David Stoker, MD

(16) 63 North Houston In addition state-operated charter schools are in the county Charter schools in unincorporated areas include: Afonso de Albuquerque set sail in April 1511 from Goa to Malacca with a force of 1,200 men and seventeen or eighteen ships. Following his capture of the city on 24 August 1511 it became a strategic base for Portuguese expansion in the East Indies; consequently the Portuguese were obliged to build a fort they named a Famosa to defend it That same year the Portuguese desiring a commercial alliance sent an ambassador Duarte Fernandes to the kingdom of Ayudhya where he was well received by king Ramathibodi II in 1526 a large force of Portuguese ships under the command of Pedro Mascarenhas was sent to conquer Bintan where Sultan Mahmud was based Earlier expeditions by Diogo Dias and Afonso de Albuquerque had explored that part of the Indian Ocean and discovered several islands new to Europeans Mascarenhas served as Captain-Major of the Portuguese colony of Malacca from 1525 to 1526 and as viceroy of Goa capital of the Portuguese possessions in Asia from 1554 until his death in 1555 He was succeeded by Francisco Barreto who served with the title of "governor-general". ! . The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office operates an Investigative Branch an Emergency Response Branch (Hazardous Materials Response) and Prevention Branch (Inspections) the office is headquartered at 2318 Atascocita Road in an unincorporated area. Incorporated cities operate their own fire departments. 3.5 Taxation Compared with its metropolitan area the city of Houston's population has a higher proportion of minorities in 2010 whites made up 51% of the city of Houston's population; 26% of the total population was non-Hispanic whites. Blacks or African Americans made up 25% of Houston's population American Indians made up 0.7% of the population Asians made up 6% (1.7% Vietnamese 1.3% Chinese 1.3% Indian 0.9% Pakistani 0.4% Filipino 0.3% Korean 0.1% Japanese) and Pacific Islanders made up 0.1% Individuals from some other race made up 15.2% of the city's population of which 0.2% were non-Hispanic.[citation needed] Individuals from two or more races made up 3.3% of the city. . Sports and outdoors In 1912 Joseph Jay Pastoriza introduced property tax reform to Houston the "Houston Single Tax Plan" was based on Georgist principles and redistributed property tax burden from owners of personal property and developed land to owners of undeveloped land While the Houston Plan was not a true single tax it re-weighted appraisals to 70 percent of unimproved land and 25 percent of developed land Personal property was exempt from local taxes according to this plan This continued for a few years until 1915 when two courts ruled the plan illegal according to the Texas Constitution Pastoriza continued to serve as Houston Tax Commissioner until 1917 when he became the first Mayor of Houston of Hispanic heritage He died after just three months in office.

; Beginning during the 4th millennium BC the population of Texas increased despite a changing climate and the extinction of giant mammals Many pictograms from this era drawn on the walls of caves or on rocks are visible in the state including at Hueco Tanks and Seminole Canyon. As of 2012 Vietnamese were the largest group of Asians in Harris County As of 1995 most Vietnamese Filipinos and Chinese stated that they were Republicans while most Indians and Pakistanis stated that they were Democrats in 2012 Indians and Pakistanis continue to identify as Democrats while Chinese Filipinos and Vietnamese were increasingly identifying as independents or Democrats, The Portuguese victory at the Second Battle of Guararapes ended Dutch presence in Brazil. The University of Houston System's annual impact on the Houston-area's economy equates to that of a major corporation: $1.1 billion in new funds attracted annually to the Houston area $3.13 billion in total economic benefit and 24,000 local jobs generated. This is in addition to the 12,500 new graduates the UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas These degree-holders tend to stay in Houston After five years 80.5% of graduates are still living and working in the region, Demographics Republic of Texas, Houston Texas Business Directory 2000 Census 1,3-butadiene - cancer and reproductive effects; .