Inside Fort Bend

"Inside Fort Bend" has a new home!
This week is moving week for me and my Inside Fort Bend blog. Beginning Sept. 30, the blog will be a prominent component of a new Houston Chronicle neighborhood Web site dedicated to Fort Bend -- www.ultimatefortbend.com. The new site...







Do I have a clone? Check out the art of thieving
For years, my stories that appeared in the Houston Chronicle both in print and online have found their mirror images in a community newspaper out of Stafford that's thrown to your front yard every week. To be exact, often those...







The art of creating a tiny and yet big world
Meet Linda Rampey, a woman who re-creates the world on paper and canvas of the size of a matchbox or even tinier. The 49-year-old artist from Simonton is highlighted at a miniature art exhibit in the Houston's Sixth Ward. The...







Healey seeks 5th DA term
Fort Bend District Attorney John Healey has decided to pursue another term. Healey has been in office since his appointment in 1992 and is serving his fourth term. Healey's path isn't clear, though. Richmond attorney Nina Schaefer, a fellow Republican...







Star-studded tourney to give county a boost
For golf aficionados, something big is coming to Fort Bend County. In about two months, the 2009 LPGA Tour Championship will be unfolding at The Houstonian Golf and Country Club, a premium golf course off FM 1464 near Sugar Land...







FBISD trustees want harder look at zoning proposals
Starting an early planning process, the Fort Bend school district has unveiled its proposed attendance zones for two new schools under construction in the district's fareast side. Both schools are set to open in fall next year. The district's 45th...







Local officers updated on tougher criminal laws
Laws on some criminal offences such as drunk driving, injuring a disabled person and forgery against elderly people are getting stiffer in Texas, some 200 Fort Bend-area peace officers learned in training Thursday. The gathering drew officers from various police...







County to build Grand Parkway toll road
I can picture that vast green expanse stretching from one side of Texas 99 to the other, which gave the roadway the "parkway" moniker, turning into steel and concrete. It's not an illusion. A Grand Parkway toll road will become...







Eat spaghetti and help veteran officer
If you get a chance for a lunch break near the city of Richmond on Oct. 1, you might want to stop by the new Gus George Law Enforcement Academy for a plate of yummy spaghetti prepared with award-winning sauces....







Inspirational or indoctrinating?
Thank you all for the past five days of animated discussion following my blog post about FBISD's reaction to President Obama's planned speech to schoolchildren. It has been an emotive forum but there has been no lack of great exchange...







FBISD offers parents chance to boycott Obama speech
Fort Bend ISD sent a letter to parents Wednesday asking them to sign a slip whether or not to allow kids to watch President Obama's national address to students on the importance of education slated for Sept. 8. The district...







After 3 years, a new home for law-breaking residents
While workers are applying finishing touch to a seven-story new county jail tower in Richmond, officials are planning a party to mark the completion of the $79 million future domicile for outlaws. Finally, after three years following voters' approval of...







Marshall High's party time
Cheers and laughs will fill the air at Fort Bend ISD's Marshall High School Wednesday morning. A party will kick off at 9 a.m. to celebrate the school's newest accountability rating that the kids, teachers, principal and the entire staff...







Steep cuts in toll violation fees -- a limited-time offer
Last month, I wrote about a Missouri City woman busted for owing $12,023.25 to both Harris County and Fort Bend County toll road authorities. If you use toll roads, here is something else you may want to know: the state...







Ransom Road segment to be closed for 6 months
A portion of Ransom Road in Richmond, which has been renamed Williams Way Boulevard, will be closed for nearly six months due to the construction of the county's courthouse complex that includes a tunnel linking the complex to the county...