Houston launches new initiative to equip city facilities with generators
Mayor John Whitmire on Tuesday officially rolled out Houston’s plan to install generators at critical city facilities before the end of his first term as the city braces itself for another above-normal hurricane season. Whitmire delivered the news alongside U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner at Houston’s West Gray Multi-Service Center. The plan, called the Power […]
With New Microgrid Funding, Texas Seeks to Avoid the Devastation of Storms Like Winter Storm Uri
With $1.8 billion in new state funding, Texas has opened up opportunities for microgrid providers that can serve small critical facilities. In Early 2021, Winter Storm Uri knocked out power to two out of three Texans and shut off water to nearly half. The Texas Department of Public Health linked 210 deaths to the deep freeze. Now […]
Why Government Matters
Since the launch of the Department of Government Efficiency, I’ve been meaning to write a piece about, well, “government efficiency.” For those people who have had the privilege to work in the public sector, we know the breadth and depth of the challenges that our country faces and the commitment to service that enables public […]
Houston Public Media: COVID-19, A Year Later: How Houston Is Learning And Growing Through A Global Pandemic – Copy
It will likely be weeks before the public gets a full picture of just how much devastation Hurricane Helene left across the southeastern U.S. There are still areas without power, roads blocked, and a rising death toll with hundreds unaccounted for. Angela Blanchard is the Chief Recovery and Resilience Officer for the City of Houston. […]
Houston Public Media: COVID-19, A Year Later: How Houston Is Learning And Growing Through A Global Pandemic
Houstonians have experienced disaster after disaster — from hurricanes and a winter freeze, to chemical plant explosions, to a global pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. Angela Blanchard studies disaster response, and she says we’re experiencing “an era of upheaval” in our region. “Part of what we’re seeing now as people come to this kind […]
Houston Chronicle: Dealing with Houston’s fear of COVID-19 and a possible rebellion
Angela posted a dramatic open letter to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She wrote that unless they begin bringing more of Houston’s other leaders into a disaster-recovery council, they risk facing a rebellion by business people and others around the region. “You ordered us home to save lives,” Blanchard wrote. […]
Houston Chronicle: ‘This is what we dread’
Disaster expert Angela Blanchard on COVID-19 and the Houston economy. Click here to read the interview which has been edited for clarity and length. You can hear a longer version — as well as Blanchard’s Cajun accent — in the Chronicle’s new podcast, Coronavirus Chronicle.
ZDNet: Words of wisdom for leaders battling the COVID-19 pandemic
Angela Blanchard is a globally recognized expert practitioner in community development, disaster recovery, and long-term integration for immigrants and refugees, as well as an award-winning crisis management leader. Blanchard shares words of wisdom from disasters for leaders who are battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here for the full story.
Houston Chronicle: ‘Stay away from groups’
Earlier this week, we asked her about the Houston area’s response to COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Shortly after the Q&A originally published, the city of Houston issued a emergency health declaration. Now, with the situation changing quickly, The Houston Chronicle asked Angela for this update.
Houston Chronicle: ‘This is all going to get a lot more difficult before it gets better.’
This weekend, Blanchard shared her thoughts on Houston’s need to shelter in place — a move city and county officials have not yet made — with journalist Lisa Gray. Click here to read their conversation.