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. . ! The 2003 Texas redistricting of Congressional districts led by Republican Tom DeLay was called by the New York Times "an extreme case of partisan gerrymandering" a group of Democratic legislators the "Texas Eleven" fled the state in a quorum-busting effort to prevent the legislature from acting but was unsuccessful the state had already redistricted following the 2000 census Despite these efforts the legislature passed a map heavily in favor of Republicans based on 2000 data and ignoring the estimated nearly one million new residents in the state since that date Career attorneys and analysts at the Department of Justice objected to the plan as diluting the votes of African American and Hispanic voters but political appointees overrode them and approved it. Legal challenges to the redistricting reached the national Supreme Court in the case League of United Latin American Citizens v Perry (2006) but the court ruled in favor of the state (and Republicans). The Astrodome The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) provides public transportation in the form of buses light rail high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and paratransit to fifteen municipalities throughout the Greater Houston area and parts of unincorporated Harris County METRO's service area covers 1,303 square miles (3,370 km2) containing a population of 3.6 million.

. 12 Communities For classical choral music Houston has several active groups including Cantare Houston the Houston Boychoir Houston Ebony Music Society (also known as the Houston Ebony Opera Guild) and the internationally acclaimed Houston Chamber Choir the city is also home to one of the finest collegiate choral ensembles in the country the UH Moores School of Music Concert Chorale. The Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant and the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant were built as part of the WWII buildup Hundreds of thousands of American (and some allied) soldiers sailors and airmen trained in the state All sectors of the economy boomed as the homefront prospered, Many areas in Harris County are served by Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Texas (METRO) a public transportation agency headquartered in Downtown Houston. .