Precinct Four Announces Resurgence of Phone Scam Alert

  The recent resurgence in the Star-7-2 telephone scam has prompted the Department to issue the following warning:

  

The Star-7-2 scam involves the victim receiving a call from a stranger posing as telephone technician or a person in a desperate situation such someone who has been arrested.  The caller attempts to invoke a sense of urgency with the victim that requires the victim’s immediate assistance.  The victim is prompted by the caller to forward the call by pressing star-7-2 and entering a number provided by the caller.  The caller may advise that he is not allowed make another call, children are involved and need to be picked up, or any number of similar tactics to convince the victim to participate.  If the victim complies, the victim’s calls are forwarded to another number where the caller’s partner in crime can accept collect calls and third party calls which are all billed to the victim’s telephone phone.  The victim is usually not aware of the scam until he or she receives their phone bill.  

 

If you receive a call from an unknown person similar in nature to the one described above beware.  Advise the caller that you are not willing to participate and hang up the phone.  

Spring Named One Of The Nations Most Affordable Places To Own A Home CNNMoney.com America’s Best Places to Live

Money Magazine features photo submitted by ExploreSpring.com (Spring TX Premier on line Community) of Old Town Spring in Where Homes are Affordable List as Spring makes its first appearance on the list. While its first formal appearance on a national ranking, Spring began its emergence last year making contender lists on CNN Money and U.S. News and World Reports

Spring, TX, July 17, 2008. ExploreSpring.com is proud to announce that Spring has been selected as being one of the most affordable cities in the nation for home ownership. 2008 is Spring’s first year on Money Magazine’s Top 25 “Best Places to Live: Where Homes are Affordable” ranking, released this month. While this is Spring’s 1st year as an official list maker, in 2007 it was a contender on Money Magazine’s Best Places to Live List and U.S. News and World Report’s Best Places to Retire.

Spring’s family purchasing power and median home price were factors that helped make Spring a top Money Magazine pick. According to Money Magazine, “residents who buy real estate in these 25 growing cities see their incomes go the furthest”. The Where homes are affordable list featured 6 Texas cities, 2 of which are in the North Houston Metropolitan area –Spring at #15 and Atascocita at # 19.

The Top 25 Where Homes are Affordable cities as determined by criteria developed by Money Magazine are: 1.Nicholasville, KY - Median home price: $70,000, Median family income: $53,505; 2. Watauga, TX - Median home price: $117,040, Median family income: $73,203; 3. Redan, GA - Median home price: $115,000, Median family income: $71,466; 4. Franklin, IN - Median home price: $103,000, Median family income: $63,555; 5. Clay, NY - Median home price: $124,000, Median family income: $72,488; 6. Plainfield, IN - Median home price: $124,000, Median family income: $72,282; 7.. Marion, IA - Median home price: $131,500, Median family income: $76,576; 8. Omaha, NE - Median home price: $113,000, Median family income: $65,611; 9. Clinton, MI - Median home price: $132,318, Median family income: $76,643; 10. Bellevue, NE - Median home price: $120,000, Median family income: $69,192; 11. Russellville, AR - Median home price: $85,000, Median family income: $48,589; 12. Mission Bend, TX - Median home price: $133,000, Median family income: $75,974;

13. Arnold, MO - Median home price: $119,600; Median family income: $68,165; 14. Des Moines, IA - Median home price: $105,000, Median family income: $59,724; 15. Spring, TX - Median home price: $131,005, Median family income: $74,298 16. Lake Jackson, TX - Median home price: $149,426, Median family income: $84,069; 17. Janesville, WI - Median home price: $124,700, Median family income: $69,706 18. Beavercreek, OH - Median home price: $168,000, Median family income: $93,540; 19. Atascocita, TX - Median home price: $171,462, Median family income: $94,508; 20. West Des Moines, IA - Median home price: $161,500, Median family income: $88,096; 21. Pearl, MS - Median home price: $100,000; Median family income: $54,471 22. La Porte, TX - Median home price: $136,990, Median family income: $74,478; 23. Westerville, OH - Median home price: $184,950, Median family income: $100,385; 24. La Vergne, TN - Median home price: $127,000, Median family income: $68,590; 25. Papillion, NE - Median home price: $169,000, Median family income: $90,921.

Pictured left and on CNNMoney.com is The Happy Peddler boutique in Old Town Spring, submitted to Money Magazine by request from ExploreSpring.com. “Spring is a premier City in Texas. We’ve got it all! We’ve got great weather, a low crime rate, low unemployment, blazing growth, terrific schools, proximity to major attractions, all in a wonderful small town,” commented Elle Carnes.

Spring has experienced impressive growth over the last five years. This is reflective of Spring’s affordability, thriving economy, and great schools. Spring ranked as number 15 out of 25 top ranking affordable cities in the nation. Anyone who would like more information regarding this prestigious recognition please go to Spring’s community web site (www.explorespring.com) or Money Magazine’s website.

About ExploreSpring.com
Explore Spring Texas is a locally owned City Directory for Spring, Texas where you can find all kinds of services - from restaurants and automobiles to shopping and home services. ExploreSpring.com provides a central online location 24 hours a day to find information relevant to the Spring Community. The web site is located at (http://www.explorespring.com.

Why Sign the Spring-Klein Cityhood Petition?

A lot of us are unaware of what risks we face by not being an officially incorporated city. Some of us new to the area, may even assume that we are incorporated because Spring has multiple Zip Codes, Multiple Post Offices, and at first glance all the earmarks of a city. But….if you look up Spring, Texas or Spring, TX on YAHOO or Google Search Engines, what you will find is mostly business listings and links to Old Town Spring. However, one item did stand out in particular, the listing on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, it defines Spring Texas as “a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in northern Harris County, Texas and southern Montgomery County, Texas.” So what is a Census-Designated Place you ask? Again, Wikipedia explans that “A census-designated place (CDP) is a type of place (a concentration of population) identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages. CDPs are communities that lack separate municipal government, but which otherwise physically resemble incorporated places. CDPs are delineated to provide data for settled concentrations of population that are identifiable by name but are not legally incorporated under the laws of the state in which they are located. The boundaries of a CDP have no legal status.” Therefore according to the government and its definition of our beloved home and community it is only recognized for census purposes and falls under the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston and has no legal protection of a government to exercise authority within its boundaries.

The 2000 Census cites the population of Spring Texas CDP as 36,385 people and 3,400,578 people for Harris County. According to Census projections, the 2006 population of Harris County was 3,886,207 people. According to a recent speech by Precinct 4 Constable Ron Hickman, Spring TX makes up 54% of all growth in Harris county. So you figure if in 2000 Spring had 36,385 people and we make up 54% of the estimated growth in Harris County, then Spring has grown 720%!!!!!, THAT WOULD MAKE US THE LARGEST GROWING CITY IN TEXAS AND THE 8TH LARGEST CITY, behind Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, and Arlington respectively. That’s larger than Tallahassee, FL or Tacoma, WA and comparable to cities like Arlington, VA or Birmingham, AL.

So back to my original question, Why sign the petition?

1. Because we are unicorporated and have no control over what types of businesses go where. I remember just over 3 years ago a tar factory intended to build next to Northgate Crossing and right behind Old Town Spring. And while they followed the letter of the law in posting notifications, they undermined the spirit of the law by posting notifications in the Southern half of Harris County and smaller print newspapers. It wasn’t until Rep. Riddle held a town hall meeting that residents of Spring became aware of this and protested, and was able to shame the company into changing its plans. We need our own zoning committee!
2. Because we could we are growing faster than any other city in Texas and need to protect our schools and our children. 
3. Because we run the risk of slowly being chopped off in bits and pieces as our extraterritorial jurisdictor sees fit. I don’t know this for a fact, it was told to me that the FM 1960 area West of I-45 was once a Spring zip code, which would explain why we are often clumped in with that area as North or Northwest Houston and as you can see it now has a Houston Zip Code.
4. So we can have our community services, police department, water department, community center, hospitals, and fire departments. I know we have some of these services in place, but we are subject to other taxes that do not pour directly into our community, but are dispursed throughout the county.
5. So we can have some say over our property and sales tax.
6. JUST SO WE CAN HAVE A VOICE!

I don’t know about you, but I am getting tired of being considered a no mans land. Its like we don’t exist. We are home to the only Amusement Park in the Houston Metropolitan Area, have a historical landmark in Old Town Spring, libraries, museums, and excellent schools. We need to keep Spring a beautiful and wonderful residential community. But if we don’t stand up and speak out, we will soon lose our voice because we risk becoming a small part of a much bigger city. Now I don’t know if that is on the table at the moment or not. But Kingwood probably wasn’t expecting it when it hit them either. Let’s be proactive!. Let’s make our position known. We are Spring-Klein Texas and we want to control our future! So please sign the petition, pass the word and if you’d like to host a copy on your site. Post a comment here and I’ll be more than happy to send it to you.

Spring Klein Petition

Enter your name:

Display as “Anonymous”

Click here to read this petition.

Newest 10 of 10 signatures

10	bertha brantley	6/30
9	Samantha Weesner	6/25
8	Karen Krieger	6/23
7	Paul Proske	6/23
6	Anonymous	6/21
5	Anonymous	6/20
4	Staci Polonski	6/19
3	Anonymous	6/19
2	Clark Blair	6/19
1	dayakar moparty	6/19

To sign the petition in person visit one of these locations:

* Accelerated Paint and Body, 21714 I45 North, 77373
* Najjias Fine Furniture (6526 FM2920)
* Templeton Insurance Agency, 21120 Spring Towne Drive, Spring, 77388
* Alexander’s Academy, 625 Brandt (Old Town Spring), 77373
* Smoothie Factory(2920/Kuykendahl, Chase bank parking lot)
* Spinzers Corner Store (Kuykendahl/Willow Forest)

Petition powered by ThePetitionSite.com

Sources:

http://factfinder.census.gov

 

 

http://factfinder.census.gov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring%2C_Texas  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterritorial_jurisdiction  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census-designated_place

Celebrate Christmas Early with Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber to hold their first event to promote Spring, Texas and introduce area residents to local businesses with a festive celebration

Spring, TX – June 16, 2008 – The Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce (SKCC) will hold their first annual Christmas in July banquet with a live auction on Friday, July 25, 2008 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  All proceeds from the auction will be to support the startup of the Chamber, a not-for-profit organization (application pending) that operates to promote business development, a strong community and superior quality of life in Spring and Klein Texas .

To be held at the Augusta Pines Savannahs in Spring, Texas , the event will have all the ambience and air of Christmas complete with dinner, dancing, holiday decor and live music. In its first year the Chamber hopes to increase awareness about the Chamber, boost its current membership by 20%, and raise $5,000 for its startup year.

The live auction will feature a host of items ranging from household products and baked goods to sports memorabilia and event tickets. Running the auction will be Mark Moore with Cheray Auctioneers, License # 15019, who is volunteering his time in support of the chamber.  Special guests are expected throughout the evening to celebrate the season with Spring business owners and residents.

“We are so excited to be creating an organization dedicated to the well being of the Spring Klein area. We want to nurture it and preserve its beauty, while embracing the enormous growth we are experiencing,” said Elle Carnes, Chairman of the banquet.

Tickets are on sale now at $50 for chamber members and $55 for non-members. SKCC is soliciting donations for door prizes and auction items, as well as underwriters and advertisers for the event program.  If you would like to contribute or attend the auction, please visit us online at www.springkleinchamber.org or contact Elle Carnes, Banquet Chair, via email info@springkleinchamber.org or phone at (281) 912-1107.

Still Time to Enter your Favorite Photo and Win!!!

Whether photography is your hobby, or just an occasional pastime, we invite you to participate in ExploreSpring.com’s photo contest. To enter visit ExploreSpring.com at http://www.explorespring.com/pages/Photo_Contest click [Submit a Photo] at the bottom of the page and upload your photo and description. That’s it, it is that simple. The $10 Visa Gift Card and a custom T-Shirt with your winning photo on it will be awarded to the photo with the most votes at midnight on July 31, 2008. This month’s contest is wide open with only 1 entry thus far, so come make it interesting and join us online. The winner will be featured on our homepage, in our newsletter, and contest winner page.

 

Rep. Riddle on Margin’s Tax

While browsing the blogs today (Thursday, June 05), I found myself lingering over Jason Embry’s “Postcards from the Lege” regarding the state’s margins tax.  His overall assessment of the attitudes regarding the margins tax were generally right on.  He did, however, breeze straight through a point I think could use a little more discussion.  He wrote “in the end, the plan was a net tax cut, because it cut more money in property taxes than it was projected to raise.”

True, the Texas Tax Reform Commission made all kinds of claims about the vast savings  both businesses and citizens would realize under this new, magical margins tax when it was pressed upon legislators in 2007.  But even in the midst of the campaign to earn votes for the plan, legislators like myself, who opposed the tax from its inception, knew the estimates were inaccurate and the rhetoric was skewed. 

The state never had in mind a goal of achieving a net tax cut, because that would mean that the state would have less to spend.  In fact, lawmakers created two other taxes, the cigarette tax and the motor-vehicle tax, just to make sure we didn’t create a deficit.  Despite repeated promises from the Commission that most businesses would somehow end up paying less while the state would end up reaping more, the math never made sense.  All the while, we were sitting on top of an $8 billion surplus with only $6 billion needed to pay for property tax reductions. Yet the legislature chose to create new taxes rather than giving back what the state had overcharged. 

Now, with ten days left before businesses have to write a check for their new taxes, it’s obvious that someone in the state has to be seeing a huge net tax increase.  The comptroller estimates that this new margins tax is going to generate $11.9 billion dollars, more than twice what the old franchise tax would have generated. 

So whose footing the bill?  Not the big corporations who were exploiting the loopholes in the old franchise tax.  This time around, it’s small business owners, who make up 97 percent of the all the businesses in Texas.  Recent surveys by the National Federation of Independent Business indicate that as much as 84 percent  of small business owners are going to see their tax burden increase by more than 100 percent, and more than 40 percent of those who saw an increase in their state tax liability will now face an increase of more than 500 percent over their previous bill.   

But businesses will see a huge reduction in property taxes, right?  Doesn’t look like it.  In Harris County alone last year, commercial appraisals were up more than 30 percent, already wiping out any supposed savings from the tax-swap.  Dallas County reports increases of more than 20 percent.  In Travis County, as reported by the Statesman, commercial appraisals are up almost 10 percent.  No net reductions to be found there.  Just more fuel added to a Texas-size tax-and-spend machine.

With an overall budget of more than $160 billion and surpluses that constantly hover in the tens of billions of dollars, Texas has had every opportunity to create real net tax cuts for both our small  businesses and our private citizens by identifying government waste and reducing how much the state spends.  Instead, the legislature has chosen to single out the very backbone of our economy, the small businessperson, and ask them to give 500 percent more than they are already contributing to state coffers.  If we don’t see the error of this new tax and take steps to fix it, or better yet, repeal it altogether, there won’t be any small businesses left to tax. 

 

Debbie Riddle

State Representative

District 150