“Houston Mayor Annise Parker on Tuesday will launch the city of Houston’s IBM Smarter Cities Challenge project. Parker, Department of Neighborhoods Director Katye Tipton, IBM’s Beth Tracy and Mayor’s Office of Education Initiatives Manager Mark Cueva will hold the kick-off event from 10:30 a.m. to noon at City Hall. IBM in March selected Houston for the approximately $400,000 grant. Over three years, IBM has selected 100 cities for the grant program. Houston was the first Texas city selected. Through Aug. 24, a five-member team of IBM experts will create a plan for streamlining online access to services, resources and information for Houstonians, according to an Aug. 6 statement from the city.”