We were occupied over the weekend, so here is a belated roundup of news and views from the past week.
[ME1] The area newspaper of record finally has some information about the massive failure of Houston’s water systems during freeze-ageddon. The newspaper framed this as a statewide issue, as did HOUSTON’s public works director, who also blamed “under-investment in our utilities for decades.” Reading the story carefully does make clear is that the City of Houston was inadequately prepared for such an event, reacted poorly, and needs to improve.
[ME2] Meanwhile, we also learned his past week that Mayor Sylvester Turner “agrees” with a recommendation to massively raise water and sewer rates in the coming years. Shocking news, hrm?
[ME3] A Houston man who pleaded guilty after an arrest by disgraced HPD officer Gerald Goines has been found innocent by the state’s highest court.
[ME4] Harris County has asked the state of Texas for additional court capacity to process a backlog of some 70,000 criminal cases.
[ME5] The abrupt shuttering of a shadowy Houston facility for migrant girls – along with an employee death that may or may not be related – would seemingly merit further scrutiny by the area’s intrepid investigative journalists.
[ME6] One of those investigative journalists decided to focus on copy-checking Tony Buzbee’s court filings, in an overly long, meandering report that had issues of its own.
[ME7] Nevertheless, the declining industry continues to give itself lots of awards and plaudits.
[ME8] In Harris County, Blacks and Hispanics are lagging in COVID vaccinations. Perhaps someone in the news department should inform the newspaper’s editorial board, which recently scolded Republican men for not getting their shots.
[ME9] The same unserious editorial board that objected to the Trump Administration’s November announcement that American troops would be leaving Afghanistan in mid-2021 (the headline asserted it’s “wrong to rush” the end of the 20-year war!) published an editorial last week with the title “Biden is right to end the war in Afghanistan.” It’s five months later.
[ME10] KTRK-13 did a pretty brazen rip-and-read of a Chronicle story last week, but was shamed into belatedly giving credit to the newspaper.
[ME11] The Gulfton Ghetto is getting a minor makeover (and losing some traffic lanes).
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