[WB1] Art Acevedo surprised many with his announcement early in the week that he is leaving Houston’s police department for Miami. He also warned that Harris County’s criminal justice reforms (thanks to Rodney Ellis and a local criminal bench occupied solely by Democratic judges) are likely to produce 500 murders this year.
[WB2] Mimi Swartz broke a little news to the general public by sharing some insider local Dem gossip that Acevedo’s departure is tied to the former chief’s political ambitions and a gentleman’s agreement that he would not run for Houston mayor if state senator John Whitmire decides to do so. The latter appears to be under serious consideration, per unnamed gossips.
[WB3] Troy Finner, one of Acevedo’s assistant chiefs, was named to replace Acevedo by Mayor Sylvester Turner.
[WB4] The man accused of killing an HPD sergeant was released on a $750,000 bond this week, signaling the environment that awaits the new chief.
[WB5] The Harris County Sheriff’s Office made a down payment on trying to reclaim Houston-area streets this weekend, cracking down on the takeovers that have become commonplace.
[WB6] Multiple Hearst journalists write that Texas power failures might have been prevented by a “simple” paperwork filing. While hindsight is perfect, of course, the all-knowing journalists neglect to mention the regulatory burden involved in power provision, or the myriad filings that are required. That’s because most journalists don’t have much understanding of the regulatory state, or deep subject matter expertise of any sort for that matter. Given the context, the “oversight” is not exactly scandalous, and it’s not entirely clear how much of a difference it would have made.
[WB7] The City of Houston tells KHOU-11 that 20% of the city’s backup generators at water pump stations failed during Freeze-ageddon, causing the system’s failure and the city’s second boil water order in the last year. That 20% figure sounds low, to be honest, and it’s disturbing the system isn’t resilient enough to provide service if just 20% of the pumps are not functioning. Our intrepid local journalists need to keep digging on this one.
[WB8] The vignettes in this article aren’t really “news” but it is remarkable that the Harris County judge’s Stay Home order (with a backwards gage thingie added later) basically hasn’t budged for a whole year, despite ups and downs in the COVID numbers.
[WB9] Celebrating a COVID outbreak because of one’s Trump Derangement is a bad look from the Chronicle’s future poop writer.
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