Galveston reports record $8.4M in tourism revenue

  GALVESTON, TX -- Galveston had a record $8.4 million in peak-season tourism revenue this year in a continuing turnaround since Hurricane Ike battered the Southeast Texas island.

The Galveston County Daily-News reported Monday that officials believe a $100,000 marketing campaign called "It's Island Time" contributed to the increase. The Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier also opened this year.

Ike made landfall in Galveston on September 2008.

The Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau says peak-season revenue from April to July has been on the rise since 2009 when the city collected $5.3 million in hotel occupancy tax. That's when discussions began about networking to include city leaders, tourism officials, the Port of Galveston and the hospitality industries.

Data shows about 920,000 passengers last year contributed $9.15 million to the port's cruise revenue.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Record Rodeo crowd turns out for Band Perry

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Last night was another successful night for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

They brought in big numbers with headliner, The Band Perry. The band was making their RodeoHouston debut at Reliant to the second largest paid attendance in Rodeo history. Approximately 74,241 people attended last night's performance. Last Sunday's Go Tejano Day holds the title.

And there could be another huge crowd on hand tonight when Jason Aldean retakes the stage. This will be his third year in a row performing at the Rodeo.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Apartments in Houston Where You Can Rent With a Broken Lease, Bad Credit And-Or a Criminal Record

HISD sets new academic record

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston ISD has set a new record for the number of schools listed in The High School Challenge.

The school district now has 25 campuses noted in the list of America's Best High Schools. In 2010, 16 schools were mentioned and only seven in preceding year. Only 1,905 of about 27,000 public high schools in the U.S. met the standards to be included on The High School Challenge list, which also breaks down the best schools by state. Only 149 Texas high schools made the list. Nearly 6 percent are HISD schools. "These national rankings indicate that we are heading in the right direction by increasing academic rigor and access to college-level courses and exams," HISD Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier said in a prepared statement. "Five of the top 25 Texas schools are HISD schools. No other Houston-area public or charter school is represented in the top 25." This year, three HISD schools also made the Top 100. Carnegie Vanguard High School jumped to number 13 from 29 in 2010; DeBakey High School for Health Profession came in at number 61, which is up from 70 last year. Eastwood Academy, which is new to the list, is number 37. This year the list moved from Newsweek to the Washington Post. All 16 of the HISD schools that made last year's list are back on the 2011 list and are underlined below: 2011 Rank School Name 13 -- Carnegie Vanguard
37 -- Eastwood Academy
61 -- Debakey High School for Health Professions
127 -- Bellaire
168 -- High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
178 -- High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
236 -- Westside
283 -- Lee
375 -- Furr
478 -- Challenge Early College
565 -- Westbury
627 -- Chavez
769 -- Sharpstown
916 -- Lamar
1008 -- Austin
1193 -- Waltrip
1224 -- Empowerment College Prep
1231 -- Houston Academy of International Studies
1239 -- Milby
1253 -- Reagan
1278 -- Davis
1360 -- Mt Carmel Academy
1367 -- Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center
1444 -- East Early College
1654 -- Scarborough
(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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