COVID continues to surge across the nation, including here in Houston. This story was about a Cy-Fair ISD (Texas's third largest district) teacher's aide who died after contracting the virus. Her daughter agreed to speak with us during a funeral visitation. It was heartbreaking hearing her describe her mother's last moments as family members watched via Zoom. Daily COVID stats become white noise after a while. It's important to tell the stories behind the numbers.
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Saturday, December 26, 2020
Christmas in Houston isn't complete without a visit from "Pancho Claus"
Covering Pancho Claus's annual ride through Houston's East End has become my holiday tradition (since I usually work on Christmas). Richard Reyes created the character 40 years ago and hands out hundreds of toys thanks to lots of help from sponsors and volunteers. The pandemic impacted some fundraising efforts this year.. But the low riders assembled once again to spread holiday cheer. It's always a fun and inspiring story.
Katy high school student self-publishes COVID-inspired textbook
I'm the education reporter these days. That's meant a lot of COVID-related school stories. This one is included.. Yet a little different. A Seven Lakes High School student reached out to me after a I did a story on her school being temporarily shut down thanks to an outbreak. Turns out, she had written and self-published her own textbook inspired by the pandemic. I thought it would make a nice story and her interview turned out better than I expected. Like Mia (the anchor) says in the tag.. Someone's future is very bright.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Houston Police officer shot and killed on his way to work
I was already at work on a school-related story (my primary beat these days) when we got word of breaking news on the north side of Houston. A police officer was possibly shot and killed. I immediately jumped in the car and went to the scene. Three of our photographers met me there. I quickly assessed that the officer, a 25 year HPD veteran, was killed while on his way to work. The circumstances of what may have led to the deadly encounter along the North Freeway remains under investigation. But Sgt. Sean Rios was not in uniform and was driving his personal vehicle. The attached live shot is from KHOU 11 News at 6:00. Editors put the video and sound together back at the station and I ad-libbed my script since a press conference wrapped up just minutes before.
Monday, November 9, 2020
Houston ISD principal calling it quits after nearly 55 years with the district
KHOU 11 News recently "adopted" Atherton Elementary School. That means we'll do collection drives and other things to help the Fifth Ward area school. Its longtime principal (30 years) joined us on a morning editorial meeting Zoom call and I instantly knew he'd make a good feature story. I finally got around to putting it together. However, I didn't know until my interview with Dr. Albert Lemons that he had just informed Houston ISD that he would retire in early 2021. He's wrapping up a nearly 55 year career with the same district and three decades leading Atherton ES where he is a legend.
Data shows higher failure rates among at-home learners
I'm covering education stories fairly exclusively now. This story came about after an anecdotal story from one Houston are school district regarding higher failure rates among students learning from home compared to those who've returned to physical schools amid the pandemic. I did some research and found that most districts are reporting the same thing. Brazosport ISD's superintendent was willing to share his thoughts on camera. I "fronted" this story from a school in Lake Jackson, TX. That's about 45-hour south of Houston. Planning and coordination are key these days since my photographer/editors and I are working separately and have to rendezvous for live shots.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Beta brings lots of rain, minor flooding and memories of Harvey
I went from Galveston Island to the Houston suburbs over the course of tropical storm/depression Beta's journey over SE Texas. Some areas got more than a foot of rain within 24 hours or so. But it paled in comparison to what Harvey did three years ago. However, it was enough to spark memories of that devastating storm that will likely become this area's benchmark for decades to come. This story is from Pearland where a number of homes suffered minor flooding. We also used one of our drones to get a better look.
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