T he February meeting of HPNA was called to order with some new faces in attendance, and varied topics on the agenda.

Insurance:     The first speaker was a public educator from the Texas Department of Insurance, Kyle Johnson. He talked to neighbors about the focus of the agency, and he brought a number of consumer publications related to insurance in the state of Texas for attendees to take for future reference. He encouraged all of us to be proactive in finding the kind of coverage needed - insurers can now offer different kinds of policies that may be more tailored to an individual's needs. Kyle's insurance shopping tips included: Be sure to shop around with multiple companies; Talk to multiple agents and find an agent that you're very comfortable working with; Be sure to check with "non-captive" agents (ie., Independent Contractors) that can choose from multiple insurance companies John & Judy Nelson Independent Watkins Distributors     E-Mail: jnelson1@WatkinsOnLine.com http://www.WatkinsOnLine.com/jnelson1

to provide policies tailored to your needs. Kyle encouraged attendees to call the Texas Department of Insurance with questions or concerns; they have a very helpful and well-informed telephone center. Also, visit the website, www.tdi.state.tx.us, and check out their consumer publications related to automobile insurance, homeowners' and renters' insurance, health care coverage, and long term care insurance. Graffiti:     The next item on the agenda involves something that everyone in the neighborhood has likely noticed-the proliferation of graffiti. John Kerr started the conversation by encouraging all neighbors to be proactive in trying to remove graffiti they notice as quickly as possible. Removing it quickly discourages the taggers from hitting areas over and over. Charity Naiser and Libby Malone from Grande Communications joined John in leading the discussion about how the neighborhood can best keep on top of graffiti removal. Grande has offered to assist HPNA by working on a task force or beautification effort within our neighborhood. They made suggestions about what to use to remove the graffiti, and are willing to provide some supplies and some manpower to the neighborhood. The Grande trucks are outfitted with Continued on page 13