New Bike Path, Anti-Eviction Program, and Beef Prices Going Up

Hey everyone, happy Friday. As we get closer to electing a new mayor, what do Houstonians want the next mayor to focus on? Plus, will HISD students be in school for more days? And what were the biggest takeaways from the first week of the Ken Paxton impeachment trial? Pulitzer Prize finalists Evan Mintz and Houston Landing Education Reporter Miranda Dunlap joined me to recap these stories and more. It's Friday, September 8th, 2023. I'm Raheel Ramzanali, and here's what Houston's talking about. All right, happy Friday, everyone, for the first time joining us on a Friday is Miranda. What's up Miranda? How are you? I'm great. Thank you so much for having me. Hey Evan, welcome back. Of course. Now, before we jump into the news, I saw an inch. Interesting survey. So I want to get your thoughts on this. As we know, Queen B. Beyoncé is coming to Houston later this month and seat pick did a survey asking 3,000 fans what they would give up for Beyoncé tickets. The top three picks were they would skip showering for a month. They would camp outside the venue for a month or give up a vacation in that year for Beyoncé tickets. So Miranda, of those three, which one are you taking for Beyoncé tickets? And let's say they're floor seats. All right, we'll make it a little bit more interesting. Okay. What are you giving up? I probably, I'm not camping outside of venue. I need to sleep in my own bed, but maybe, maybe I'd go without shower, although I don't love to admit that. How about you Evan? I think I smell nice weather and not I shower, you know, maybe I just give that up anyways. Yeah, you smell nice regardless. And plus, who are we trying to impress Evan? It's all good. What's going to happen, right? Yeah. So skipping showering for a month was the number one pick amongst all of those who were surveyed at 79.9% almost 80% of people were like, yeah, I'll just skip showering for a month. No big deal. So there you go. That's what everyone's giving up. I think I would do that too for Beyoncé tickets. It's all good. Just maybe we get to shower before the concert, right? At least we get that. So that'd be nice. All right. You know how this works. So you go first, biggest story of the week. What do you got for us? Yeah. So I feel like the biggest story of the week or one of them is that Houston Independence School District is taking steps towards lengthening their school year. This is one of the newer developments that we're seeing. Now the school year has started. New superintendent Mike Miles has said that the 172 day calendar school year is too restrictive. We all know that they're trying to do a lot in a short amount of time here. So this is kind of the next step in that. He wants 185 school days. So in order to do that, the school district would need to be designated a district of innovation through the Texas Education Agency. And that means a lot of different things. But as Houston landing reporter Asher at Laird Small reported, been hearing from some teachers who maybe aren't too happy about this. Teachers really look forward to their summer break after working long hours throughout the school year. And some would not want to see that short end. And I think it's also important to note that HIC tried this in 2020, but it was shot down by the district advisory committee. And probably also important to note that HIC would not be an outlier by doing this. Out of 1200 school districts in Texas, 965 have a district of innovation status. So they would not be alone. So how would this work with the teachers, right? You mentioned they would have to work more days now. So would they get paid more for the extra days or would it still be the same salary, do you know? As Asher reported, teachers working 197 days per year generally make about 3,000 to 4,000 more. And it would be 197 because they have those 15 days ahead of the school year with their preparing for everything that's to come. That is so interesting. Now, the other part of this is the teachers union. Like are they on board with this? What's going to happen with them? Because look, they've been really outspoken about the changes. They want to keep things a certain way as well, and all these changes are coming down so fast. I wonder how they're going to react to this. Yeah. In 2020, the union was not a fan of this. So I haven't heard how they feel about it quite yet, but knowing that they were not happy about it before, I think that's probably where we're headed. Yeah. And by the way, that district of innovation system, it gives school leaders the option of forego various laws related to academics, calendars, educator certification, class sizes, and teacher benefits according to the story that you already mentioned. And of course, that is linked in our show notes. So that innovation thing, it's huge that they really want this because they can do more. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's an interesting next move as the district changes so many aspects of how they're running some schools that I think I think it makes sense that this is something that is happening. But yes, it does introduce the ability from many more changes. Evan, how do you feel about this as a parent more days in school than means less at home? Hey. Well, my kids aren't old enough to be an HISD yet, but I've got to say they should go further. Like, why do we have summer break at all? We're not farmers anymore. We keep kids in year round. We need to stop having the learning drop off that occurs every June, July and August. Let's just rethink the way schools work. We can't be tied to the traditions of the past that they're not working for us today. Wow. Okay. So Evan, say, let's go. Let's forget about summer break. Yeah. Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it. And this has nothing to do with my own terrible experiences at summer camp. Unrelated. All right. Evan, how about you? What was your biggest story of the week? Well, the biggest story of the week, 100% was the Ken Paxton impeachment trial. You know, there's this idea that the state legislature existed not just to pass laws, but for entertainment purposes. And I've got to say, this week, it is living up to that. If you are watching, you've got Tony Busby and Dan Codgel going up against Rusty Harden and Dick DeGaren. This really is like the Mount Rushmore of litigators. And it is incredible to see these men do it. But Tony Busby has been budding heads with the witnesses. And I've got to say, if you didn't see him talking to Jeff Matier, who is the former first assistant for the Attorney General, like you've got to go back and watch these videos, it is incredible. What really stands out to me is that Matier is like to the right of Attila the Hun, okay? He currently works for First Liberty, which is one of those right wing lawsuit factories that's trying to destroy the separation of church and state. He was nominated for Donald Trump, but had to withdraw after it was revealed. He said that trans kids were part of Satan's plan. I mean, this guy is right wing. And so the argument that PACs and defenders are making, that all this impeachment process is just some kind of rhino and democrat scheme to get him out, which seems to be Busby's argument, it just doesn't hold any water. I mean, it's just bizarre to see these arguments. On the other hand, the prosecution is asking all of these former employees of PACs and his office, how much time were you spending on this Nate Paul case? How many public resources, how many man hours you're dedicating to defend this bizarre possibly corrupt businessman, to which I've got to say, you know, my eyes have been opened. We need to defend Ken Paxom. We need him in there. We need all of the Attorney General's time focused on defending Nate Paul. No more abortion litigation, no more trans litigation, no more conservative goals, all Nate Paul all the time. So was Busby up there with his new THC drink? Was he trying to promote that as well during the litigation process? You know, I didn't see him doing that, but I've got to say judging by the spray tan he had up there, it looked a little more pumpkin spice latte. Oh my gosh. So Evan, in terms of next steps, how many more days do we have of the trial, you think? You know, this could keep going. I think the lieutenant governor said this could be lasting through September, maybe even in October, but both sides have to make your arguments. And something else to keep in mind is that the lawyers up there aren't just playing to the senators, but they're playing to the base because the state senators know that if they vote the wrong way that the voters who show up in those primary elections, and that's a really small core group of people could get mad and push them out. And so you see Busby going for some of these quote lines that you know are just going to be plucked and sent around on Twitter or Facebook or email chains or whatever. For example, he accused the folks of going after Paxton of running a coup. It doesn't matter whether that's the sort of thing that the senators are going to find convincing. It's the sort of thing that the primary voters might find convincing. And you'll notice that in the very beginning of the trial, Paxton's team tried to have some motions to dismiss the charges. And Houston area Senator Paul Benton Court who's up for re-election voted with Paxton every single time. I hate that everything has turned into a re-election process and trying to get the voters instead of just doing what's right or what's wrong, right? Like it's so frustrating and it's so annoying. No, 100%. And especially given that Busby is being paid by Paxton's campaign funds. So every day Team Paxton is out there trying to raise money. Wow. Just wow. Okay. My biggest story of the week, it's always a great time when the Kinder Institute releases their annual survey on the city of Houston, but they released a new one in partnership with Houston Landing about the upcoming race for city mayor. Now these survey results came out this week and the biggest concern for Houstonians was crime. 80% wanted the next mayor to do something about crime, even though Evan, as you've mentioned, many times and we've mentioned as well, crime has been down in our city. Also one third said that their neighborhoods don't feel safe. And then nearly three quarters of Houston residents said that it was very important for the next mayor to take action to improve the city's physical infrastructure, such as sidewalks, roads and streetlights. So thoughts on the survey? Did you get a chance to read it? Miranda, I know you definitely had a chance to look at it. What are your thoughts? I think it was really interesting, especially hearing from Eileen Grange who wrote a story focused on the crime aspect of it. Just exactly what people want when it comes to crime and how I believe a sheet described it and talking to experts that it's not uncommon for crime to be an issue that kind of washes back up during an election cycle. So that's not totally surprising, but it was interesting to hear exactly what people wanted and how they want the next mayor to approach crime. You know, I was glad to see that something like a third of respondents wanted the mayor to build new bike lanes. I was surprised to see housing on there. Houston really isn't as affordable as it used to be. But I really think that you don't want a mayor who's going to be reactive to issues like this. He's just going to respond to the polls. The city needs leadership that can look forward and say, not what's important right now, but what is going to be important 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 50 years from now, and how can we make the policy decisions and investments today that are going to pay off then? Because the energy industry is changing, population dynamics are changing, the climate is changing. What is it that we need to do now so that we're not some 21st century Cleveland or St. Lewis? Oh, that's a great point. By the way, 85% of those surveys said that traffic congestion is also something they're really concerned about. And I'm asking those 85% did you just move to Houston or were never going to fix the traffic. So it's just part of us just embrace the traffic embrace that is going to take you 45 minutes to get from 59 to that 527 spur. You'll never get their short in a shorter amount of time. It sucks. That's part of us. That's what makes Houston great. The traffic. So I found that interesting as well. Again, the whole thing is linked in our show notes. Alright, let's get to our most overlooked story of the week Miranda. What was it for you? So I think something that might have went over looked that was really interesting to me. The story that Claire Mari at the Houston landing has been following for some time. But there is a man named Syed Rabani who has been granted a new sentencing hearing after sitting on Seth Rowe for 35 years because his appeal was essentially lost. And he is not alone in this. The county district clerk has acknowledged that it has lost about at least 100 appeals from people who say that they were unlawfully incarcerated and deserve a new sentencing. And those offenses are everything from aggravated theft to capital murder. So they don't know exactly at this point, I'm like, what exactly caused them to be lost and found. But that's 100 people whose lives have essentially been put on hold. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. That is so heartbreaking. Yeah. I mean, it's so in Rabani's case, he is severely mentally ill. So he can face execution because of his mental illnesses. So the stakes are so high for him because his guilty verdict still stands. It's just now that they're deciding whether or not they will send to the staff for the second time. And if he's not sentenced to death, it would be like in prison. But he's been incarcerated for so long that he would be immediately eligible for parole. Wow. That's going to be something to follow for sure to see how many other cases pop up, how many of these appeals are refiled. And we'll see what happens with that. But that is, it's just heartbreaking, right? Like, as you mentioned, their lives are put on hold because of an error. And that's just sad. You know, I keep coming back to a quote from Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackman who defended the death penalty his whole career. Until finally, one day, he said, I shall no longer tinker with the machinery of death. Because the death penalty is failed. We know it has. But we know it has because anyone who gets a death sentence really is allowed levels of appeals and scrutiny that don't occur at other levels of the criminal justice system, which makes me think how many folks have been convicted or unjustly detained pretrial for lower level felonies or misdemeanors who were innocent. And not only does this hurt all of us because it rips them away from their lives, being held behind bars has criminal genetic effects. But also if we're detaining the wrong person, if we're prosecuting the wrong person, that means the person who actually committed the crimes is still out there, probably committing more crimes. That's a great point right there. Evan, let's stick with you. What was your most overlooked story of the week? My overlooked story of the week is news that Harris County, Justice of the Peace Precincts 1 and 2, have received a grant from the National Center for State Courts to run an eviction diversion initiative. This is very exciting. Justice is doobal and lasano have a couple million dollars to hire people for one and a half years to help collect data and implement strategies to make sure that people who face potential eviction proceedings can be diverted onto other ways to get out of their homes or to be able to afford their homes. And I think this is really exciting because as we've seen from the polling Houston isn't as affordable as it used to be and getting an eviction on your record to make it really hard to rent ever again. At the same time, I've talked to judges and injustices in this position and they say, you know, I want to help people, but state law just makes it really tough. It really is on the side of the landlords. So anything we can to help negotiate these relationships between landlords and tenants and help people stay above board, I think is going to be great for the region. I love hearing that. It is so cool to see that we're doing different things to help families out as the city becomes a little bit less affordable. And that is something that is, you know, again, important for residents. So good to see that. I can't wait to see that program go into effect. Okay. My most overlooked story of the week, beef lovers, we've already seen this before. The price of beef has gone up and guess what? It might be going up again because of the drought. Yes, the drought and the weather has impacted so many things around the city and the state. But as conditions worsen, ranchers will have to slaughter cows now to cut back on the herd due to pasture and water issues. This will bring prices down for the short term, but then the future, of course, will be impacted because of less cows and the prices will be going up. This is a second straight summer where we've had drought conditions around the state. And it's hitting the cattle industry really hard. So get ready that brisket is going to go up the price of a burger is going to go up because of this heat. We can't catch a break, guys. We cannot catch a break. This is just awful. I thought I had it back because like some of my shrubs were dying, like having to kill off cattle because you don't have enough grasses, you don't have enough water. That's just terrible. And terrible for us. I don't want to pay too much for a burger, but you will later on, not now, but in a couple of months, four months, five months, that price is going up. So hey, it is what it is, can't do anything about it now. All right, let's get to our moment of joy. Let's end on a happy note. What do you got for us, Miranda? So something that I think was both very interesting and positive to read was a story by Monique Welch about how transgender Houstonians are kind of taking back their power and learning how to defend themselves. It comes at a time where there has been a lot of legislation targeting transactions like SB 12, SB 14, SB 15, just a lot for them. So Monique Welch went to a self-defense workshop. It was at the Montreux Center and was put on by a nonprofit that tries to empower transgender folk in Houston. And here they were essentially learning how to de-escalate situations or defend themselves without a weapon, if need be. So it was really interesting to learn about how people are attempting to gear up and become more proactive, especially after the passage of some of these bills, because they are anticipating an increased need to be able to defend themselves. And I know this doesn't quite sound like good news, but to me it was good to read a story about how people are kind of taking their power back and trying to gear up against things like this, which I think is a story you don't hear often. I think it's so cool. And also third-ward Jitsu, they have some awesome, awesome black belts teaching some of these classes and teaching these self-defense classes. So shout out to them. And this is something that I've been saying ever since I started training in Jitsu is that I think it needs to be a class that we teach at every school, because the art of defending yourself through Jitsu knowing how the body works, knowing how to get out of certain situations is something every person should know. And again, I'm a big proponent of this. I know I teach my daughter how to do not only Jitsu, but boxing as well, just to have those tools in her bag. But this is something that every student in HISD, any, you know, ISD across the city, instead of PE, or maybe once a week, we've got Jitsu classes. And it would be awesome, because the tools you pick up are going to follow you for the rest of your life. You know, hopefully you don't have to use them, but you will use them at some point. So great to see that awesome stuff there. Yeah. Yeah, there's simply no downside to that. All right. Evan, how about you? What was your moment of joy? Oh, my moment of joy was reading about how the county is giving an $8.1 million grant to finally connect Buffalo Bayou Park and Memorial Park with a bike path. This has been a decade in the making. I don't know if you spend a lot of time with those parks, but they're so close and yet so far away. So thank you, Precinct 4 Commissioner Leslie Brionis, for doing this. It is part of a larger places for people initiative that is going to build 13 other trail connection projects and a bunch of other projects along Bray's Bayou, but I am just so glad to see this is finally coming together. And I can't wait to ride my bike along it with my kids. I can't leave. We haven't done this already. It's just the most the project ever. Like, come on. Yes. Yeah. Come on. I mean, the challenge is that you would want to keep it along Buffalo Bayou, like you have in Buffalo Bayou Park, but once you get west of the park, a lot of that land is just kind of owned by people, you know, it's their houses along there. What are you going to do? Eminent to remain their homes or are you going to build like a bike path in the middle of the Bayou? So the plan so far and I haven't seen any maps yet is to try to keep it along Buffalo Bayou as long as possible and then bring it up to Memorial Drive at the latest point. And I think that Memorial Drive, it's got a lot of traffic, but it's got a lot of potential for extra space where you can put in dedicated, separated bike paths. You got a median in the middle. You've got a bunch of parking lots along the side, eat up a little bit of that, put down some green, put down some bumps, and things will be great. Yep. That's it right there. Okay. My moment of joy last week, it was college football was starting and look, your rice owls put up a good fight, Evan, they played well, they took the L, but they played well against my Texas long horns. It was great. They beat the spread. They were in the lead for about two minutes in the first quarter, which was incredible. It was exhilarating and I got to say they put up a good fight, you know, it was what I would want to see. Exactly that. Now this week, we've got the NFL starting. So now there are no more weekends free to do anything but watch football. And look, I'm not an NFL sheep. I don't like bow down to the NFL. I don't have a fantasy football team. I don't gamble on the games, but I do enjoy having games on Sunday and I'm excited to see what Domingo Rines and our new quarterback is going to do here in the upcoming year. So I'm excited for that. I want to see the Texans win. They take on the Ravens this week. So it's going to be a tough one to start. But again, we've got something to watch. Literally every single day from Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, we've got games on. So shout out to the NFL starting up, but stop being an NFL sheep, everyone. Stop. Just stop. It's not the greatest league. Everyone just take a chill pill there. All right. That will do it for today. Miranda, thank you so much for joining us. Evan, great work. As always, talk to y'all down the road. Thank you. Till next time. That was Evan Mints and Miranda Dunlap. You can find all of the stories we discussed in our show notes. That will do it for this week here on CityCats Houston. Our lead producer is Dina Kessba. Our producer is Carly on Jones. Our newsletter editors are Brooke Lewis and Adrian Gonzalez. And the host is me, Reheal Roomson Ali. Our music is by the band, All the Comotos. We'll be back on Monday with an update on what's happening inside Paris County Jails. Thank you for listening. And I hope you learned something new. I mean, it is so much fun to see the clips come across X slash Twitter. It is off the AIDA right now.