In the News
CLEAN & GREEN - Sweeping Sucess

Clean and GreenDECEMBER, 2008 - For the third time since the EPA's Gulf of Mexico Program Partnership developed the Gulf Guardian awards in 2000, the Port of Houston Authority has been honored. This year's win for Clean & Green is in the partnership category.

 

The Gulf Guardian award singles out the businesses, community groups, individuals and agencies that are taking positive steps to keep the Gulf of Mexico healthy, beautiful and productive. It exemplifies innovative solutions that come about when resources are pooled to create ways to positively impact quality of life and economic well-being.

 

The port authority won the government category on the first year of the Gulf Guardian awards for its innovative use of dredge material from the project to deepen and widen the Houston Ship Channel. Approximately 88.3 million cubic yards of dredged material over the 50-year life of this project is being recycled to create 4,250 acres of intertidal marsh and various wildlife habitats, including bird islands in Galveston Bay and the ship channel.

 

In 2004, the port authority won again in the government category for the partnership that launched and supported the stormwater pollution cleanup program using the skimmer boat Mighty Tidy.

 

Clean & Green takes the success of the skimmer boat and magnifies it by adding a workforce to remove the trash that clings to the banks of the bayou, out of the reach of the skimmer boat. For example, during the first 12 months of the program, 1,845 cubic yards of trash was removed. That is nearly double what the skimmer boat alone could capture during the year before Clean & Green began (1,022 cubic yards).

 

A vital partner in both the skimmer boat operation and Clean & Green is the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. The organization's annual Buffalo Bayou Ball fundraiser selected its honorees for their leadership in creating and funding Clean & Green: Elyse and Mayor Bob Lanier, Kim Ogg, the Port of Houston Authority, and Shell Oil Company represented by Hasting Stewart.

 

When she accepted her honor, Lanier shared that before becoming a port commissioner, she assumed, like countless other Houstonians do, that the stormwater system is supposed to be used to carry trash and litter off city streets. Once she saw how that litter pollutes the port's waterway and covers the banks of the bayous, she got busy with Kim Ogg finding a way to solve the problem and fund the solution.

 

This year's Keep Houston Beautiful annual Mayor's Proud Partners Awards also selected Clean & Green as one of its shining examples of "the many miracles per-formed by community and corporate volunteers who have taken increased responsibility for our city and its environment," according to Houston Mayor Bill White. In 2005, the port authority was selected as the Mayor's Outstanding Proud Partner during these award ceremonies in recognition of its numerous environmental initiatives and leadership both locally and nationally.

 

While Clean & Green sweeps home some awards, it is also keeping busy on the job.  During October, Clean & Green collected 106 cubic yards of stormwater trash. This brings the grand total to 2,163 cubic yards collected since this award-winning effort began in 2007. That much trash would fill 86.5 trash trucks, and all of it is now recycled, including the plastics, rubber, paper, metal, glass, wood and electronics.
 
Justice Department honors Houston attorney Kim Ogg

April 11, 2008 - Houston attorney Kim K. Ogg was one of nine people honored by the Justice Department today with a National Crime Victims' Rights Week Award.

Before entering private practice, Ogg, served as an advocate for victims of crime in a variety of positions in Houston since 1987, including as chief felony prosecutor, as the city's anti-gang director and as executive director of Crime Stoppers of Houston.

The Justice Department noted that Ogg had initiated the Top Ten Most Wanted Sex Offenders in Harris County in 2002, a program that led to more than 100 arrests of fugitive sex offenders. She also launched a local weekly news segment entitled ``Predator Check.''

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said the awards and the week devoted to highlighting victims' rights remind ``all of us of the need to keep up our efforts to ensure protections, services and rights for crime victims.''

Ogg currently serves as a member of the National Alliance of Victims' Rights Attorneys.

She is manager partner in the Ogg Law Firm, which also includes her father, Jack, a former Houston state representative and senator.

-- Stewart Powell

 

For the official wording of Kim Ogg's award, follow the link below...

Allied Professional Award

Kim K. Ogg

Houston, TX

Since 1987, Kim Ogg has advocated for victims of crime in a number of professional capacities, beginning as a Chief Felony Prosecutor. In 1994, she assumed the position as the City of Houstons Anti-Gang Director, the first such director in the United States. In this position, Ms. Ogg developed policies to reduce gang violence. In 2000, Ms. Ogg became the Executive Director of Houstons Crime-Stoppers, where she made sure that crime victims had a vital voice in the organization. In her capacity as Executive Director, she developed the Safe School Program, which trains students how to use the Crime-Stoppers tip line. Since the inception of the Safe School Program, Crime-Stoppers has solved more than 650 campus crimes and confiscated more than eighty weapons. In 2002, Ms. Ogg initiated the Top Ten Most Wanted Sex Offenders in Harris County, which led to more than 100 arrests of fugitive sex offenders, as well as a local weekly news segment titled Predator Check. During her tenure at Crime-Stoppers, it was ranked as the number one organization with the highest clearance rate of unsolved violent crimes.

Throughout her career, Ms. Ogg advocated for legislation that enhanced public safety and victims rights, such as national legislation to combat the sale of murderabilia. She was recognized by the Foundation for Improvement of Justice in 1998 for her contributions to improving the criminal justice system, and received the 2006 Distinguished Steve Chaney Award from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Victims Services and the 2007 Father Ken Czillnger Award from the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children. She was a 2006 Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award recipient. In 2002, Ms. Ogg was appointed to serve on Texas Governor Rick Perrys Advisory Anti-Crime Commission, and she is currently a member of the National Alliance of Victims Rights Attorneys. During her career, Ms. Ogg developed a professional and personal relationship with members of Parents of Murdered Children and currently serves as the Heights Chapters De Facto Legal Advisor. Currently, Ms. Ogg is a private attorney specializing in victims rights. Kim Ogg was nominated by Andy Kahan, Director, City of Houstons Mayors Crime Victims Office.
 


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