City leaders joined Houston immigration advocates to decry Thursday’s Supreme Court split vote, which affirmed a lower court ruling that blocks the president’s landmark immigration plan.
“The city of Houston is not happy with the decision, or should I say, ‘the decision’ that has been made today by the Supreme Court,” said Terence O’Neill, with the city’s Office of International Communities and Refugee Affairs. “The city of Houston feels we are a city of opportunity. … Houston has to be a welcoming city.”
The latest ‘Texas Law Hawk’ ad basically makes Bryan Wilson the Evel Knievel of lawyers
The screeching sounds of the freedom hawk are back. Texas lawyer Bryan Wilson, better known as the Texas Law Hawk, released his latest ad and it’s even bigger and more insane than the first one.
Annise Parker takes leadership post with major city nonprofit
Former Houston mayor Annise Parker will join local nonprofit Neighborhood Centers as their Chief Strategy Officer starting next month.
Parker confirmed Thursday afternoon that she will join the executive team and said she is looking forward to continuing her work with urban issues.
Developer purchases property in Waller County where it proposed to build rejected landfill project
The battle over a controversial landfill proposal in Waller County may not be over despite a state agency’s recent rejection of the project.
Man accused of getting into woman’s bed with her after breaking in
George Arthur Smith, 52, is accused of breaking into a woman’s house and getting into bed with her as she was sleeping.
Whataburger’s official trademark is 66 years old
On June 23, 1950, the Texas Secretary of State issued the Whataburger trademark to founder Harmon Dobson. Soon Texas’ favorite burger chain would become a beloved staple.
Leaked documents show roughly what Uber drivers in Houston make per hour
This week Buzzfeed released some details in documents leaked from the ride-sharing service Uber, including stats on what Houston drivers make.
Verdict handed down in machete slaying by MS-13 gang members
The leader of a Houston area clique of MS-13 – the notorious street gang imported from El Salvador—was convicted Thursday of murder in the bloody machete slaying of a 14-year-old.
Jose Granados-Guevara, 23, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison after being found guilty by visiting state District Judge Terry Flenniken after a three-day bench trial in the Harris County courthouse.
The judge is expected to determine the punishment after hearing more evidence Thursday.
Police: Texas Man put body in refrigerator after 6-month-old died in hot van
MELISSA, Texas (AP) — A Dallas area man whose 6-month-old daughter died after she was left in a hot minivan parked outside the family home has been charged with manslaughter. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KDFW-TV (http://bit.ly/28NJVGk ) of Dallas-Fort Worth, Thedford said he dropped two other children off at day care about 9 a.m. Tuesday and had returned home to sleep.
The good, the bad and the ugly of Texas stereotypes
After living in Texas for 28 years, I still don’t own a horse or a cowboy hat. But that hasn’t stopped people from asking me about them every time I venture outside the Lone Star State.
Supreme Court deadlocks on landmark Obama immigration plan in United States v. Texas
A short-handed U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday reached a 4-4 split on President Barack Obama’s landmark 2014 immigration plan, upholding a lower court’s ruling that blocks the administration from giving temporary work permits to some 4 million immigrants in the country illegally and delaying their deportation. The decision comes in the midst of a divisive presidential campaign in which immigration has been a defining issue, propelling Donald Trump to the top of the Republican ticket as its presumptive nominee. Both are based on a long-standing legal concept called deferred action that allows the government to defer deporting certain immigrants and temporarily permit them to work. Allowing states to sue simply because they don’t like federal programs opens the floodgates to challenge any policies they disagree with that are clearly under the purview of the federal government, said Steve Vladeck, an American University Washington College of Law professor who specializes in the Supreme Court. […] Roberts said the state could not prove it was injured by the government’s policy, described standing as “a fundamental limitation ensuring that courts function as courts, and not intrude on the politically accountable branches.”
Five-year-old child drowns in League city pool
A 5-year-old drowned Wednesday evening at an apartment complex pool in League City around 7 p.m., according to KHOU and KTRK.
Why a new report names Texas one of the worst states to grow up
Texas – and the South in general – don’t seem be the most kid-friendly places for Americans.
Veterans give Houston VA earful at town hall meeting
Houston veterans voiced their complaints – and satisfaction – with the Veteran Affairs Houston Medical Center Wednesday at a town hall meeting.
Customer service, availability of services and long wait times for appointments dominated the two-hour meeting, but the beleaguered VA also drew some praise from the dozen or so veterans who attended.
South Texas woman claims police offered taco after sexual assault
A south Texas woman has filed a lawsuit against the City of La Joya and officers with the La Joya Police Department.
Buc-ee’s and its competitive pay gets love from the National Review
This week the National Review’s Kevin D. Williamson looked at the Buc-ee’s phenomenon for the online conservative outpost. Titled “Buc-eenomics” the short essay compares Buc-ee’s to that other American roadside convenience phenom, Wawa.
‘Largest Medicare fraud takedown’ nabs doctors, nurses in nationwide sting
In what the Justice Department billed as the “largest Medicare fraud takedown” ever, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Sylvia Mathews Burwell, secretary of Health and Human Services, announced Wednesday that 301 defendants have been charged with health care fraud, among them 61 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionalsm resulting in approximately $900 million in improper billing.
Twenty-two people face federal charges in 11 cases brought by U.S. Attorney Ken Magidson and the Justice Department’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force in the Southern District of Texas which spans 43 counties stretching from Madison in the north to Chambers on the Gulf and Web on the western end. The local cases allege medical businesses have fraudulently billed heath care programs for more than $136 million.
Joel Osteen headed to court in case against Church of Wells members
Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church—the largest protestant congregation in the country—is expected to appear in a Harris County courtroom Wednesday, and may have to testify against four men accused of causing multiple disturbances during a Sunday service last year.
In wake of fatal chase, police chief declines to detail department chase policy
Tyler Dunman, of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office, said Nee returned to the scene after seeing the crash. While many metropolitan police departments, including HPD, have adopted pursuit policies limiting when an officer can participate in a high-speed chase, Verot did not discuss whether the small Patton Village department had a written policy. The circumstances of the pursuit is part of an ongoing investigation by state troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Law enforcement experts say an extensive review of the Father’s Day pursuit is warranted, given the fatal consequences not only to the officer but to an innocent family who were obeying the traffic laws. Lyons said the inquiry should determine if the officer’s decision to start the chase was warranted by the severity of the crime, and whether the chase could have been called off once there was enough information to arrest the driver at a later time. In Sunday’s accident, the family of the boy who died was transported to Memorial Hermann at The Woodlands; two were admitted, hospital officials said, and 9-year-old Andrea Hilario remained in the hospital Tuesday in stable condition. On Tuesday, area police departments joined a convoy of two-dozen police cars that escorted the officer’s body to a funeral home, city secretary Joy Dawson said.
Meth lab on wheels busted in traffic stop in Nacogdoches
A 53-year-old man in Nacogdoches was arrested Sunday during a traffic stop for allegedly having a mobile meth lab.
Federal judge: State must provide water without arsenic to Pack Unit inmates
A federal judge in Houston has ordered the Texas prison system to provide safe drinking water to inmates at the Pack Unit in Navasota, saying the unit’s arsenic-laden well water “violates contemporary standards of decency.”
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison said the Wallace Pack Unit, a low security facility in Grimes County that holds elderly and sick inmates, has 15 days to replace its water supply.
The emergency motion to replace the drinking water was filed by a group of inmates suing the state on the grounds that the lack of air conditioning during the hot summer months is a form of “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Free speech – not trespassing – at root of Lakewood Church disruption, lawyers say
“The state is trying to make a crime out of religious speech by these men,” defense attorney Brad Loper said in opening statements Tuesday of the misdemeanor trial of four of the men. The men, all of whom are members of a small church in the East Texas town of Wells, are charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing and causing a disturbance in the June 28, 2015 incident. Prosecutors said security video would show the men intentionally caused a security problem by scattering themselves among the 12,000 parishioners in Lakewood’s massive arena. “Everyone’s welcome, until they’re not,” Honeycutt told jurors. […] they pose a security threat.
VA Houston wants to hear from veterans at Wednesday town hall
Investigators with the Office of Inspector General concluded that two former scheduling supervisors and the current director of two Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Houston had instructed staff to record appointment changes as if the patient had canceled, even when the VA initiated the change, according to a report released Monday. Since the investigation began, schedulers have received new training to make sure the problem does not happen again, spokeswoman Maureen Dyman said Tuesday. VA officials contend that the appointment manipulation did not harm local veterans or others seeking treatment at the DeBakey medical center or its outlying clinics.
The Sky Lobby at Houston’s Chase Tower is now closed to the public
The 60th floor Sky Lobby at the Chase Tower in Downtown Houston has recently closed to the public, according to a representative.
Pearland mourns fallen officer as going ‘a step above’
PEARLAND – Hundreds of members of law enforcement joined family and friends in mourning the death of a Pearland police officer at a funeral Tuesday morning, remembering a rookie who was a widely considered a “man of value.”
Officer Endy Ekpanya was killed in the line of duty last week as the result of a collision with a woman who was believed to be intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Bike plan finalized, now council approval sought
Houston’s comprehensive plan for improving bicycling in the city is finalized, and now supporters are turning their attention to gaining City Council approval and bureaucratic changes that will make the long-term plan a reality.
New report highlights income inequality in the US, Texas
Birds fly, bees buzz and income inequality continues to grow across the U.S., a new report from the Economic Policy Institute says.
Houston man added to list of Texas’ Most Wanted Sex Offenders
Texas officials have added a Houston man to the list of the state’s most wanted sex offenders in hopes of capturing him, according to a release this morning.
See who in Houston donates to Trump
If you’re politically inclined, you’ll likely read plenty of posts today on Donald Trump’s newly released campaign finance report for the month of May.
There’s plenty to examine. The Donald spent more on hats ($450,000) than on strategy consulting ($281,000), for instance. The candidate also paid “Draper Sterling” $30,000 for advertising in May. That company is registered to a house in Connecticut, but it also, much to the Internet’s delight, carries the same name as a fictional ad firm portrayed in the TV series “Mad Men.”
Woman accused in 2014 crime spree testifies
A Houston woman on trial for allegedly participating in a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style crime spree that left four people dead in 2014 will face prosecutors Tuesday.
On Monday, 42-year-old Kimberly Nicole Cormier told jurors that she was a victim, not an accomplice, the linchpin of her defense in her trial on charges of capital murder.
Sometimes coming to tears, Cormier testified in her own defense that she was held at gunpoint for days after she witnessed her boyfriend kill his cocaine dealer, then the dealer’s neighbor, on Sept. 2, 2014.
“He told me he would kill me,” Cormier testified.
GoFundMe page set up for 6-year-old girl bitten by shark in Galveston
The 6-year-old girl who was bitten by a shark in Pirates Beach is stable, but the family is asking for help through a GoFundMe page.
Houston VA facilities doctored patient appointment data
Employees at Houston-area Department of Veterans Affairs facilities manipulated scheduling data for hundreds of medical appointments, understating patient wait times by days or even months, according to an agency watchdog.
Investigators with the VA’s Office of Inspector General concluded that two former scheduling supervisors and the current director of two Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Houston had instructed staff to record appointment changes as if the patient had canceled, even when the VA initiated the changes, according to a report released Monday.
The report’s revelations incensed legislators and veterans advocates, including local veterans who have complained about difficulties getting treatment in the Houston facilities.
At least 2 dozen units damaged in River Oaks apartment blaze
“The water damage just torched the place,” Herel, a 29-year-old oil trader, said. The Sunday fire at the Essexhouse apartment complex, located near Essex and Weslayan, climbed to four-alarm level and damaged 20 to 25 units, according to Jay Evans, Houston Fire Department spokesman. The number of people displaced was not immediately known, Evans said, but the fire department expects about two people lived in each apartment on average. Kristen Hurt, the assistant manager of Gables Property, which manages Essexhouse, said her company is working to help people find temporary homes. The fire did not reach their apartment, but the water damage was enough to make them need to leave.
Texas secessionists hope for boost from Brexit vote
Britain’s Thursday vote on withdrawal from the European Union could energize Texas’ recurrent push for independence, which has gained a high profile of late.
‘Bonnie & Clyde’ defendant says she was hostage during crime spree
A Houston woman accused of participating in a “Bonnie and Clyde” crime spree that left four people dead in 2014 told jurors on Monday that she was a victim, not an accomplice.
Kimberly Nicole Cormier, 42, said she was held at gunpoint for days after she accidentally witnessed her boyfriend shoot his cocaine dealer, then the dealer’s neighbor on Sept. 2, 2014.
“He told me he would kill me,” Cormier testified in her trial on charges of capital murder. “I believed him. I just saw him put a bullet into two people’s heads.”
The DEA is probably not reclassifying marijuana later this summer
Texans, don’t break out your Lone Star State-shaped bongs just yet. According to a DEA statement, an anonymous, single-source Santa Monica Observer article doesn’t quite have it right when it comes to supposed upcoming marijuana reclassification.
City picks up new park land
Houston will pick up 1.7 acres of park land in Independence Heights if City Council goes along at its Wednesday meeting.
Services set Tuesday for fallen Pearland police officer
A funeral service and procession for fallen Pearland police Officer Endy Ekpanya is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Grace Community Church in Pearland.
A public viewing will be held at the church Monday evening at 14505 Gulf Freeway from 5 to 8 p.m.
Ekpanya was killed in the line of duty on June 12 when he was involved in a collision with Amber Willemsen, a former assistant principal who was out on bond at the time of the crash on a drug charge.
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