Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Thanks for a great 2012! 

I don't know about you, but it seems that the end of the year rolls around earlier for each year that I get older. Here we are at the end of 2012 and it feels like we just got started. As a freshman City Council Member, the deluge of daily events of the past year has sometimes felt like drinking water from a fire hose. Your District J staff has been busy. Serving the daily needs of the residents of District J and helping to chart the course of our new district has been a real pleasure. I and the members of the District J staff are grateful for the opportunity to serve you.

For me the hallmark of the end of the year is the celebration of Christmas. Personal memories of celebrations past, whether they are of Christmas Eve services or opening presents around the tree, have become all the more precious with each passing year. The birth of Jesus is a time for me to reconnect with family and friends and focus on the faith we share. I wish that each of you who celebrate the holiday this year will gain new and even better memories to recall in the future. I hope that Santa finds of all of you and delivers the right measure of joy to your households. So, in the words of Saint Nick, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Some members of our community use the time period between Christmas and New Years Day to participate in Kwanzaa celebrations. The name of the celebration is of Swahili origin and means "first fruits of the harvest". For seven days, participants reflect on the meaning of unity, self-determination, responsibility, community economics, purpose, creativity and faith. A joyous Kwanzaa to those of our neighbors who commemorate this celebration.

Finally, the coming of the New Year provides us all an opportunity to start fresh. May your New Years resolutions bring you satisfaction and a sense of success. I wish each of you a Happy, Prosperous 2013!

- Mike Laster, Council Member - District J  

Houston Arboretum First Annual Holiday Arts & Crafts Show   

Join the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center for their first annual Holiday Arts & Crafts Show on Saturday, December 15, from 10am to 4pm.   

This event will feature local arts and crafts vendors as well as the Arboretum's own nature shop wares that cater to the nature lover in all of us. It's the perfect place to shop for holiday gifts and will be running in conjunction with our popular Winter Native Plant Sale - one stop shopping!

If you are interested in participating as a vendor, please contact Iris Taplin at 713-681-8433 or itaplin@houstonarboretum.org.  

Doing Business with HISD 

If you're interested in doing business with the Houston Independent School District and 

HISD's Office of Business Assistance is hosting a series of "How to do Business with the District" workshops in December. Participants will learn about:

• Responding to proposals
• The current  Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) program
• Details on the 2012 bond program

The upcoming workshops will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the following high schools: 

• Monday, December 17 - Bellaire HS, 5100 Maple
• Tuesday, December 18 - Sharpstown HS, 7504 Bissonnet
• Wednesday, December 19 - Westbury HS, 11911 Chimney Rock
• Thursday, December 20 - Booker T. Washington HS, 119 East 39th

For more information, please contact HISD's Office of Business Assistance at 713-556-7273.  

Baker-Ripley Food Drive 

Neighborhood Centers, Inc.'s Baker-Ripley Center is hosting a food drive on Tuesday, December 18, from 10 am to 1 pm.  

All the community is invited to come over to Baker Ripley to receive a Holiday Pantry kindly donated by Houston Food Bank.  Goods will be distributed upon availability from the Houston Food Bank.   

At the same time you will receive important holiday service information to keep your family healthy during the holidays.  

For more information, please call 713-273-3731. 

Meineke Car Care Bowl - Texas Tech vs University of Minnesota 

Texas Tech University and the University of Minnesota have accepted bids to play in the 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. The Red Raiders will represent the Big 12 Conference and the Golden Gophers will represent the Big Ten Conference.  The 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas will be played on Friday, December 28 at 8:00 p.m. at Reliant Stadium and will air on ESPN and ESPN Radio.

For more information, please visit  meinekecarcarebowloftexas.com.  

New Years Eve Houston     

Put on your boogie shoes and ring in 2013 at New Years Eve Houston with Grammy® Award winner KC & the Sunshine Band at Discovery Green and the George R. Brown Convention Center. Starting at 7:00 pm, revelers will enjoy a host of performers and entertainers, a bubble garden, the always-funky illuminated art car parade, ice skating, a variety of food and drinks galore, plus two countdowns. New Year's will arrive early for families with small children and a second arrives at the stroke of midnight with a spectacular fireworks finale atop the George R. Brown Convention Center.

For more information, please visit www.newyearsevelive.com.  

Chevron Houston Marathon & ABB 5K       

The 2013 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will be held Sunday, January 13, 2013. The start and finish line is at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  The 2013 ABB 5K will be held Saturday, January 12, 2013. The 2013 race will mark the 41st running of the Houston Marathon.

Advanced registration for entry is required and quantities are limited.  Volunteers for the Race Crew are still needed.

For more information on registration, group entries, "Race for a Reason," and how to volunteer, please visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com.  

District J Spotlight - Congratulations to the First Priority Health Ambassadors and Community Engineers!     

Last Friday, First Priority convened a special recognition for the inaugural class of the First Priority Health Ambassadors and Community Engineers along with community partners, Neighborhood Centers, Inc., Houston Independent School District and KIPP Schools. These hard working, mostly low-income families took on the responsibility to engage their families, neighbors, church members and friends in creating a health movement, one family at a time. To give thanks, First Priority honored these everyday Houston residents by hosting a recognition lunch and each ambassador was presented a Certificate of Appreciation by First Priority and the City of Houston with a signed certificate from Mayor Annise Parker. They initially had a goal of recruiting 20 ambassadors but were very excited about the response and ended up training 82 ambassadors throughout Houston! Thanks to the ambassadors, community engineers and organizations that helped make this program possible including the following attendees:

• Isy Gabriela Conde, Neighborhood Centers
• Magda Galindo, HISD Migrant Program
• Vanessa Ramirez, KIPP Houston Schools
• Veronica Hernandez, Mayor Parker's Office
• Leah Olive-Nishioka, District J, Council Member Mike Laster's office
• Denise LaRue, Harris Health Systems