All university students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to visit the Community Service Fair and connect with over 20 non-profit agencies from the Houston and Galveston areas. This is a great opportunity to learn more about some of the major non-profits as well as some of the lesser-known agencies.

Those new to volunteering and a little unsure about the experience, consider the many benefits.

“Volunteering fosters a sense of pride in knowing you are giving selflessly of your time,” said Jennifer Clark, assistant director of Student Life –The Center for Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLICE). “You can learn so many valuable skills in teamwork and leadership, and it also connects you to your community.”

Some of the local agencies that will be attending include:

• Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees (PAIR) Houston
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston
• Krist Samaritan Center
• Resource and Crisis Center of Galveston County, Inc.
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters
• Bay Area Turning Point
• Moody Gardens
• Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center-Be the Match
• Baytown Habitat for Humanity , Inc. / Bay Area Houston Habitat for Humanity, Inc.
• Houston Food Bank

The Signal broadcast reporter Carissa Puls and videographer Sophia Stewart traveled down to Galveston to check out the 2011 Mardi Gras celebration, which took place on the island Feb. 25-March 8.

The Signal broadcast reporter Carissa Puls and videographer Sophia Stewart traveled down to Galveston to check out the 2011 Mardi Gras celebration, which took place on the island Feb. 25-March 8.

The Signal

Come See My Dead Person kicked off Halloween festivities during the Fourth Annual Murder Masquerade Ball in Galveston, Oct. 30. Photo by Jessica Faz.

Packing the tiny, dark club, ghosts and ghouls and the occasional naughty nurse stand shoulder to shoulder. Green strobe lights cast an eerie glow upon the crowd, flickering in their wild eyes.

The audience takes a collective breath as a wicked violin floods the plains of their minds with its haunting sound. In an instant, the club explodes with music.

The air is electric. The crowd ignites. The eight-man-machine is alive.

That was the scene marking Come See My Dead Person’s performance at the Fourth Annual Murder Masquerade Ball hosted by the band and Hazy Daze smoke shop Oct. 30 on Post Office Street in Galveston.

Gaining increasing notoriety for their unique fusion of multiple genres, CSMDP is an eight-man band from the Texas City area consisting of two electric guitars, an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, banjo, mandolin, violin and drums.

“I tell people their music is Gypsy Folk, with a mandolin and fiddle,” said Wrecks Bell, owner of the Old Quarter Acoustic Café, also in Galveston. “There isn’t just one genre that describes them completely. The harmonies from two great, barrel-chested vocalists are one of the things that set this band apart.”

Four years ago, CSMDP started out playing death-metal and then progressed to their current blend of gypsy, rock and punk.

“It’s Americana with a folk influence,” drummer Sean Martinez said.

Somewhere along the line, the band picked up their unique moniker which Martinez likes to claim originated from their affinity for traveling to gigs with a cadaver in their trunk.

“In most cases, when asked I tend to give a new and unique origin,” guitarist Roy Martinez said. “I’ve been asked a handful of times on the record, and I’m pretty sure that each story is different. Some of them are based on actual occurrences and others are a bit more … far-fetched.”

The origin of their name has been so shrouded in mystery and speculation that CSMDP has penned a ‘formal response’ on their recently implemented blog.

“There really isn’t a single decisive moment that marked the birth of our name,” Roy Martinez said. “It’s yet another off-beat amalgamation of all the minds contributing to our … well, I guess technically we are a band, but I almost said ‘culture’. When we get together, things just happen. We often can’t quantify it or even retrace our steps back.”

“In addition to the band’s unique style and name, CSMDP has a knack for enthralling their audience,” said Mark Moss, radio station operations supervisor for KACC. “These guys are all well seasoned musicians. They start out wide-open and they speed up from there. Their energy is infectious.”

Experience CSMDP in action at the Rudyard’s British Pub located at 2010 Waugh Dr., Houston 8 p.m. Nov. 8 and 2 a.m. Nov. 9.

“Crowds go wild for these guys’ very up-tempo sound,” Bell said. “They’re guaranteed to get your heart rate up and your blood pumping.”

For more information, go to www.CSMDP.com.

Come See My Dead Person kicked off Halloween festivities during the Fourth Annual Murder Masquerade Ball in Galveston, TX, Oct. 30, 2010. Photographer: Jessica Faz

The Signal

Two years after Hurricane Ike swept through Galveston causing billions of dollars in damage, the island is forced to defend itself due to a media blog labeling it as one of America’s top 10 dead cities.

Douglas McIntyre, editor of 24/7 Wall St. and former editor-in-chief and publisher of Financial World magazine, recently posted an article on his blog, “America’s Ten Dead Cities: From Detroit To New Orleans,” that named Galveston as number 10.

The city of Galveston discredits McIntyre’s label of being a dead city and feels targeted since recovery is still in early phases post Ike.

“This was an incorrect characterization,” Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski said.  “If [McIntyre] would have visited the city and did better research, he would have seen we have never been more alive.”

Galveston has been branded a dead city, but residents and city officials say the data does not support this.

McIntyre’s interpretation of a dead city is when a loss of industry, tax base and a decrease in population can be measured.

“Galveston was chosen based on a 60 to 70 year demise,” McIntyre said.  “It wasn’t germane to one incident.”

“On paper you can look at the damage but without making a trip to the island, you cannot get a good sense of the community,” said Alicia Cahill, public information officer for the city of Galveston.  “I don’t think population growth is necessarily the only indicator on community vibrancy or health.”

McIntyre’s research is based on past U.S. Census Bureau and Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports where future incomes for the restoration of the city such as allocations specifically for business, housing, medical and port recovery improvements were not considered.

“We have federal and disaster funds that Congress has allocated for our infrastructure,” Jaworski said.  “We will be in recovery for the next three to five years.”

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston received approximately $960 million dollars in damage due to the storm causing 2,400 job terminations.

Since then, UTMB has been able to replenish a fraction of those lost jobs. However, renovations and restorations for the hospital and school are still in  progress.

“The local, state and federal governments are investing up to a billion dollars to rebuild this institution,” said Raul Reyes, director of media relations for UTMB. “By the end of this year we are going to have 1000 contract workers all over the campus doing all kind of projects.”

After Hurricane Ike, residents were not allowed back on the island for approximately two weeks due to lack of electricity, gas and drinking water.  Cahill explains one of the infrastructure projects the city is working on is a $75 million waste water treatment plan.

“One of the things we can do to help our citizens get back to their homes, assess their property and assess the damage, is to repair our infrastructure and put it into a commission or standard so this won’t ever happen again,” Cahill said.

McIntyre’s article also claims that Galveston’s tourism industry was set back and makes no apologies for the possibility that his argument may contribute to loss of revenue for the city.

“All the cities on the list are going to be upset because they may lose hotel reservations, but the fact is each city on the list has lost populations and the cities have shrunk,” McIntyre said.

The Hotel Galvez has been a part of Galveston’s history since the early 1900s, and is frequented by many tourists who visit the island.

“Our properties have not seen any kind of affect because of that blog on our hotel room reservations,” said Christine Hopkins, public relations manager for The Hotel Galvez.  “The hotel is doing very well; we have not been impacted in that way.”

Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau released a report stating hotel occupancy tax increased 20 percent in May, 34 percent in June and 32 percent in July over the same months in 2009.

James W. Little, owner of Murdoch’s, a historic business that has been part of the island for more than 100 years, said his business has increased by 12-13 percent this year.

“We’ve had the best year we’ve ever had since we’ve been in business,” Little said.  “I’ve never seen crowds this good on the beach.”

Other cities listed in McIntyre’s article, in numerical order, include: Buffalo, NY; Flint, MI; Hartford, CT; Cleveland; Detroit; Albany, NY; Atlantic City, NJ and Allentown, PA. The article can be found at www.247wallst.com.

After surviving two catastrophic storms, Galveston’s community and city officials stand firm on their conviction that Galveston is a resilient city that can overcome any natural disaster or media branding.

“I encourage Douglas McIntyre to come out and visit Galveston and see for himself,” Cahill said.  “We have a history of storms hitting the island, damaging the island, damaging the community, but we also have a history of picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off and getting back to business.”

Two years after Hurricane Ike, blogger Douglas McIntyre dubbed the city of Galveston No. 10 on a list of America’s top 10 dead cities on his blog, 24/7 Wall Street.

This label comes as a bit of a surprise to many Galveston and Houston area residents who are still working diligently to overcome the aftermath of Ike.

McIntyre, the former editor-in-chief of Financial World magazine, cites the loss of industry, tax base and decrease in population that Galveston has seen in the past six or seven decades as his primary reasons for including Galveston on the list.

However, by looking primarily at the U.S. Census and other statistical reports, McIntyre is not accurately taking into account the resilience of Galvestonians and other Gulf Coast residents.

While Mcintyre focuses on the past 60 to 70 years, Galveston has faced overcoming extensive damages during various periods of rebuilding since the Great Storm hit in 1900. Hurricanes have wrought havoc on the island in approximate 20-year intervals ever since. The most recent storm, Hurricane Ike, even caused enough turmoil to reach the status of the original Great Storm.

Sources of damage to the island include several major storms, such as Hurricane Carla in 1961, Alicia in 1983 and Ike in 2008. It is true that the University of Texas Medical Branch, the seventh-largest employer in the Houston-Galveston area and the largest employer in Galveston, experienced great financial losses from Ike. Many jobs were scaled back and more than 3,800 full-time jobs were cut causing the city to almost lose its medical branch of the economy.

In addition, the island took a hit on its tourism industry because of storm damage and the overall economic downturn. As a sister to the tourist industry, the Port of Galveston, which is owned and operated by the city of Galveston, suffered costly damage to its terminal as well.

After suffering from all this trauma, it is awe-inspiring to see that Galveston and other Gulf Coast communities have without a doubt made impressive strides in recovery over the past two years. Galveston College, UTMB’s neighboring institution, shows the signs of recovery with its enrollment numbers, which stood at 2,229 students in fall 2008, and fell to 2,167 students enrolled in fall 2009 during the peak reconstruction post Ike. Two years following Hurricane Ike, however, enrollment has increased to 2,275 registered students with more continuing to register for this term.

Galveston is now ranked as the fourth- busiest cruise port in the U.S., even after the sustained damages, and currently generates $1.1 billion in direct spending in Texas. Plans for 2011 include two new cruise ships, the Carnival Magic and the Carnival Triumph, that will begin to dock along the island’s waterfront.

Despite losses, UTMB is making a comeback after receiving more than $1 billion from FEMA for repairs and renovation. Projections show that by the end of this year, nearly 1,000 contract workers will be employed and rebuilding UTMB. Old buildings will be demolished to make room for the university’s future expansion plans, which include a more advanced academic medical center. In addition, all four UTMB schools are experiencing increases in enrollment.

Five million annual visitors generate more than $800 million in tourism revenue for the city. The tourism industry’s revenue should only continue to grow as popular tourist attractions, including Moody Garden’s Palm Beach and Rainforest Pyramid, encourage visitors with the debut of enhancements planned for 2011.

Galveston was only one of many cities and communities to be devastated by hurricanes in the past decade. New Orleans was listed as No. 5 on McIntyre’s list. Just as the communities of New Orleans, Biloxi, Pensacola, and other Gulf Coast cities continue to recover from catastrophic natural disasters, so shall Galveston, Shoreacres, Bacliff and other Texas cities. The resilience of communities across the Gulf Coast will not waiver in the wake of disaster or die because of the aspersions from the blogosphere.

The Signal Staff

The Historic Downtown Strand Seaport Partnership held its 3rd annual Santa by the Sea Nov. 28 from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Santa Claus’s sleigh touched down in Galveston to help bring in the holiday season and to wish a very Merry Christmas to all the boys and girls in the area, who, he said, have been “very, very good this year.”

This year Santa Claus heard requests for everything from toys to puppy dogs to a pet mouse.

“I want a puppy,” said Hunter Peck, 4, who plans to name his puppy Penelope.  Hunter, an outgoing youngster, was the very first one out of his group to sit on Santa’s lap and announce to Santa what he wanted for Christmas. He also said he had been “very, very good this year.”

“I want an Erector set,” said Garret Terpstra, 8.

He enjoys using the metal beams, screws, nuts and bolts to build “cool new designs” like Ferris wheels, cranes and skyscrapers.

Santa was interested in hearing all the children’s requests. In fact he had a special request himself: “please do not rush me with each kid,” Santa said.
He wanted enough time to allow all the children to tell him what they have been waiting to tell him all year.

“I’m really happy for kids to get a good education and do good in school and I’m very proud of all the girls and boys,” Santa Claus said. “If you do good in school and are good at home you are more likely to get all the presents you want, so that’s why it’s so important to mind your p’s and q’s during the year.”

The Nesquik Bunny, known as Chip, from the Nestle Toll House Café in downtown Galveston, was also on hand to add some holiday cheer for the children.  Chip had coupons for the kids to stop by after visiting with Santa to get a free treat at the Nestle Toll House Café.

“This is a very good event for families to come out and see Santa for free and take their own pictures, and they don’t have to pay for them,” said Lesley Sommer, executive director of the Partnership. “We have had a surprisingly good turn out this year.”

After Santa by the Sea, Santa traveled to Saengerfest Park for the official downtown tree lighting, which took place at 7 p.m. at 23rd Street on The Strand.  If you missed Santa by the Sea this year, the Partnership holds this event every year.  For more information, visit www.downtowngalveston.org.

The Partnership is a non profit corporation that was established in 1984 to help restore the economic vitality and physical attractiveness of historic downtown Galveston, also referred to as the central business district.

This 70-plus square block district’s boundaries are 19th Street (eastern), 26th Street (western), Broadway (southern) and the waterfront (northern, Piers 19-25).

The Partnership has helped to improve the district’s appearance by sponsoring cleaning initiatives and promoting the benefits of affirmative building and site maintenance.  As most of the historic buildings in the district are now restored and occupied, the Partnership’s emphasis has shifted toward the promotion of downtown business, i.e., staging events to draw more tourists and residents into the district.

Videographer: Vivian Volirakis
Reporter: Lesli Cokley
Special thanks to Lesley Sommers and Santa

Santa by the Sea is an annual event in Galveston that lets children have an opportunity to visit Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas presents.

Videographer: Vivian Volirakis

Reporter: Lesli Cokley

Special thanks to Lesley Sommers and Santa