[WB1] HPD sergeant Christopher Brewster was killed while responding to a domestic disturbance call this weekend. The alleged killer is 25-year old Arturo Solis, who reportedly opened fire without warning. According to news reports, Solis has “a lengthy criminal record.” Deepest condolences to the family and friends of Christopher Brewster.
[WB2] Property crime and aggravated assaults are up significantly in Houston from one year ago, despite campaign rhetoric and stenographic reporting earlier in the year that downplayed such concerns (see WB2).
[WB3] Harris County DA Kim Ogg announced this week that her office will review cases from yet another officer associated with HPD’s increasingly notorious narcotics division.
[WB4] HPOU Vice President Douglas Griffith took time to tweet about Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, the couple killed in HPD’s Harding Street Massacre earlier this year:
They are still dirtbags! Any other questions?
— Douglas Griffith (@Griff3945) December 5, 2019
Local attorney Mark Bennett took him to task in a twitter thread that’s worth reading.
[WB5] A few days after Elyse Lanier testified in support of disgraced HPD officer Gerald Goines (the allegedly dirty narcotics cop at the center of HPD’s Harding Street Massacre, see WB5), she hosted a fundraiser for Sylvester Turner. None other than the poster child of Houston Way Pay to Play, Cindy Clifford, posted about the event.
Delighted to be included in the wonderful reception former Houston First Lady Elyse Lanier held tonight for Mayor @SylvesterTurner in her gorgeous home. It was a great crowd of leaders, had wonderful food and there was great support for the Mayor! pic.twitter.com/QWdVavpCV8
— Cindy Clifford (@cindy8000) December 6, 2019
Just another day in the lives of Houston’s ruling class.
[WB6] Meanwhile, James Dannenbaum pleaded guilty on Friday to all sorts of violations of campaign finance law. While the current investigation focused on federal campaign finance violations, Jim Bigham notes that local media has been slow to report on Dannenbaum’s local political contributions.
[WB7] Alissa Walker criticizes Mayor Sylvester Turner, the co-chair of the Climate Mayors group, for supporting the I-45 expansion plans. Apologists for the mayor quickly noted that he wants improvements to the plan as a condition of his support.
[WB8] The Antiplanner notes that Vision Zero may not be the panacea that some locals have suggested.
[WB9] State officials have found unusually high cancer rates radiating from a site located near the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens areas. The site was once used for the treatment of railroad ties with creosote, a likely carcinogen. Union Pacific Railroad is currently responsible for the site.
[WB10] Harris County has fired the company it hired for “outreach and application intake” for Hurricane Harvey recovery, according to KTRK-13’s Ted Oberg. Both county and city aid programs have come under steady criticism this campaign season for spending money on connected insiders for “outreach” yet delivering relatively little assistance to those who flooded.
[WB11] Bob Rehak has posted a number of new articles about Perry Homes and Kingwood flooding at his excellent Reduce Flooding site (here, here, and here).
[WB12] A Houston Chronicle story characterizes a legal fight between several Third Ward residents and a barbeque joint as part of an ongoing socioeconomic clash/gentrification debate in that part of the city. But isn’t it just as much a quality-of-life issue? I can say as an amateur smoker that I don’t think my own neighbors would appreciate me setting up a commercial smoking operation in the back yard!
Never miss a blogHOUSTON update – be sure to sign up for email alerts.
