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🌱 Patch AM: Is Union Pacific’s “monitoring” enough for this southeast Houston block?

Coming up on the Houston Patch calendar: Zoom-delivered Japanese Classes

Saturday September 12th Patch AM (Patch graphic)

Good morning Houston! Your connection to what's happening around town is here. Take a sip of coffee and read on. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Is Union Pacific's "monitoring" enough for this southeast Houston block?
  • Struggling with Houston home prices? See which buyers can get big discounts.
  • Need a passport fast? See how Houston residents can get help today.

Also on today's calendar: Zoom-delivered Japanese Classes and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What did the tractor say to the plow? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Saturday: Humid; a stray p.m. t-storm, with a high of 95 and low of 77 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
  • Sunday: Humid; a stray p.m. t-storm, temps: high: 93, low: 78.
  • Monday: A t-storm around in the p.m., with a high of 92 and low of 77 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Southeast Houston neighborhood, concerned over future wild vegetation challenges one month after Union Pacific clearing (click2houston.com) — A southeast Houston homeowner on North Shady Creek Street is again battling fast-growing vegetation along a Union Pacific rail line that already damaged his fence once. After TV station 2 Helps You and Mustang Fencing helped stabilize the fence, new overgrowth is raising fresh worries about future damage. Union Pacific says vegetation control is ongoing and will continue monitoring the Shady Creek area.
   

2. Higher mortgage rates are squeezing Houston homebuyers. Here's where help may be available. (click2houston.com) — Houstonians facing nearly 7% mortgage rates still have options to buy, including grants, down-payment assistance, and seller credits that can lower upfront costs or monthly payments. Harris County is even offering deeply discounted new homes in north Harris County for qualifying lower-income buyers, while both the county and City of Houston run additional assistance programs with limited funding.
   

3. Congressman Al Green to Host Passport Day with the Houston Business Development, Inc. (house.gov) — If you need a passport or renewal in Houston, Congressman Al Green is hosting a Passport Day today, Sept. 12, at Houston Business Development, Inc. on Griggs Road. U.S. State Department staff will be on-site from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help with applications, renewals, and travel questions, with both appointments and walk-ins accepted.
   

4. Across the Houston region, families, first responders and veterans remember 9 (houstonpublicmedia.org) — Across Houston, local leaders, first responders, veterans, and families gathered to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, including a remembrance at Lauren's Garden in Market Square Park honoring native Houstonian Lauren Catuzzi-Grandcolas. Additional ceremonies at the Fort Bend County courthouse featured honor guards, flag-folding, and reflections on the lasting cost of freedom and the importance of remembering those who never came home.
   

5. Your chance to win a pair of tickets to Texans vs Benglas (audacy.com) — You can text in to 100.3 The Bull next week for a shot at free tickets to the Texans vs. Cincinnati game, plus tailgate passes, with pickup required at the station's Houston office. Be sure you've got an email address and a smartphone that can run a mobile ticketing app, or you won't be able to use the prize if you win.
   

📸 Around Houston

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • DQ Restaurants In Texas Celebrate National Cheeseburger Day —Mary Coker Read on Patch
  • Feel good, true story alert: Yesterday I saw a man walking his dog.
    The dog was not on a leash , she was in a Utility Wagon. I couldn't resist giving him the respect he gave his dog, so I pulled up to the curb and… (Nextdoor Harvest Bend The Village)
  • I remember this burn from being burned by a car's exhaust crossover pipe when rescuing a kitten from the undercarriage frame.
    I heard the kitten crying while walking out the gas station store and the sound kept moving and I figured out that it was coming from a moving car… (Nextdoor Providence at Champions)
  • MyJobsCorner posted a job opening for Material Handler Jobs: Hiring Immediately! Full Time / Part Time - $18-$36/Hr in Houston. Apply here.
  • Memorial Hermann posted a job opening for Patient Access Rep - ER (FT, 7p-7a) in Houston. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Houston here.

Ok Houston! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: Hold me close John Deere. (Thank you Jenny H. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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