Farewell To A First Lady

https://www.khou.com/mobile/article/news/local/bush-41-greets-those-paying-respects-to-barbara-bush-at-her-visitation/285-543588783

"America's grandmother" was remembered fondly by fellow Houstonians.  I did several stories leading up to Barbara Bush's funeral service.  This is from the public visitation.  Thousands lined up to simply walk past her casket.  At one pint, her husband of 73 years, former President George HW Bush, entered the church and shook the hands of a number of mourners.  It was a special moment.  People got to take home a card featuring Ms. Bush's photo.  They'll likely never forget meeting Mr. Bush.

School Board Drama

https://www.khou.com/mobile/article/news/education/hisd-board-will-not-vote-on-turning-10-campuses-into-charter-schools/285-545774597

I spent years in Memphis covering education.  Turns out, things get interesting in Houston schools too.  In this case, a number of people were dragged out of a board meeting for raising a stink over a proposed plan to turn over some campuses to a charter operator.  I started the next day working on a follow-up.  There were several developments in the story as the day progressed.  As usual, we had to adapt.  That included getting an interview with one of two women charged after being forcibly removed from the meeting.

Things Looking Up Downtown

http://www.khou.com/video/news/local/the-changing-face-of-downtown-houston/285-2679129

This was a longer form story on residential growth in downtown Houston.  It's where I live.  I've seen the rise in the number of residential properties myself.  I was given a couple of days to put this together.  It helped having a creative photographer/editor who really helped make the piece visually appealing.  I really like the interspersed sounds of the city, including the light rail trains. 

Student Named "Most Likely To Become A Terrorist"

https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2017/05/26/7th-grader-mocked-most-likely-become-terrorist/102194334/

This story sparked the biggest response I've ever gotten on Twitter.  I simply posted a photo of a student's certificate that read "most likely to become a terrorist."  That's right.  What a teacher apparently thought was a funny joke ended up drawing the ire of people around the world.  I think that initial tweet ended up being liked or retweeted 500,000+ times.  We later ended up identifying the teacher (who was fired) and talking with this student and her mother again. 

Out To Sea With NASA

https://youtu.be/BxprPCKB6D4

I should always keep Dramamine in my bag.  That's a lesson I learned during this shoot.  But it was still a lot of fun, despite the seasickness.  We were aboard a Coast Guard cutter watching NASA astronauts practice splashdown procedures off Galveston Island.  They did the rehearsals over a 12-hour period on a very humid summer day.  My photographer, Sergio, is a former Navy man.  He got his sea legs a long time ago. 

HPD Chief Takes Me Through Pursuit

https://youtu.be/fjpeKIwEjoQ

You've heard of high-speed chases.  This one was in slow motion.  But Houston Police took their time with a man who was wanted for an assault and possibly armed.  Folks in the newsroom kept saying "why are they letting him go?!" as we watched it play out from our news chopper's vantage point.  We invited the chief of police to the station after the chase in order for him to take us through the video.  We played it back on a big monitor in the studio.  It's a non-traditional way of telling the story. 

Hurricane Harvey

https://youtu.be/zUXpIOclTIQ

I'm going back an reviewing some stories I've covered since arriving in Houston.  I couldn't leave Hurricane Harvey out.  This live shot is from my coverage on Galveston Island before the storm hit.  Winds were picking up and the rain had started.  Little did we know the punch Harvey would pack.  This is the kind of stories we often end up doing in advance of a storm.  They usually consist of "walk and talks" and just showing what's going on around us.

Urban Chickens

https://youtu.be/op_fA_EOnV4

This is a fun story I did last year in a Houston suburb.  It's not where you'd normally find chickens.  But these are brought in on specially-built coops to live with families for short periods of time.  I happened to notice a "Rent-The-Chicken" truck at a gas station and asked about what they did.  That turned into a story.  I even got to hold a bird myself.  This segment was taken from a CBSN newscast which featured my story that orginally aired on KHOU 11 News.

Back On My Blog!

http://www.khou.com/video/news/local/houston-dreamers-shining-light-on-dream-act/285-8073565

This is my first post since coming to Houston!  I may go back and include some past stories I've done since I've been here (including Harvey and Super Bowl LI coverage).  I thought this story was worth posting because it illustrates what can be done with limited resources.  It's about Dreamers looking to rekindle interest in their fight for full citizenship.  Dreamers are undocumented immigrants who came to this country with their parents as children.  My photographer, Nathan, and I only had an interview set up.  Thankfully, students had lighted signs assembled before we arrived.  Some creative shooting and a compelling interview turned into a good story.