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Powered by a booming energy business, the Houston regional economy grew faster last year than any other in North America, the Brookings Institution reports. Houston and Dallas were the only two major metropolitan economies on the continent to rank among the world's most robust in 2010-2011. The findings underscored a larger global shift away from traditional power centers, primarily to Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Two veteran street preachers in Houston are facing a bench trial for spreading the biblical message about homosexuality – and other sins – on one of their favorite corners for preaching in Houston. That the message was direct is obvious, from a photo of the situation that developed for David Stokes of BulldogMinistries.com and Dave Allen of HornofSamuelBook.com: Their sign warns those who are "Drunks, homosexuals, abortionist, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, witches, idolators" that "Hell awaits you." Their hearing will be in Houston Municipal Court, which is run by Barbara E. Hartle, who, according to the Dallas Voice, is...

Houstonians should be prepared to pay more to fix their cars, make minor home repairs and renew neighborhood association dues now that the City Council has voted to raise more than 150 fees by an average of 25 percent, according to a handful of contractors and business associations. Johnny Gibbs, owner of Lighthouse Electric, predicted Houstonians will balk at paying the higher fees for simple jobs like changing out a ceiling fan or replacing a light fixture. He usually charges only $50 to $75 for that kind of work, but now the minimum permit fee for the contractor, which went...

Mayor Annise Parker lashed out at an controversial annual study released Monday that placed Houston among the most dangerous cities in the United States with a population of 500,000 or higher. "Crime Rankings 2010-2011," published by CQ Press, ranks Houston's crime as ninth-highest for big cities nationwide, placing it on a list with the likes of Detroit and Columbus, Ohio., although the city has less than half the crimes per capita of those atop the rankings. Violent crime in Houston fell 8 percent during the first half of this year and was on a pace to reach the lowest rate...

HOUSTON -- A group of pastors wants Mayor Annise Parker to rescind her orders that expand the city's anti-discrimination policy to allow transgendered employees to use city facilities based on their gender identity. Wednesday, April 7, 2010

City Council on Wednesday gave a cool response to Mayor Annise Parker's plan to sell the former site of the Compaq Center to Lakewood Church for $7.5 million, the first hint of discord between the newly elected mayor and the 14-member council. The numerous questions — ranging from whether the 606,050-square-foot building was worth far more to why the proposal was not vetted more thoroughly — threw into doubt a sale that Parker needs to close a lingering budget gap before the end of the year. Parker said that if further vetting does not bring council around to the idea,...

Mayor Annise Parker will begin a whirlwind tour of Washington today in which she will try to persuade a skeptical Obama administration not to shelve the Constellation space program, as well as shore up relationships between the city and federal transportation officials. Parker is scheduled to meet with senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and members of the local congressional delegation in a two-day blitz. Shortly after she was elected, the administration had invited her to “open dialogue” on certain key issues in Washington, and today's...

Annise Parker, the newly-elected happens-to-be-lesbian mayor of Houston was sworn in Monday and the opening prayer was given by ... Rev. Joel Osteen. Is your head spinning? Osteen heads the nation's most mega of evangelical non-denominational megachurches, Lakewood Church in Houston where about 45,000 people cycle through a revamped sports stadium for services every weekend. Osteen has been all over telling folks (Larry King, Whoopi Goldberg) for years that homosexuality is not "God's best." I presume he means "God's best choice" because otherwise I'm lost in the dropped or implied rest of the sentence. But "God's best" is phrase Osteen...

Houston elected an openly gay mayor. Inauguation live on C-Span. She was just sworn in with a female at her side.

When Parker finally appeared at 10:30, resplendent in a gold pantsuit and pearl necklace, a room jammed elbow-to-elbow with supporters erupted with a deafening cheer. Some were newcomers to political waters; some had been with her a dozen years ago when she claimed her first City Council seat. Election-night parties often are set pieces with familiar ear-splitting soundtracks -- her appearance was preceded by the endless refrains of "We Are Family" -- but if there was a difference to this occasion, it may have been the sense among some supporters that Parker's election was a step away from the political...

<p>Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker after a hotly contested runoff.</p> <p>Parker defeated former city attorney Gene Locke with 53.6 percent of the vote Saturday in a race that had a turnout of only 16.5 percent.</p>

The landmark election Saturday of America's first big-city lesbian mayor in Houston represents more than just a milestone in identity politics. It also signals an unmistakable evolutionary step in national politics, one that provides further evidence of a trend that helped make Barack Obama president: growth-oriented communities like the Texas metropolis, rather than aging big cities or nostalgia-inducing small towns, are setting the course of the country's political direction. Houston is one of a set of fast-growing cities and expanding suburbs whose changing face and increasingly post-racial politics helped make Barack Obama president. Their politics are defined by some of...

The southern city of Houston has become the largest US metropolis to elect an openly gay mayor when Annise Parker, an open lesbian, claimed a solid victory over her rival. "I know what this win means to many of us who thought we could never achieve high office," she said in her victory speech, at which she introduced her partner Kathy and their three children, according to the Houston Chronicle. "I understand, because I feel it, too. But now, from this moment, let us join as one community," said Parker, 53. According to local election data, Democrat Parker won about...

HOUSTON – The first openly gay person to be elected mayor of Houston says she hopes her victory in Saturday's election will change how the world views the city. Houston is the nation's fourth-largest city and the biggest to elect an openly gay mayor. Mayor-elect Annise Parker spoke Sunday at a press conference after defeating former city attorney Gene Locke with 53.6 percent of the vote in the hotly contested runoff election.

HOUSTON (AP) - Annise Parker has an unbeatable lead over Gene Locke in Houston's hotly contested mayoral election, meaning she will become the city's first openly gay mayor. The Harris County elections Web site says 53.62 percent of voters who turned out Saturday chose Parker. Her rival, former city attorney Gene Locke, was pitching to become the city's second black mayor.

Houston, Texas has become the largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor after City Controller Annise Parker was declared the winner of a runoff election tonight. Social conservatives fought her election, funding a campaign aimed at turning out likeminded voters to support her opponent, former city attorney Gene Locke. But Parker's endorsements from labor, police, women's, gay rights and other groups were echoed by the Houston Chronicle, the area's major daily newspaper, and her campaign ran a superior get-out-the-vote effort.

HOUSTON -- It was no great surprise when some religious leaders and conservative activists voiced fierce opposition to the mayoral candidacy of Annise Parker, a gay woman. But voters here have largely dismissed the issue as insignificant, even though she could become the first openly lesbian mayor of a major American city. Ms. Parker, a city controller who has been elected to local office six times with little controversy over her sexual preference, is the leading candidate in Saturday's election runoff. "This is about the best person for the job, period," said taxi driver Arthur Berry, 48 years old, who...

HOUSTON — Houston’s openly gay city controller has pulled ahead in the race to be mayor of the nation’s fourth largest city, just two days before a runoff election, according to a new poll. It’s believed if Annise Parker wins Saturday’s runoff, it would make Houston the nation’s largest city with an openly gay mayor.