Rodeo Houston is back after being cancelled last year. One of the event's most enduring traditions are the official Trail Rides. 10 participated this year and originated in cities across the Houston area. I caught up with a team as they broke for lunch before heading to Memorial Park where teams always spend the night before participating in the Rodeo Houston Parade. I dusted off my cowboy hat as part of our team coverage.
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Pizza with purpose
The shooting death of 9 year-old Arlene Alvarez has sparked a lot of outrage and interest in Houston. The girl was on the way to Spanky's Pizza with her family when a bullet allegedly fired by a robbery victim at a suspect struck Alvarez. Spanky's was a favorite of the family. The locally owned restaurant decided to donate 30% of all proceeds from the Monday a week after Alvarez's death to the family. The fundraiser was held at the location where the family was headed. The response was overwhelming.
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Underground jury assembly plaza reopens 4 1/2 years after Harvey
Among Hurricane Harvey's casualties was Harris County's jury assembly plaza. The 85% underground facility is connected to four different courthouses via tunnels. There was discussion about whether rebuilding was worth it. But, in the end, FEMA covered most of the cost and the refurbishment included "flood proof" features like easily hosed down seating and new cement block walls instead of sheetrock. The plaza finally reopened to jury selection 4 1/2 years after the historic flood. I used the station's drone during my tour to help tell the story.
Monday, January 31, 2022
Inside Memorial Park tunnels ahead of partial opening
Big humps arising from a massive project in Memorial Park continue to get a ton of interest. They're part of the tunnels though which Memorial Drive traffic with flow. The tunnels will be underneath a new land bridge and prairie connecting two sides of the park that have long been divided by six lanes of traffic. I got a sneak peek inside the tunnels ahead of a public preview party and partial opening to traffic. We brought out the drone which always makes a story like this much more visually interesting.
Thursday, December 30, 2021
Portuguese man o war invasion on Galveston Island
Don't call them jellyfish! Portuguese man o war have been washing ashore on Galveston Island in recent weeks in "above average" numbers. The unique creatures are grabbing a lot of attention and ending up on social media platforms. That's where we spotted photos that prompted this story. At first, my photog and I didn't really seem them on the beaches UNTIL we got closer. The greenish bottle-like organisms, which can sting you like jellyfish, were everywhere. It's still unclear why they wash up occasionally in large numbers.
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
All senior members of Houston ISD school band get college scholarships
Worthing High School's "Marching Pride of Sunnyside" is particularly proud of all nine senor members. They received college scholarships to Langston University, an HBCU in Oklahoma, following a recent tryout. Several will be the first members of their families to attend college. I got this story idea from a Houston ISD blog post and the district set up a time to interview several of the seniors. We even convinced them to play some music for us.
Friday, December 3, 2021
20th anniversary of the Enron collapse
Enron's collapse in 2001 made international news for being the biggest bankruptcy EVER. The Houston-based energy company's failure, due in large part to fraud, cost thousands of jobs and billions in loses. We did a number of stories regarding the 20th anniversary of Enron's demise. I reached out to a former company VP credited with being the "whistleblower" in the case. Sherron Watkins now teaches business ethics at Texas State University. I fronted this piece outside the former Enron headquarters in downtown Houston.. Now home to Chevron.
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