Ed Emmett News

Heavy rains fueled by the meeting of two strong storm systems, one the remnants of Hurricane Patricia, pounded southeastern Texas on Saturday, triggering flash floods and derailing a freight train as the heavy weather tracked toward Houston. Navarro County, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Dallas, was one of the hardest-hit areas, inundating the tiny town of Powell with 20 inches (50 cm) of rain over 30 hours, according to meteorologist Brett Rathbun of Accuweather. A flash flood was so forceful it swept a Union Pacific freight train off the tracks, pushing locomotives and some rail cars on their sides. No injuries were reported. County…

Blue skies and a cool breeze set the stage for a once-in-a-century event today: the 100th anniversary rededication of the opening of Houston's deep-water port. International Longshoremen's Association, Houston Pilots, U.S. Coast Guard, current and former Port Commissioners, industry stakeholders and others, attended the Houston Ship Channel Rededication at Brady's Landing overlooking the Houston Ship Channel. The event took place 100 years to the day of the original ceremony in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson fired a cannon by remote control from his office in Washington D.C. Katherine Lee Stacy, the great-great-granddaughter of Miss Sue Campbell, who took part in the original dedication ceremony by tossing a floral offering, reenacted the christening event.

Harris County Commissioners Court has appointed longtime labor leader Clyde Fitzgerald to serve as a member of the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority. Fitzgerald's appointment fills the seat of former Port Commissioner Jim Fonteno, who submitted his resignation to Commissioners Court in April, indicating his desire to spend more time with his wife and two young daughters. Clyde Fitzgerald, who started his career at age 16 working on the wharves of the Houston Ship Channel, was sworn in Tuesday after Commissioners Court selected him to fill Fonteno's unexpired term.

At a briefing held Wednesday at the Port of Houston Authority, U.S. McCaul chose the port as the site to host the briefing on security and emergency preparedness to illustrate the importance of the Port of Houston to the nation's economy and energy security. The Port of Houston is home to the largest petrochemical manufacturing complex in the United States and second largest in the world. McCaul met with Port of Houston Authority officials as well as Houston, Harris County and…

The Port of Houston Authority announced that Elyse Lanier has been re-appointed to serve as a member of the Port Commission, its governing body. The vote on October 12 by the Harris County Commissioners Court was unanimous. Commissioner Lanier was initially appointed to the Port Commission in February 2006. Port Commissioners serve two-year terms without pay. “Elyse Lanier is a prime example of the kind of people that make Houston and Harris County such a wonderful place to live and work,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett.

Members of the commercial community of the Port of Houston, America’s second largest Port in terms of total tonnage, met last week in support of the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI). At the Fourth Annual Maritime Training Benefit Luncheon, the area’s leading maritime transportation companies assembled for a fundraiser at the Institute’s training center in Houston. The October 22nd event raised over $77,000 for SCI’s Center for Maritime Education, which provides training for thousands of professional inland captains and pilots. An area hit in September by destructive Hurricane Ike, many operations in the Port sustained damage from the powerful storm, including SCI’s Center located within the 25-mile-long complex.