Larger than the state of California, Hurricane Earl prepared to take a swipe at the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday as residents scrambled to ready themselves ahead of its arrival.

Hurricane warnings and watches stretched from North Carolina to Delaware and into Massachusetts, where a hurricane warning was issued for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the surrounding area. A hurricane watch was also issued for the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Tropical storm watches and warnings were in effect for most other coastal areas between North Carolina and Nova Scotia.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (AKA), Omicron Tau Omega Chapter and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Spring/Woodlands/Huntsville Chapter donated school supplies to Harris Academy an elementary school located in Houston’s historic Acres Homes community.

“Houston’s North community has a great need. As National organizations we are charged with supporting our local schools.” says Kelly Hodges, Chairman of the School Supply Drive. Harris Academy is just one of many schools. Unfortunately we can’t support all of the schools but it we can start with one!”

With a passion for education and community involvement popular actor Idris Elba encouraged TSU students to “stay true to their goal of obtaining a college education.” Elba recently spoke at the historically black Texas Southern University. He told students to stay in school and take advantage of every opportunity given to them to succeed.

The National Hurricane Center expects the storm, which is larger than California, to pass close to North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Thursday night. It is expected to take aim at southeastern New England on Friday night. The storm’s track shifted slightly to the west, closer to North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras. The hurricane center has posted storm watches and warnings for areas as far north as Maine.

Mike Johnston looks at his surroundings and considers some of the good things he has at Houston Christian.

There’s the prime location — the school sits just inside the Sam Houston Tollway on the northwest portion of town nestled between Cy-Fair ISD and Spring Branch ISD.

Police are investigating the death of an 18-year-old man found by his father at a home in southeast Houston on Wednesday.

The body of Patrick Russell Carver was discovered in a home in the 9900 block of Southport near Fuqua about 10:40 a.m., police said.

Police said he had apparent blunt force trauma on his head and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just 375 square feet, the walk-up cafe will offer a pared down menu including breakfast selections such as the Greek Link Sausage Pita with potatoes, grilled onions and peppers and a sunny side up egg ($3.95) and Greek yogurt and honey ($3). Soup, traditional appetizers (hummus, tabuli salad), salads and pita sandwiches (among them souvlaki and chicken kebab) round out the menu. Beer, wine and Nikorita’s are available, as well as soft drinks.

Certainly in this country, Bob Marley’s dreadlocked shadow is cast over all other reggae. His legend is so vast that there are two separate bands featuring former members of his groups: The Wailers, who have the formidable Aston “Family Man” Barrett, one of the greatest bassists of all time, and the Original Wailers (playing Friday night at Scout Bar), who have a pair of great Marley guitarists in Al Anderson and Junior Murvin.

A well connected to an oil and gas production platform caught on fire in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, engulfing the vessel in flames about 100 miles off the central coast of Louisiana and forcing 13 people overboard, Gov. Bobby Jindal said.

All 13 people have been accounted for, said Petty Officer Bill Colclough of the Coast Guard. All are headed to a hospital in Terrebonne Parish, he said.

Colclough told CNN that authorities are trying to determine the cause of the blast, and that the rig apparently is still on fire. Asked whether a leak has resulted from the explosion, he said the rig “was not actively producing any product.”

There are so many vacant lots in Detroit that serious plans are being made to start up family farming there. 90,000 vacant lots and homes boarded up. Detroit suffers record unemployment. Not one chain grocery store still does business in Detroit. Not one national chain retail store. Detroit residents travel to the suburbs to shop, spending $2 billion a year outside the city.

Psalm 30:5 says, “weeping mat endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” That glorious morning will soon come for the family of Bertha Elizabeth Oliver. On August 21, 2010, Oliver made her transition from this sinful world to her heavenly home.

Judge Jacqueline Lucci Smith, the Republican incumbent for Harris County Civil Court At Law No. 2, wants your vote. She’s seeking re-election to this bench and believes her background, education and accomplishments should secure your vote.

Before I get into her background, education and accomplishments, I want to mention one thing or two. First, this commentary normally would have been combined with the July 1 commentary on Cheryl Elliot Thornton, the Democratic challenger for this bench. The original plan was to compare the two in the same commentary.

Lets get down to the real nitty gritty, to resolve the issue of what makes a person becomes a murderer, all one has to do is backtrack to the birth of the murderer, and what were the circumstances during the murderers upbringing which caused a severe suppression of morality, humanity, emotions, compassion, and most importantly, no remorse for the killing of an innocent human being. You see, if you check the background of all murderers, and what’s in the murderers background, and the commonality that connects these murderers with each other, a behavior modification program if initiated in kindergarten through high school before murderers even think about murdering, our nation would have a very low rate of criminal activities, children would stay engaged to the ideas of education and violent crimes would become a rarity.

Very few things make my skin crawl more than listening to someone totally misrepresent the famous “I Have a Dream” speech the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave Aug. 28, 1963.

It’s clear that far too many people haven’t bothered to actually read or listen to the speech. Instead, folks — especially those who likely would have branded King a communist, a socialist, a Marxist or a racist hellbent on destroying America — love to tout Dr. King’s “content of character” line in order to push back against a variety of issues, especially affirmative action.

On Tuesday, August 24, 2010, Houston Style Magazine was on hand at UNCF Houston Leadership Council’s golf appreciation outing at Riverbend County Club. Supporters of UNCF were invited to take a swing on them. Some …

I guess I wouldn’t have much against this group, with a lynch mob mentality except that they are insensitive, dishonest and their motives smack of duplicity. They showed their insensitivity by planning a rally in DC on the anniversary of the very day that Dr. King delivered his speech on inclusiveness, tolerance and a better world 47 years ago. The Tea partiers’ rally was based on “taking America back!” What does that mean? It seems they want the “Good Ol’ Boys” back – large and in charge!

Recognized as an air quality leader in the region, the Port of Houston Authority received the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (H-GAC) Best All-Around Clean Air Leadership Award at its 2010 awards luncheon on August 19.

According to a new survey from Minnesota Public Radio and the Humphrey Institute, 54 percent of Minnesotans aren’t too keen on the governor’s frequent out of state trips, which usually include visits to important presidential nominating states. Only 31 percent of voters approve In even worse news for Pawlenty, Minnesota Republicans apparently would prefer Mitt Romney as their presidential choice than their own governor.

Remember when conservatives were against judicial activism? It seems like just a few weeks ago. In fact, it was a few weeks ago. A federal judge had just struck down California’s ban on gay marriage. National Review, among others, called it a “raw exercise of judicial imperiousness” by a judge who “smuggled in his own moral sentiments.”

Ah, but that was then. This is now. A different judge has ruled that the federal government can no longer fund embryonic stem-cell research. He bases his ruling on the annual Dickey-Wicker Amendment, which forbids federal funding of “research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed.”

Houston’s official July 4th festival, which features the nation’s largest land-based fireworks show, boasted a great turnout, despite the monsoon that doused Southeast Texas during the first few days of July.