Texans players give away bikes to low-income kids for an early Christmas gift

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston Texans helped Santa Claus deliver early Christmas presents for hundreds of local children.

After the Texans finished up practice Friday in preparation for Sunday's game with the Indianapolis Colts, the team gave away brand new bicycles to more than 200 children. The kids are from low-income families and were very excited to get the new bikes and spend some time hanging out with Texans star players DE J.J. Watt, WR Andre Johnson, and QB Matt Schaub.

"It's great to see how happy they are and how excited they are and to come out and be a part of this its just great," said Schaub.

J.J. Watt told us, "It's awesome. These kids are hilarious, they're great. It's really cool to have them out here and obviously it's great to see they're gonna get exercise with their new bikes so we're really happy we can do this."

All of the kids also received free helmets.

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HISD spoofs 'Gangnam' video to promote early voting

HISD teachers, principals, students and HISD School Board members all participated in the video.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- HISD is going "Gangnam" to promote early voting.

The district recently released its version of the popular music video by South Korean Rapper Psy. Titled "Early Voting Style," the subtitled lyrics serve as a reminder that early voting takes place October 22 through November 2 and that HISD's $1.9 billion bond referendum is on the ballot.

HISD can't use tax dollars to promote passage of its bond measure, but it can spend it on informational materials encouraging people to vote. The general election is November 6.

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Spring ISD school dismissed early due to power outage

School is out early for students at one Spring ISD middle school after a power outage this morning.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Some middle school students have a shortened school day today due to a power outage.

According to a Spring ISD spokesperson, Dueitt Middle School released students early due to the outage. A fire alarm went off this morning before school started. It was prompted by smoke from air conditioning equipment that overheated due to the failure of the a nearby transformer.

Staff and students who were already at school were evacuated and students who were arriving at school were kept outside the building.

Centerpoint is working on the problem and hope to have it resolved by the end of the day.

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Road work to be done 20 years early?

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Good news for your commute, if your travels bring you through the northwest side of town. New funding means construction projects along the Northwest Freeway will be finished as much as two decades earlier than originally planned.

Highway 290 is one of the 25 most congested roadways in Texas -- iIf you drive on 290 during rush hour, you know. But transportation safety officials say that won't be the case for long as change is coming; 20 years sooner than expected.

TxDOT engineer Michael Alford explained, "We will be able to deliver these projects in about four years from now."

The projects stretch along Highway 290 between I-610 and FM 2920 and include widening 290 to 11 lanes -- four inbound, four outbound, with two to three reversible middle lanes for HOV and a toll lane.

"I think it will improve the traffic flow tremendously," said driver Lisa Byrd.

Also part of the plan is preserving right-of-way for a bike trail and eventually building a Hempstead Tollway, parallel to 290.

"These initial dollars that we have will take us out to the Grand Parkway area," Alford said. "Then we'll start working west of the Grand Parkway as funding becomes available."

TxDOT will contribute $787 million. The Harris County Toll Road Authority is pitching in $400 million. State lawmakers plan to continue the push for funding because, they say the pathway to economic health starts right here.

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst said, "I want to keep the state growing, you want to keep the state growing. We can't do it without excellent infrastructure."

All of the projects we talked about will be under construction by the middle of 2014.

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Houston Schools Focus On Magnet And Early Childhood Programs

Early voting begins today in Galveston

  GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- Early voting starts this morning at 8am in Galveston.

Residents are electing a mayor at-large and new city council members. Voters will also consider 17 proposed amendments to the city charter.

Residents can vote early today at the Galveston County court house on Moody. Early voting ends on May 8. Election Day is Saturday May 12.

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Register early for Chevron Houston Marathon

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Early registration begins Tuesday for the 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon. However, it's for a limited number of runner who qualify for guaranteed entries.

Early registration begins at 8am Tuesday and ends May 31. Lottery registration for the general public opens on June 1.

Next year's race is expanding by 2,000 to 24,000 participants total.

All the details can be found on the Chevron Houston Marathon website.

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