The Dentists on Pearl

The original city council line-up of 14 members (nine district-based and five at-large positions) was based on a U.S Justice Department mandate which took effect in 1979. At-large council members represent the entire city. Under the city charter once the population in the city limits exceeded 2.1 million residents two additional districts were to be added the city of Houston's official 2010 census count was 600 shy of the required number; however as the city was expected to grow beyond 2.1 million shortly thereafter the two additional districts were added for and the positions filled during the August 2011 elections. The Carnegie Foundation classifies three of Texas's universities as Tier One research institutions: the University of Texas at Austin the Texas A&M University and the University of Houston the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University are flagship universities of the state of Texas Both were established by the Texas Constitution and hold stakes in the Permanent University Fund the state has been putting effort to expand the number of flagship universities by elevating some of its seven institutions designated as "emerging research universities" the two expected to emerge first are the University of Houston and Texas Tech University likely in that order according to discussions on the House floor of the 82nd Texas Legislature. . Atheist 2 The Third Ward became the center for the African-American community in the city by 1979 African Americans were elected to the City Council for the first time since Reconstruction During the time period five African Americans served on city council. . . In August 2005 Houston became a shelter to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans who evacuated from Hurricane Katrina. One month later about 2.5 million Houston-area residents evacuated when Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast leaving little damage to the Houston area This was the largest urban evacuation in the history of the United States in September 2008 Houston was hit by Hurricane Ike As many as 40% of residents refused to leave Galveston Island because they feared the type of traffic problems that had happened after Hurricane Rita. .

. Nowhere were the wartime effects greater than in Houston which in 1940 was a city of 400,000 population dependent on shipping and oil the war dramatically expanded the city's economic base thanks to massive federal spending Energetic entrepreneurs most notably George Brown James Elkins and James Abercrombie landed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal wartime investment in technologically complex facilities Houston oil companies moved from being refiners and became sophisticated producers of petrochemicals Especially important were synthetic rubber and high octane fuel which retained their importance after the war the war moved the natural gas industry from a minor factor to a major energy source; Houston became a major hub when a local firm purchased the federally-financed Inch pipelines Other major growth industries included steel munitions and shipbuilding. .