The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced it has allocated $500,000 to Galveston’s Coastal Barrier Project, also known as Ike Dike, a crucial project that aims to mitigate crippling flooding from catastrophic storm surges in vulnerable communities along the coastline.   The first round of funding will facilitate the preconstruction engineering and design phase of the first segment of the Bolivar Peninsula and West Bay Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Shoreline and Island Protection feature, commonly referred to as Ecosystem Restoration feature G-28, according to the Gulf Coast Protection District.   Click to expand The project includes the Galveston Bay Storm Surge Barrier System, which encompasses eight Gulf and Bay defense projects. Among these is the Bolivar Roads Gate System, a two-mile-long closure structure situated between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula. The barrier is designed to diminish storm surge volumes entering the bay, offering direct protection against storm surges for communities residing on the barrier island.  Meanwhile, the West Bay Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Shoreline and Island Protection portion of the project will focus on coastal restoration, including beach and dune segments on Bolivar Peninsula and West Galveston Island. It will also protect critical fish and wildlife habitat against coastal storms and erosion processes.  In addition to enhancing coastal resilience and protecting vulnerable communities from storm surges, this critical project will save tens of billions of dollars in disaster recovery funding and safeguard the Houston Ship Channel, which serves as an economic engine helping to power the region and nation.  “The Coastal Texas Project is one of the largest projects in the history of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” said Col. Rhett A. Blackmon, USACE Galveston District commander, in a statement. “This project is important to the nation for many reasons. Not only will it reduce risk to the vulnerable populations along the Texas coast, but it will also protect vital ecosystems and economically critical infrastructure vital to the U.S. supply chain and the many global industries located here.”  The Greater Houston Partnership has actively advocated to propel the Coastal Texas Project and other initiatives like it forward for years. The organization most recently visited Washington, D.C., to advocate for the use of funds from the new Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program, which would provide billions of dollars for flood mitigation projects in the Houston region.  The Houston region consistently works to identify flood mitigation solutions and funding opportunities. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted Harris County and the Houston-Galveston Area Council over $10 million to bolster transportation infrastructure projects that aim to enhance resiliency against climate change.  Learn more about the Coastal Texas Project. 

The Greater Houston Partnership has launched the Best Place for Working Parents®, an online self-assessment enabling local business leaders to determine whether their organization qualifies to earn the designation. Originating in Fort Worth in 2020, the confidential online business self-assessment allows businesses of all sizes tout innovative practices that are helping today’s working parents provide for their families, and adapt and thrive at work during extraordinary times. The assessment highlights the top 10 research-backed policies proven to benefit working parents and businesses’ bottom line. The assessment also provides a real-time dashboard of how a business fares against other businesses of like size and industry across each of the top 10 family-friendly practices in their region. While family-friendly policies have a direct impact on working parents, research shows that there is also a serious business case for being family-friendly: 83% of millennials would leave one job for another with stronger family-friendly support. Replacing an employee costs an employer six to nine months of that employee’s salary. Over 60% of working parents said child care issues have caused them to miss work. Employers lose $13 billion annually due to child care challenges faced by their workforce.    As the lead organization in the Houston region, the Partnership encourages businesses to participate in the assessment and learn more about the effectiveness of their policies. The self-assessment offers real-time designations to businesses of all sizes whose family-friendly policies qualify through a first-of-its-kind, 3-minute online self-assessment. The Best Place for Working Parents® designation for qualifying businesses can be accessed at business.bestplace4workingparents.com. View these additional resources to learn more about the assessment and why it's important.  Case Studies The Family-Friendly Initiative Participating Workplaces Gaining a Competitive Edge through Family-Friendly Policies 2023 National Trends Report “Getting Back to Work” Research Report 2024 National Summit