[WB1] Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo drew criticism this week from a sergeant with the Precinct 5 constable’s office (and many others) after injecting herself into the center of a memorial service that the sergeant contended was a private (not a county) event. The sergeant noted that Hidalgo refused to be seated with other elected officials who were not part of the official ceremony, instead insisting she would stay at the front if Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick could (the difference being that Patrick had been invited to participate in the event). The county judge’s spokesperson (a relatively high-profile political import) claimed the county judge would take the high road and refuse comment, even as he insinuated the brouhaha was motivated by racism and misogyny.
The video (with nearly 125,000 views as of publication), courtesy of the Michael Berry show, is posted below:
[WB2] Our area’s surge in violent crime prompted the announcement of a “plan” from Mayor Sylvester Turner and HPD Chief Troy Finner this week. And Harris County leaders re-emphasized a crime-fighting program announced last year (that involves planting trees and adding lighting). DA Kim Ogg would like to hire more prosecutors, but Harris County Democrats on Commissioners Court have not been receptive to that proposal so far.
[WB3] A Chronicle reporter shows that the “Houston way” (of patronage, cronyism, and pay to play) seems to be alive and well at the county level.
[WB4] This New York Post story digs into an advocacy organization actively pushing “woke” criminal justice strategies. Unsurprisingly, they receive funding from Houston-based Arnold Ventures.
[WB5] A story in the LA Times touts the Houston area’s relative success in dealing with homelessness. We use the term “relative” because anyone who drives around Houston understands very well that homelessness remains a significant problem in Houston, though perhaps not as much of a problem as the homeless tent camps of LA or San Francisco or even Austin. Both Michael Shellenberger and Sam Quinones have recently written books about drug addiction as a key driver of homelessness.
[WB6] Work is finally about to begin, the Houston Parks Board promises, on a bridge that was damaged in 2020 by a fire started by vagrants (city officials and most media outlets usually leave that last part out of the reporting for some reason, perhaps because it’s an inconvenient reminder that homelessness has not quite been “solved” in Houston).
[WB7] Mike Hixenbaugh, an NBC reporter who once was with the Chronicle, led off a recent “investigative” story this way:
From a secluded spot in her high school library, a 17-year-old girl spoke softly into her cellphone, worried that someone might overhear her say the things she’d hidden from her parents for years. They don’t know she’s queer, the student told a reporter, and given their past comments about homosexuality’s being a sin, she’s long feared they would learn her secret if they saw what she reads in the library.
It’s more than a little creepy that this guy is having cell-phone conversations with teenage girls in libraries, in secret, without the knowledge of parents.
[WB8] Bob Rehak at Reduce Flooding continues to stay on top of rogue developers that seemingly violate drainage and other regulations with impunity.
[WB9] ExxonMobil announced plans to locate its Irving headquarters to its sprawling Woodlands-area campus.
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