M-Term: Interning for Council Member Abbie Kamin- Tuesday- Planned Parenthood and Public Session

 Tuesday- Planned Parenthood and Public Session

    Today was packed with super important meetings and witnessing the first hour and a half of Public Session. The day started by meeting with Yucari Ramirez, who is the director of constituent services. We met for around a half hour, where she told me all about what she does, and what she is in charge of. She also taught me about 311 which is an organization that deals with problems in the city, anyone can report things to 311, from street issues to neighbor issues. Yucari gets tons of emails about problems citizens are having, and she explained to me that lots of these people have to report them to 311, but instead reach out to her, so there is a constant back and forth between her and citizens. After meeting with her, I read the annual report of 2022. The annual report goes over all the funding that District C did in 2022, there was a big focus on safety, which makes sense considering CM Kamin is also chair of Public Safety and Homeland Security. After reading that, I read about the project on Montrose including the oak trees. Mayor Whitmire wants to expand bike paths and sidewalks along montrose, but this project would have to cut down oak trees that have been there for hundreds of years. The current plan is to replace these trees with hundreds of new oak trees, but residents think that tearing down these trees would be disgracing Montrose’s history. While I was reading about the trees, the other intern Cole, who is a student at University of Houston, came in and I met him. He told me a little about what he does, and explained GSI, which stands for Green Stormwater Infrastructure.  The idea of GSI is infrastructure that mimics natural flood control, like urban forests, and constructed wetlands. After talking to Cole, Yucari came and got me so we could go get my badge. This is very exciting because it means I can get into the office without help, I do not have to go through security, and I have access to free parking. We were in a rush because we had 10 minutes to get the badge and get back in time for a meeting. The badge was in a different office building, so we had to go through the tunnels to get it, and then we had to take a picture for my badge. Since we were in such a rush the picture it horrible, but that’s not the point. We ran back to the office, but I did miss about five minutes of the meeting. It was fine though because the meeting was just a check in anyways. After that, I went into a meeting with Kate and Cole where they talked about the funding of fixing streets in our district, it may sound boring, but it kind of turned into a game which was fun to watch. After that I ate lunch really quick, so I could be on time for the Planned Parenthood meeting at 12:30. In that meeting I met the CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, and other employees of Planned Parenthood. CM Kamin informed them that she would be participating in funding Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. After that meeting we went straight to Public Session. Public Session is where the public can come and speak to Counsel about issues they are having. It started with Mayor Whitmire and various Council Members rewarding different people and organizations with proclamations. CM Kamin and Mayor Whitmire awarded Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast with a proclamation, making March 19th 2024, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Day. During this CM Kamin told Counsel that she was giving funding to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast for women’s health services. She also told the public that if anyone wanted to help Planned Parenthood, they could make them their doctors and OB/GYNs of choice. This was all in a press release (pictured below). 



Press Release





Council Member Kamin (in the pink), Mayor Whitmire (in the grey suit) giving the members of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast their proclamation 








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