VOLUME 130, NO. 39 • ALVIN, TEXAS 77511 BRAZORIA COUNTY’S OLDEST NEWSPAPER SINCE 1890 The Alvin 50¢ SUNDAY,SUN SEPTEMBER 27, 2020 www.alvinsun.net Commissioners Grace Episcopal holding food giveaways throughout October Alvin launches approve $6.25 social media million COVID blitz for Census driven spending Staff Reports By Alex Wukman With the 2020 Census com- [email protected] ing to a close the city of Alvin is planning a full-court press to The Brazoria County Com- make sure all of its residents are missioners’ Court approved counted. $6.25 million in Coronavirus “I have several social media Aid, Relief and Economic Se- posts scheduled for the remain- curity (CARES) Act spending, der of the month,” City Secretary 82 percent of which is going to Dixie Roberts told reporters. medical, public health or quali- Although 59.7 percent of Al- fying payroll expenses. vin's households had completed The commissioner signed off the Census by Sept. 23 the city on the various proposals at their trailed the overall state partici- Sept. 22 meeting. pation rate of 61.9 percent and More than $4.47 million of Brazoria County's response rate the CARES funds has been of 63.1 percent. spent or will be expended before State and city participation Dec. 30, which leaves more than rates describe individuals who $1.77 million of the money un- completed the form on their designated. own, not those reached by door- With nearly $2 million in to-door Census workers. funding available the commis- The participation rates for sioners are also considering a northern Brazoria County all slew of possible projects — in- exceed the rate for Alvin. cluding county funded contact In Pearland 72.9 percent of tracing. residents filled out the Census, So far the majority of contact Manvel's participation rate was tracing performed in Brazoria 68.1 percent and Iowa Colony County has been state funded. has a 68.5 percent response rate. When the subject of contact The response rates for South- tracing came up the commis- A volunteer unloads bags of carrots at a recent food distribution event at Alvin's Grace Episcopal Church, the church has partnered ern Brazoria County cities re- sioners reluctantly agreed to put with the Houston Food Bank to give away food every Thursday in October. sponse rates are a mixed bag. out a request for proposals to de- (Photo Courtesy Grace Episcopal Church/Third Wheel Photography) While Angleton's response velop a locally-funded program. rate is 63.9 percent, only 45.6 Pct. 3 Commissioner Stacy The Houston Food Bank Mo- rette, Grace Episcopal's Com- Family Fellowship and Farm thermometer, Carrette said. percent of Clute's residents have Adams expressed skepticism bile Food Pantry has returned to munity Missioner/Planter. Gals — to distribute the food. Once screened volunteers, are filled out the Census. that contact tracing was neces- Grace Episcopal Church, 200 W. "Last week everyone was able The Mobile Food Pantry is required to wear masks — if a Brazoria has a 49.5 percent sary or effective. Lang St., in Alvin. to get 100 lbs. of food, includ- conducted on a drive-through volunteer doesn't have a mask participation rate, Freeport has “I think we need to hear some Volunteers will be distributing ing one gallon of milk," Carrette basis and about 200 families, one will be provided. 45.2 percent while Lake Jackson more and I personally feel, to- food every Thursday in October said. consisting of around 800 indi- Patrons remain in their cars can boast about a 66.1 percent day if we were approving the from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until Over the last few weeks Grace viduals, are served each week. throughout the whole process completion rate. contract based on what we just the food runs out. Episcopal has partnered with Volunteers are asked to ar- and are only asked for their ad- Census data is used to draw said, I’d say no,” Adams said. The food bank brings about various area churches and orga- rive at least one hour before the dresses and the number of peo- district boundaries for govern- 10,000 to 15,000 lbs. of food nizations including — Breath of food distribution begins for tem- See COVID, Page 2 See FOOD, Page 2 See CENSUS, Page 2 each week, according to Ed Car- Life Community Church, Faith perature checks from a touchless Texas Republican activists, legislators sue Gov. Abbott to overturn early voting extension for Nov. election By Patrick Svitek ing the start date up to Oct. 13 demic. needs to consult the Legislature Miller, but also three state sena- New Braunfels Republican said Texas Tribune from Oct. 19, citing the corona- "Governor Abbott seems to before making such decisions tors and four state representa- she disagreed with the "basic Republican Gov. Greg Abbott virus pandemic. have forgotten that the Texas and that "if ever a special ses- tives, as well as the chairman of construct of the matter" and is facing a lawsuit over his ex- In the lawsuit, filed Sept. 23, Constitution is not a document sion was justified, now is the the Harris County party, Keith asked him to remove her name tension of early voting for the Abbott's intraparty critics say that he consults at his conve- time." Nielsen, and the Republican from the lawsuit. November election from promi- the move defied election law, nience," Jared Woodfill, a law- One of the plaintiffs is Steve National Committeeman from West, who took over the state nent members of his own party which requires early voting to yer for the plaintiffs, said in a Hotze, the Houston conserva- Texas, Robin Armstrong. party this summer, has openly — including state party Chair start on the 17th day before the statement. tive activist who has launched However, after the lawsuit be- expressed disagreement with Allen West, Agriculture Com- election. "It is an uninterrupted charter several lawsuits against Abbott's came public, one of the senators aspects of Abbott's coronavirus missioner Sid Miller and mem- It is the latest legal challenge of governmental structure that coronavirus response that have list on the suit, Donna Camp- handling, including his state- bers of the Texas Legislature. to Abbott's emergency powers, limits the Governor Abbott’s seen minimal success so far. bell, said she had not agreed to wide mask mandate and the In July, Abbott added six days which he has wielded aggres- ability to act as a king." But in the latest lawsuit, he join the challenge. early voting extension. to the early voting period, mov- sively in dealing with the pan- The plaintiffs argue Abbott is joined by not only West and In a letter to Woodfill, the See LAWSUIT, Page 2 ACC Board of Regents slightly lowers property tax rate for 2020-21, homeowners could see $37 in savings By John Tompkins by an 8-1 vote after a public and Operations tax rate is 17.06 However, enrollment for fall ecutive director of institutional The regents approved an ap- Special to the Sun hearing prior to the meeting. cents while the Interest and 2020 is 0.5 percent less than effectiveness and research. plication for a nursing innova- The average home value in the Sinking rate is 1.29 cents. 2018. “Eight percent are in a hybrid tion plan grant and heard a report The Alvin Community Col- ACC taxing district is $235,157 The regents approved the The college increased the format and we have 8 percent on President’s Goal #8, which lege Board of Regents adopted and, assuming that a property’s 2020-21 fiscal year budget in number of online courses for the face-to-face.” deals with diversity and inclu- a $0.1834 tax rate per $100 of value hasn't increased, the new August. In other action, the re- 2020 fall semester for the safety The Regents also approved sion training and workshops. valuation for the 2020-21 fis- rate translates to a reduction in gents heard a report about en- of students and faculty in the on- hiring of faculty for the neuro- Other agenda items dealt with cal year during their meeting on property owners' annual tax bill. rollment at the college for the going COVID-19 pandemic. diagnostics and paralegal pro- paying essential personnel dur- Sept. 17. However, if the average home Fall semester. The schedule provides flexi- grams and approved a campus- ing Hurricane Laura and ap- The new rate is a decline for in the district increased by 10 The estimate for Fall enroll- ble learning choices for students wide copier lease agreement. proving the monthly financial the 2019 rate of $0.18775 per percent between the 2019 and ment was 5,617 with 803,654 through a combination of online Also on the agenda was the reports. The board also approved $100 of valuation, but is still 2020 appraisal, property taxes contact hours. The estimate is and face-to-face instruction. purchase of chairs for the No- the city of Alvin's upgrades to 7.68 percent more than the No- will increase about $37 for the a 6.1 percent decrease from fall “We have 84 percent [of our lan Ryan Center, as well as the Hugh Adams Park. New Revenue Rate. 2020-21 fiscal year. 2019, which — at the time — classes] are occurring online,” purchase of various software The board will hold its next The board approved the rate The school's Maintenance was ACC's highest enrollment. said Pam Shefman, ACC's ex- products.