chron.com
The Katy Independent School District has enforced a new policy for next year banning cell phones and other personal devices in the classroom, sparking a heated debate among parents and students. Katy ISD’s new technology policy, called the CLASS 1:1 (Connected Learning for Academic Student Success) policy means every student from third grade to 12th grade will get a Chromebook for their school work, assignments, and activities. Simultaneously, students will not be allowed to use their personal d…
14 days ago
chron.com
Twenty-five years after tragedy struck Aggie nation, Texas A&M University leadership is considering bringing back one of the school’s longest-standing traditions, according to records obtained by the Texas Tribune. In 1999, before the annual football rivalry game between Texas A&M and the University of Texas, a giant bonfire of 4,000 logs roughly 12 feet long collapsed and killed 12 people and injured dozens more. University officials canceled the bonfire after the tragic accident but it could s…
23 days ago
chron.com
Houston Mayor John Whitmire detailed his last three months as the fourth-largest city’s top boss and outlined some of his ongoing projects in a one-on-one conversation with former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett Wednesday night. Some of those plans include seeking voter approval to raise the property tax revenue cap and using his political experience to “mend” government relationships among local and state officials, which he addressed at an event with the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Here a…
28 days ago
chron.com
Thousands of African art pieces are going up for sale this week after years of controversy tying the huge collection to Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis. The auction of 1,200 art pieces will take place on Thursday, April 4, at 10 a.m. at 6464 Savoy Drive in Sharpstown. The massive art collection comes after Houston real estate agent and owner of the pieces Sam Njunuri lost a 2022 civil case, forcing him to auction off the art and face $1 million in damages in fees, per court records. A…
about 1 month ago
chron.com
For the second year in a row, Texas ranked high on a national list of organized white supremacist propaganda events. According to new data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Texas had the second-highest number of white supremacist and extremist incidents in 2023, just behind Virginia. Texas was home to 698 of the 7,567 incidents in 2023 nationwide, a record high compared to the 6,746 incidents in 2022. According to ADL, the spike represents about a 12 percent increase in a year. The Lone S…
about 1 month ago
chron.com
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is calling for equitable pay county-wide and sounding the alarm about questionable processes two months after a quarrel with her colleagues over one department director’s lofty pay increase. “We’re in this situation why? Because two courts ago, there was a 40 percent raise for a male executive director with an explanation that does not hold water,” Hidalgo said. “It goes back to preserving the old way of doing things. Mysteriously, somebody gets all this money, a…
about 1 month ago
chron.com
After several complaints, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the city plans to regulate residential homes and apartments used as short-term rentals. His vow comes as residents living near the Museum District and the Galleria, among others, said they are witnessing a string of public sex, noisy parties, and domestic violence instances and are heavily concerned about the lack of supervision of renters. Whitmire said he plans to meet with City Attorney Arturo Michel to propose an ordinance regulatin…
about 1 month ago
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Texas influencers Baxter Hosley, 22, and Garrett Roy Mac Donagh, 23, popularly known online as Thievin, have been reported dead after a fatal car crash last weekend in southwest Houston. The two TikTokers, known mainly for fitness content, reportedly died after they lost control of their BMW, going over 100 mph, and crashed when the car skidded off the road on South Main Street near Fondren Road around 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. Officials from the Houston Police Department say they were speed…
about 2 months ago
chron.com
Houston ISD teacher and union president Michelle Williams faces removal after years of working in the district based on a string of social media posts that were critical of HISD boss Mike Miles. According to a Thursday report by the Houston Chronicle, Williams, a third-grade teacher at Shadowbriar Elementary School, was issued a letter informing her that she was being relocated to the bus distribution center Northwest Motor Pool, effectively kicking her out of the classroom because of alleged “i…
about 2 months ago
chron.com
Tuesday, March 5, is Primary Election Day in Texas, and Houstonians will vote on dozens of federal, state, and local races before the November general election. According to the Harris County Elections Office (HCEO), nearly 200,000 voters cast their ballots in person during early voting, making up a tiny percentage of the million registered voters in the county. Despite “voter fatigue,” experts say Harris County and the Houston area have some of the most competitive races in the state. Here is e…
about 2 months ago
chron.com
Two months into the new year, the city of Houston’s Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo have yet to convene for an official meeting despite “several attempts” from Hidalgo’s office, according to confirmation from their spokespersons this week. The fact that the two highest-ranked officials in Houston and Harris County have not officially sat down with each other is unusual in a city that is used to seeing the two top officials side-by-side at important events. In comparison,…
2 months ago
chron.com
Thousands of Harris County voters have already cast their ballots in early voting for the 2024 Texas Primary Elections, according to the county elections office. Tomorrow, Houstonians will vote on dozens of races across federal, state, and local offices. Of those races, a few stand out among the crowd, according to experts. Despite “voter fatigue,” a few local races are expected to be more exciting than past primary elections. “These districts are typically drawn in a way to either benefit one…
2 months ago
chron.com
Days after facing backlash for making insensitive comments, Democratic officials are blasting Texas state Rep. Shawn Thierry for misleading voters in a campaign mailer after using their image in likeness without their permission. The campaign mailer features four photos: two of Thierry smiling with supporters at a rally, another with her alongside Houston City Controller Hollins smiling in front of the Barbara Jordan Memorial Parkway sign, and another with her and Democratic U.S. Rep. James Cly…
2 months ago
chron.com
Texas gun laws likely permitted Lakewood shooter Gennesse Ivonne Moreno to purchase the AR-15 legally, despite her criminal record and mental health issues history, experts say. Sunday afternoon’s shooting at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch unfolded when Moreno entered the west side of the building off of the Southwest Freeway wielding an AR-15 and a .22 caliber rifle minutes before the 2 p.m. Spanish language service was set to start. Authorities said Moreno immediately started shooting shortl…
3 months ago
chron.com
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and city council members approved $2 million on Wednesday to continue the relocation process for residents living on a contaminated cancer cluster site in the Greater Fifth Ward area. The millions of dollars authorized come after Whitmire pleaded to council members in January to delay the process for 30 days to receive more time and review the city’s plan. City Council’s unanimous vote allocates $2 million between the City of Houston and the Houston Land Bank for the…
3 months ago
chron.com
Hundreds of students at James Madison High School in South Houston protested outside their campus on Thursday in response to the campus’s newly enforced cellphone ban and asserted that school conditions and culture are comparable to a prison. Thursday’s protest marks the latest student demonstration in a week since Principal Edgar Contreras implemented the new policy, arguing that the cellphone ban aims to stop fighting on campus. Students responded to the restriction, walking out of class on M…
3 months ago
chron.com
Houston Congressman Al Green successfully blocked the House Republicans’ attempt to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday while still in recovery from an emergency surgery, entering the House floor in the last few minutes of the vote in a wheelchair and wearing a hospital gown. Green, 76 years old and a Democrat from Texas, left his hospital bed to make the trip to the chamber with a vote break, voting to stop the resolution in a 216-214 vote. House GOP’s failed l…
3 months ago
chron.com
One of Harris County’s highest-paid employees at $350,000 a year was just offered a nearly 40 percent increase in salary – and Judge Lina Hidalgo wants no part of it. Harris County leaders approved an increase in Harris County Toll Road Authority executive director Robert Trevino’s salary by 39 percent, increasing his overall yearly pay from around $350,000 to nearly $500,000. The significant pay increase sparked a heated debate among commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting. Commissioners discus…
3 months ago
chron.com
Houston ISD’s latest calendar for the 2024-2025 school year is out, and while not officially approved, appears it will be the final candidate for next week’s board vote. There has been much controversy surrounding the new calendar, as HISD Superintendent Mike Miles has been pushing for a longer school year amidst a backlash from the community that insists lengthening the school year will not solve the district’s problems. HISD has proposed its academic calendar for next year, and the first day s…
3 months ago
chron.com
After Houston Mayor John Whitmire moved on Monday to cancel a committee meeting to discuss affordable housing spearheaded by Council Member Tiffany Thomas, the reelected councilor said the latest reporting on the sequence of events doesn’t tell the whole story. The dispute between the two local politicians was first reported by Houston Chronicle reporter Yilun Cheng, who wrote Whitmire canceled the meeting this week over an affordable housing program, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, despite…
3 months ago
chron.com
To add to Houston’s growing list of vibrant public art displays, two new murals in Downtown’s Central Business District were unveiled on Wednesday, with an eye-catching art piece spotlighting the city’s infamous history as one of the most polluted cities in the southern region. Both art pieces are part of the county’s “Big Art. Bigger Change” project. Since the project started in 2022, 35 public art pieces have been installed in Downtown Houston. According to the Houston mural map, the Greater…
3 months ago
