the hurricane struck Sept.

Carnival back in business in Galveston Carnival Cruise Lines will return to sailing from Galveston, Texas, on Saturday -- just seven weeks after Hurricane Ike devastated the city. The company's two Galveston-based ships, the Ecstasy and the Conquest, began using Houston's port for their Caribbean cruises after the hurricane. In a news release, Galveston's port director, Steven Cernak, said Cruise Terminal 1, damaged in the storm, had been overhauled, with work crews tearing out carpeting and walls, installing new amenities and repairing equipment.

Hurricane-ravaged Galveston just "isn't ready" for residents to return, officials warned as they pleaded for evacuees to stay away at least another week. The roughly 45,000 people who fled Galveston Island are among more than 1 million who evacuated the coast as Ike approached. Gov. Rick Perry said 22,000 people are still living in shelters. He joined Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas in asking for patience. Galveston Island remained closed, as did the worse-off Bolivar Peninsula, where the storm's surge washed entire neighborhoods into the sea. In Houston, life tentatively began to return to normal.

Carnival back in business in Galveston Carnival Cruise Lines will return to sailing from Galveston, Texas, on Saturday -- just seven weeks after Hurricane Ike devastated the city. The company's two Galveston-based ships, the Ecstasy and the Conquest, began using Houston's port for their Caribbean cruises after the hurricane. In a news release, Galveston's port director, Steven Cernak, said Cruise Terminal 1, damaged in the storm, had been overhauled, with work crews tearing out carpeting and walls, installing new amenities and repairing equipment.

Police arrested a 19-year-old man and accused him of killing one person and wounding four others when revelers who gathered after a Mardi Gras parade in Galveston were fired upon. The Houston man, whose name was not released, was accused of firing a handgun two hours after a Mardi Gras parade, which attracted 100,000 spectators. Oscar Manuel Nava, 19, of Houston, was killed, acting Police Chief Kim Schoolcraft said.

As recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast slowly expanded Wednesday, local leaders and federal officials resolved their spat over logistical tie-ups that kept thousands of residents from getting food and supplies from government aid stations. But in hard-hit Galveston Island, Hurricane Ike's widespread devastation left frazzled city officials sniping at one another about the crush of residents who wanted to return to a place that medical experts said is a health hazard.

The road leading onto this barrier island was a jumble of crushed homes, splintered boat docks and mounds of sand. City officials who had ordered residents to leave ahead of Hurricane Ike were telling them Monday to stay away -- maybe for weeks. But for Vernon Baines, pastor of the tiny Live Oak Baptist Church, the need to come back was too strong. So he, like hundreds of others who had fled this slice of land along the Gulf Coast, sneaked back -- hungry for a glimpse of the familiar and hopeful that their homes had escaped the storm's wrath.