[WB1] Here’s hoping everyone had a great Thanksgiving, despite the City of Houston’s last-second cancellation of its annual parade due to a forecast of inclement weather. Apparently, no riots took place in response.*
[WB2] A sportswriter who attended a John Whitmire campaign event let the cat out of the bag when he shared video of the state senator who said he’s running for mayor in 2023. Mimi Swartz reported for Texas Monthly several months ago that Whitmire was considering the race. Local media never reported on it, but some nonetheless claimed that they knew it all along (that sort of gaslighting happens a lot in Houston media).
[WB3] The City of Houston is lagging in its heavy trash collection once again. For some reason, the department in charge thinks that blaming citizens for trying to use the services they pay for somehow is a reasonable excuse.
[WB4] The City of Houston’s affordable housing program is now on hold, according to Houston Public Media, following a critical GLO review.
[WB5] In the Bad Newspapering category, friend Matt Bramanti notes that neither the term “air freshener” nor “faulty” appears in this Houston Chronicle story, despite being referenced excitedly in the headline; Ethically challenged columnist Chris Tomlinson posts a couple of articles that fail (as usual) to mention his familial conflict of interest (his wife is an executive and evangelist for the renewable energy industry); And the metro/state columnist notes the number of COVID deaths Texas has experienced “[s]ince 2018” (the first such deaths in Texas were reported in March 2020).
[WB6] In contrast, Bob Rehak has an excellent rundown of area authorities perhaps reaping what they sow in terms of the next big flood. He also wonders how Rodney Ellis’s radical county redistricting will affect flood-mitigation priorities.
[WB7] Speaking of which – Andy Taylor has sued to stop Ellis’s redistricting gambit. Michael Berry visits with Taylor about it in this podcast.
[WB8] A grand jury has subpoenaed Harris County Commissioners Court over that seemingly corrupt vaccine outreach contract award that was eventually cancelled (see WB1).
[WB9] Pedro Gonzalez writes about the war being waged for control over America’s streets. Locally, we are seeing frequent manifestations of that war in our crime stats and reporting (even as Rodney Ellis and Arnold Foundation staffers have convinced some gullible journalists that surging violent crime should be blamed on bail bondsmen). Andrew McCarthy suggests it’s well past time to expand our use of pretrial detention of dangerous offenders (with no bail).
Don’t miss a blogHOUSTON update – be sure to sign up for email alerts.
* In case that reference was too subtle, Houston authorities said they couldn’t possibly end the deadly Travis Scott concert early because the concertgoers might riot.
