This Week: Committee Considers Youth Cancer Prevention Initiative; District C Celebrates Hannukah; Mayor Pro Tem Cohen Addresses Leadership Houston

Committee Considers Youth Cancer Prevention Initiative

Chair Cohen convened a meeting of the Council Committee on Quality of Life. Members received a presentation from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the Houston Health Department on a proposal to limit the use of smokeless tobacco by players and other employees at Minute Maid Park as a youth cancer prevention initiative.

Cancers caused by smokeless tobacco, including those of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas, are highly lethal. While rates of students smoking have steadily declined over the past twenty years, the rates of student use of smokeless tobacco have unfortunately remained relatively flat. High school athletes are found to be twice as likely as non-athletes to use smokless tobacco, and studies show that this is in part perpetuated by the perception that “dipping” is part of the culture of being a baseball player. Since professional baseball players are role models for these children, Houston seeks to dispel that image by restricting players’ use of smokeless tobacco in the stadium.

Supported by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Houston Astros, the Houston Harris County Sports Authority, the American Cancer Society, and many other health organizations, the item is expected to come before Council for a vote in the new year. If it passes, Houston and Minute Maid Park will become the 16th of 30 MLB ballparks to participate in this initiative.

The meeting is archived online via HTV (under the Committees & Commissions tab).

District C Celebrates Hannukah

Mayor Pro Tem Cohen and her co-religionists are observing Hannukah, which takes place from the evening of Sunday, December 2nd through the evening of Monday, December 10th. In commemoration of the fourth night of Hannukah, Mayor Pro Tem Cohen shared with her Council colleagues and staff an explanation of the holiday, including the significance of oil, which is part of the miracle that Hannukah celebrates. She demonstrated the lighting of the menorah candles and treated the floor to doughnuts, since foods fried in oil are part of the tradition.

Mayor Pro Tem Cohen Addresses Leadership Houston

Leadership Houston Class XXXVII welcomed Mayor Pro Tem Cohen as a guest speaker at their meeting in Council Chambers at City Hall. Discussion centered on strategies for successful advocacy in the Texas Legislature and on City Council, as well as her experience as a graduate of of Leadership Houston Class III. Other speakers included State Representatives Jarvis Johnson and Jim Murphy, and a surprise appearance by Mayor Turner. The mission of Leadership Houston is to enlighten, empower, and engage diverse community leaders through a broadened knowledge of Houston and increase their civic leadership capacity for the benefit of Greater Houston and its stakeholders.