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Axios Houston
Cancer-causing pollutants found in Houston Shipping Channel sediment
Sediment from the bottom of the Houston Ship Channel has concerning levels of cancer-causing chemicals, according to test results collected by a coalition of Houston-area environmental organizations.Why it matters: Project 11, the latest expansion effort that aims to widen and deepen the channel, is entering the next phase of dredging.Sludge from the bottom of the ship channel has long been dumped in nearby port communities like Galena Park and Pleasantville.State of play: Residents, advocates and researchers are demanding officials with the Port of Houston and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who are partnering on Project 11, thoroughly test the...
Mysterious stop signs appear in Houston's Museum District
No one knows who installed a pair of stop signs at a busy Museum District intersection last weekend, and the City of Houston acted quickly to remove them.Why it matters: The nature of the signs' unauthorized installation looks like undercover tactical urbanism in a car-centric city grappling with the future of its transportation ideology.Driving the news: Witnesses tell Axios that "official-looking" crews showed up around 4pm Saturday and began installing stop signs on Binz Street at its intersection with Chenevert Street.There are stop signs currently for drivers on Chenevert approaching Binz but not on Binz approaching Chenevert.The signs both baffled...
Cruise eases back into Houston
Cruise plans to once again operate a small fleet of driver-monitored autonomous vehicles on Houston streets in the coming weeks.Why it matters: Houston is one of three testing grounds nationwide for the embattled ride-hailing service to calibrate its "elevated" autonomous operations and whet the public's appetite for sharing the road with a robot.Dallas and Phoenix are the only other cities with active Cruise operations.Meanwhile, the General Motors subsidiary remains under federal investigation over how it handled an October incident in San Francisco in which a woman was dragged 20 feet underneath one of its robotaxis.Catch up quick: Cruise briefly offered...
HBO's "Ren Faire" is the tale of Houston's royal drama
HBO's "Ren Faire" is the story of Southeast Texas royal drama.Why it matters: The three-part docuseries is a wild but very real look into the Houston-area Texas Renaissance Festival's recent succession crisis.What it's about: The series follows 86-year-old festival owner and playboy hopeful George Coulam, lovingly called King George by his subordinates, who in 2021 decided it was time to pass the scepter.The series follows three frontrunners: Jeff Baldwin, who rose through the ranks from entertainer to general manager; Louie Migliaccio, the festival's renowned kettle corn hawker with deep pockets; and Darla Smith, a vendor coordinator who thinks she can...
Houston shines in Netflix's "Hit Man" and "Perfect Match"
Richard Linklater's latest offering is based on the real-life tale of an undercover Houston cop posing as a hit man.The big picture: "Hit Man" showcases Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, a former Houston police officer who in the 1980s and 1990s thwarted murder-for-hire plots like it was his job.Yes, but: While the story is based on an article about a real-life Bayou City cop (specifically, this Texas Monthly article about that cop), it's set around a New Orleans professor.💭 Texas Bureau Chief Bob Gee's thought bubble: "Hit Man" isn't as quirky as "Bernie," Linklater's 2011 East Texas true-crime comedy also...
Restaurants are recycling oyster shells to reestablish reefs
Tons of oyster shells are diverted from the landfill and used to build reefs in Galveston and reestablish habitats.Why it matters: The oyster population has been declining for more than a decade. And since Hurricane Ike, there's been a more than 60% reduction in oyster habitats in Galveston, per the Galveston Bay Foundation.Oysters help improve water quality, and oyster reefs can prevent erosion and serve as barriers to storms and tides.How it works: The Galveston Bay Foundation works with more than 30 restaurants to collect used oyster shells. Roughly 200 tons of shells are collected yearly, per Sally Clark, the...
The 2024 Houston rodeo generated nearly as much as the 2017 Super Bowl
The economic impact of the 2024 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo nearly rivaled the 2017 Super Bowl at NRG Stadium.By the numbers: The rodeo's total economic impact — measuring the money generated by visitors, including lodging, food and transportation — was $326.4 million, up 44% from 2019, the last time an economic impact analysis was conducted.The increase was partly due to inflation, but there were also more attendees this year — 2.6 million — and more general spending.The main drivers of RodeoHouston's economic impact in 2024 were lodging, accounting for $95.8 million, and food and beverage, totaling $96.6 million.Economic activity...
HISD reveals potential $4.4B bond
Tomorrow is the last day of school for Houston ISD students, marking the end of a year of change under a new, state-appointed superintendent. And now, a $4.4 billion bond proposal is on the table.Why it matters: HISD is presenting the bond — which would be the largest in the state's history — after a tumultuous school year that has many community members skeptical of the district's future and calling for more transparency, especially after the recent firings of principals and teachers that led to a mass student walkout in May.Driving the news: HISD officials have appointed a new, 28-person...
Weekend lunches on the rise in Houston
Data: Square; Chart: Jacque Schrag/AxiosHouston's restaurant spending is shifting from weekday lunch hours to the weekends, per new Square data.Why it matters: It's a reflection of pandemic behavior changes — and an important insight for restaurants as they continue adapting to survive and thrive.By the numbers: Houston's share of weekday lunch purchases from food and drink establishments using Square fell from 21.7% in 2019 to 18.7% in 2023.Meanwhile, the weekend's share of lunch purchases from those establishments rose from 30% in 2019 to 32.9% in 2023.Zoom out: Weekday lunch's share of overall restaurant transactions fell nationally from about 21% in 2019 to 18% in 2023, based on data from food and drink establishments using Square.By contrast, the weekend's share grew from about 30% in 2019 to 35% in 2023.How it works: Square, which makes payments processing technology, defines the "weekday lunch" period as 11am-2pm, the "weekend" as all day Saturday and Sunday, and "happy hour" as weekdays from 4-6pm.The bottom line: See you at brunch.Sign up for Axios Houston for free.
What you should do now before 2024 hurricane season heats up in Houston
It's that time we all collectively dread: The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season starts tomorrow, and early forecasts say it will be a doozy.Why it matters: Houstonians know better than most that it takes only one bad storm to alter a region forever.A tropical cyclone formation is not expected in the next week, per the National Hurricane Center, but now is the time to prepare, before the tropics heat up.Threat level: More than 2 million residential properties in Houston are at moderate or higher risk of hurricane wind damage, with total possible reconstruction costs exceeding $671 billion, according to a new...
Houston mayor defends comments about Gulfton residents
Mayor John Whitmire defended himself Wednesday after saying Gulfton residents are "largely undocumented immigrants" who may not be welcome in the posh Galleria neighborhood.Context: Whitmire made the comments to a Houston Landing reporter May 7 while questioning the Metropolitan Transit Authority's long-planned bus rapid transit line through Gulfton, one of Houston's most severely underserved neighborhoods.The rapid transit line, if constructed, would provide a connection to Metro's Silver Line, which runs through Uptown and the Galleria.Driving the news: The Landing's story on Whitmire's attitudes towards the project itself and Metro as a whole published Tuesday.In it, Whitmire is quoted as saying,...
Houston's food insecurity rate is rising
Texas has passed California in the percentage of the population that is food insecure, per a new report from Feeding America.Why it matters: Food insecurity has been rising nationwide and in Texas since the Great Recession, but about half of the people who struggle to pay for meals don't qualify for federal assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).Zoom in: The 18 counties served by the Houston Food Bank had a collective food insecurity rate of 15.4% in 2022, the latest year for which data is available.That's compared with 13% in 2021.Of those counties, San Jacinto and Trinity had...
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