Education
Houston teachers union president worries about transparency amid TEA takeover
Posted on · "If you want buy-in then you need to include everyone in the process, and that's not happening."
Harris County
Internal Harris County letter details charges that led to Rick Noriega’s firing
Posted on · Retired Major General Rick Noriega was fired as Harris County's IT chief last month after failing to take mandatory sexual harassment training.
Criminal Justice
Itasca ISD superintendent arrested in underage sex sting in Houston
Posted on · Authorities say 47-year-old Michael Stephens, superintendent of Itasca ISD, wanted to come to Houston and engage in sexual acts with someone who he thought was a 15-year-old girl.
Local
National campaign for Supreme Court reform makes stop in Houston
Posted on · Demands the campaign is pushing are expansion of the Supreme Court and adding about three to four seats to the court, impose term limits and a stronger code of ethics.
Texas
Ken Paxton impeachment moves to Texas Senate, where conflicts of interest, political intrigue await
Posted on · Senators have been publicly silent, citing their role as jurors with a weighty decision: Whether to remove one of the state’s top Republicans from office.
Infrastructure
City of Houston to create sidewalk program to improve conditions, pedestrian mobility
Posted on · The city identified the Gulfton and Kashmere Gardens communities as pilot projects for the plan.
Airports
Guatemalan man jailed on $1 million bond after allegedly hiding in plane’s landing gear compartment at Houston airport
Posted on · Jehffrey Gutirres, 26, has been accused of trespassing multiple times this year at Bush Intercontinental Airport. He is alleged to have entered the United States last year by hiding on an American Airlines flight from Guatemala to Miami.
Criminal Justice
A.J. Armstrong’s third capital murder trial set to start Monday after jurors selected
Posted on · Armstrong, 23, is accused of fatally shooting his parents, Dawn and Antonio Armstrong Sr., when he was a teenager in 2016. Two previous sets of jurors have been unable to reach a consensus on a verdict.
Events
Houston Pride Month 2023: Events where you can celebrate
Posted on · Events celebrating the Houston area's LGBTQ+ community are planned throughout the month of June.
Town Square
Talk of the Town: Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Impeachment, Gun Violence, TV Finales, and More
Posted on · Our panel of guests share their thoughts on trending topics.
Houston Matters
Houstonians find community performing traditional Irish music
Posted on · This weekend, Houston hosts the Gulf Coast Cruinniú, a gathering of traditional Irish musicians. We meet some of them and hear them perform.
I SEE U
I SEE U, Episode 12: Band of (Rhythm and Blues) Brothers [Encore]
Posted on · Legendary producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, take us on a musical journey of their past, present and hit-making future. This episode is an encore of the August 7, 2021 original broadcast.
Houston Matters
Teachers union reacts to new HISD leadership (June 2, 2023)
Posted on · On Friday's show: Now that we know who is going to lead Houston ISD under the state takeover, how is it sitting with area educators? We get reaction from the Houston Federation of Teachers to a new superintendent and new board of managers running the district.
Houston Matters
Chasing cheese down a hill: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week
Posted on · The Houston Matters panel of non-experts weighs in on stories from the week’s news and decides if they’re good, bad, or ugly.
Town Square
2023 Hurricane Season: What You Need to Know
Posted on · Examining the early forecasts; plus, what to be aware of and how to best prepare.
Immigration
Texas begins its battle against DACA program again, claiming it causes injury to the state
Posted on · The state alleges that recipients benefit from using state-funded resources like public education and Medicaid, which places a strain on state funds.
Local
Houston Museum of Natural Science Corpse Flower, ‘Meg’, in full bloom
Posted on · The corpse flower, Meg, has a bloom that will only last around one to three days, and it will take six to eight years before the flower blooms again.
Texas
Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin, prominent Houston attorneys, tapped to prosecute Ken Paxton impeachment trial
Posted on · Hardin and DeGuerin said they were honored to represent the House in Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Senate, which has not been scheduled but will occur before Aug. 28.
Education News
Humble ISD accused of discrimination after Spanish National Honor Society graduates prevented from wearing specialized sashes
Posted on · A school district spokesperson says the 20 impacted students should have been allowed to wear their colorful stoles at Saturday's graduation ceremony, but added that the snafu "had nothing to do with race or culture."
Immigration
Texas set to renew its court battle against DACA immigration program in Houston
Posted on · The hearing Thursday morning is the latest in the years-long effort by Texas and its conservative allies to end the popular program that has granted limited relief to undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children.
Houston Matters
What kind of hurricane season should we expect this year?
Posted on · The Atlantic hurricane season is here. A disaster relief expert and NOAA's chief hurricane forecaster walk us through the next six months.
Houston Matters
How educators are helping immigrant children adapt to a new country while still learning
Posted on · Jessica Lander talks about her book "Making Americans," which illustrates how educators are helping students navigate their education as an immigrant. We also talk with a Houston educator whose work is featured in the book.
Houston Matters
Photos: Inside the New HMNS Shark Exhibit
Posted on · Houston Matters takes a tour of the new exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which tells the storys of a vast array of the ocean's most fearsome predators.
Education
New Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles promises sweeping reforms to 29 schools
Posted on · State-appointed leaders for the largest district in Texas were sworn in during the early morning at Houston ISD headquarters without public notice or access. Some community advocates are worried about the new superintendent, Mike Miles, who promised sweeping reforms in an interview with Houston Public Media.
Immigration
With the second anniversary of the Fall of Kabul approaching, thousands of Afghan refugees remain stuck in legal limbo
Posted on · The Houston area has taken in between 5,500 and 15,000 Afghan refugees since August 2021. Many of them are here as humanitarian parolees, without a clear path to citizenship. Their parole is set to expire within a matter of months.
Houston Matters
New HISD leadership unveiled (June 1, 2023)
Posted on · On Thursday's show: The Texas Education Agency has unveiled the new Houston ISD Superintendent and the nine members of the TEA appointed Board of Managers who will oversee the state’s largest public school district.
Houston
Pat Mann Phillips makes Houston rodeo history as first woman elected to lead board of directors
Posted on · Mann Phillips, 63, a longtime volunteer at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, was recently picked by her peers to serve a three-year term as chair of the board.
Local
NRG Park kicks off new sustainability initiative with park upgrades, expected to save $54 million
Posted on · The new initiative is part of Harris County’s Climate Action Plan to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
Politics
Abbott taps John Scott, former Texas secretary of state, as interim attorney general
Posted on · Scott, a former deputy attorney general, will run the agency because Ken Paxton has been suspended from office until his impeachment trial before the Texas Senate.
Politics
Sean Teare, longtime assistant to Harris County DA Kim Ogg, challenging former boss in Democratic primary
Posted on · Teare, 43, joined Ogg's staff when she first was elected in 2016 but now says the DA's office is "broken" and needs fixing.
Energy & Environment
ERCOT unveils new dashboard to provide transparency on power grid operations
Posted on · The Texas Advisory and Notification System will provide information on grid operations while serving as a hub to inform the public of potential energy conservation notices.
News
SpaceX mission returns from space station with ex-NASA astronaut, 3 paying customers
Posted on · The return caps a nine-day mission to the International Space Station. The mission was funded by Axiom Space, a company that wants to build and operate the world's first commercial space station.