Dylan McGuinness

Recently fired Harris County Public Health director plans to sue the county

Exclusive: How did a California firm land a $6M Harris County contract? Unusual emails raise questions

Houston City Hall event honoring Sheila Jackson Lee drew notables such as Tina Knowles, Beyoncé's mother, and Pastor Joel Osteen of Houston.

Houston firefighters to get checks as big as $271K next week under Whitmire's union settlement

Mayor Whitmire says he'll hold CenterPoint accountable after Beryl. How?

A massive IT outage that disturbed Microsoft customers and businesses across the world on Friday caused flight delays and cancellations at Houston airports, led to the temporary closure of Port Houston and forced Texas A&M University to cancel classes. The far-reaching outages stemmed from a faulty software update for the Texas-based cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike. It affected users of Microsoft Windows from Sugar Land to Germany to India. The company said the problem did not stem from a secur…

The Public Utility Commission on Monday launched an investigation into CenterPoint’s response to widespread power outages that continue one week after Hurricane Beryl swept through the region, Chairman Thomas Gleeson said. The commission’s staff will recommend changes CenterPoint can make before the current hurricane season is over, Gleeson said, and it also will report back to Gov. Greg Abbott and legislative leaders in December on potential changes to state law that could help avoid lengthy ou…

Here's what city, county, state and federal lawmakers had to say about CenterPoint’s performance following Hurricane Beryl.

Why did Houston have limited generators for essential facilities after Beryl?

Only on Tuesday, the day after Beryl made landfall, did Houston Police officers begin working the 12-hour shifts typical during disasters.

Houston officials are asking residents to stay home Monday night, as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Beryl begin to recede and crews start surveying the region’s damage. An array of hazards, they said, continues to threaten public safety, including falling trees, high water, hanging power lines, broken traffic signals, and – of course – the widespread lack of power. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Tuesday, with the heat index likely rising to 105 degrees as a wide swath o…

Travelers who catch flights into or out of Hobby Airport likely have noticed that their dining options have changed in the last year. Houston City Council awarded concessions contracts in 2023 to new companies, removing 4 Families of Houston, a group led by Pappas Restaurants, after a 20-year run there. The new deals followed a monthslong feud between Pappas Restaurants and former Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration about the contract process – and questions of fairness around it. Here’s wha…

Harris County officials on Tuesday began making new plans to extend a program that sends social workers instead of sheriff’s deputies to some non-violent 911 calls, an effort that was cast in doubt last week due to questions about the contractor running the program. Commissioners voted narrowly last week to withhold about $270,000 in payments to DEMA Consulting & Management for its work on the program in February and March, citing an ongoing audit sparked by questions about the company’s billing…

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday she plans to seek a third term in office in 2026. Hidalgo told the Chronicle during a live virtual event that she is “really excited” to run for reelection. The county executive, who took a leave of absence last year for treatment of depression, said if she can tackle her mental health challenges, she can tackle another campaign cycle. “Now, I feel I can do anything,” she said. Hidalgo also said she still has work to do — work that has been interrup…

Airport officials say they are bullish on Hobby Airport’s new dining options, despite some concern about a lagging transition one year after Houston City Council gave the contentious contract to a competitor of Pappas Restaurants. The food and beverage contracts at airports are among the most lucrative available at City Hall. Last year’s Hobby deal ignited a monthslong feud between Pappas Restaurants, which had a 20-year foothold at the airfield before losing the contract, and former Mayor Sylve…

How Houston residents and businesses can apply for disaster help

The severe windstorm that swept through Houston Thursday night, bringing a tornado in Cypress and 100 mile-per-hour wind gusts through downtown, knocked down a lot of trees and branches across the city. So, who’s responsible for cleaning them up? Houston city officials encourage residents to report downed trees and debris to 311 when they are blocking a public right-of-way. The city, though, will not remove trees from private properties; homeowners must find help elsewhere if they cannot remove…

Whitmire's budget leaves out extra $100M for streets, drainage

After months of controversy surrounding the Houston Police Department’s practice of suspending cases due to short staffing, the revelation Tuesday that Chief Troy Finner was on an email discussing one such case in 2018 was the “final straw”, Mayor John Whitmire said. Since February, the police department has been investigating its own practice of closing some 264,000 cases in the last eight years due to lack of personnel” code. When Finner announced the investigation, he said he did not learn of…

Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker has been talking to friends and supporters in recent months about making another run for elected office. Parker, a Democrat who led City Hall from 2010 to 2016, is considering a run for Harris County judge in 2026, according to two people who have spoken to her directly about her interest in the job. The Houston Chronicle granted the sources anonymity to discuss private conversations. The former mayor said she has not finalized any plans about her future. She i…