April Towery

Mass Layoffs at Harris Center Could Amplify Mental Health Crisis - Houston Press Alma Castillo has worked as a therapist for the Harris Center for 12 years, and while her job is safe for now, more than 180 of her colleagues have been More than 180 Harris Center employees have been...

"If there are not enough services, it’s going to cost the county more because it will lead to more hospitalizations, homelessness and people going to jail, things that could have been mediated with the proper mental health services.” - Union VP Alma Castillo

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Congressional District 18 Boundaries Haven’t Changed Yet - Houston Press As if low voter turnout wasn’t already a challenge in the November election, some Harris County residents have said they weren’t planning to vote in the Congressional District 18 candidates are remind...

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Single Mom Says SNAP Cuts Can Be Life-Threatening - Houston Press Hillary Randall has had a hard life, admittedly because she made some poor choices as a young adult. She’s lived in her car and in cheap motel rooms, The Houston Food Bank will host distribution sites...

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Food Access Halted for SNAP Recipients - Houston Press Employed single mothers who make less than $41,000 per year rely on about $400 a month in government assistance to feed their children. But as the federal The Houston Food Bank's call volume has spike...

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Death Row Inmate Says He's Not Done Living  - Houston Press For Charles Victor Thompson, the one constant in his life has been the almost three decades he's spent as Inmate No. 00999306 in a small, isolated prison After 27 years on Texas Death Row, Charles Vic...

Chuck Thompson has been on Death Row for 27 years. Why has the Harris County DAs Office decided he should die now?

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Charlie Kirk Photos Included in a Cy-Fair ISD Candidates Mailer - Houston Press Aren’t school board elections supposed to be nonpartisan? That’s the question some Cypress-Fairbanks ISD residents asked when they got postcards in their Some Cypress-Fairbanks ISD voters were upset b...

"This is inhumane and insensitive. Have they no morals or ethical boundaries?” - former Harris County GOP precinct chair on school board mailer featuring Charlie Kirk photo

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Congressional District 18 Hopefuls Make Final Push - Houston Press Sixteen candidates are vying for the U.S. Congressional District 18 seat vacated by the March death of former Rep. Sylvester Turner, and political experts Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and ...

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Harris County Clerk Says It's All Systems Go - Houston Press Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth is undeterred by criticism of elections in years past, saying on Monday, the first day of early voting, that her On the first day of early voting, Harris County C...

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Early Voting Starts Today  - Houston Press Seventeen constitutional amendments — characterized by government watchdogs as property tax cuts for homeowners, tax bans for the wealthy and a few niche Seventeen constitutional amendments are on the...

“We are as ready as ready can be. We don’t wake up two or three months before an election and start running it. Essentially while we’re running a November election, we’re preparing for the midterms next year.” - Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth

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Thousands Attend a Peaceful No Kings Protest in Houston - Houston Press An estimated 7,000 protesters gathered for a No Kings rally at Houston City Hall on Saturday, peacefully condemning President Donald Trump and his An estimated 7,000 people attended a No Kings peacefu...

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett @crockett.house.gov rallies Houston No Kings crowd.

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Harris County Wants $7 Billion Solar Program Restored - Houston Press Since Donald Trump took office in January, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has sued the federal government four times, saying Tuesday that it’s Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has su...

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Fort Bend County Approves 2 GOP, 2 Democratic Precincts  - Houston Press Shouting, finger-pointing, and accusations of racism and illegal activity dominated a three-hour Fort Bend County Commissioners Court meeting Monday that Commissioners approve mid-decade redistricting...

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Houstonians Are Feeling Effects as Government Shutdown Hits Two-Week Mark - Houston Press Patrice Williams has relied on Obamacare health insurance subsidies since 2021, and she’s getting nervous that her payments could more than double if the Potentially rising healthcare costs, upcoming ...

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The Ins and Outs of Texas Increasingly Using Uncertified Teachers - Houston Press Demetrius Lott has wanted to be a football coach since he was a child. He has a four-year degree in physical education but he’s missing a certificate that Statewide, about 42,103, or 12 percent of pub...

“I have so many paraprofessionals who would love to become certified teachers and have already dedicated years of service to Cy-Fair. They just can’t flippin’ afford it.” - Nikki Cowart, president of Cy-Fair American Federation of Teachers union

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Fort Bend Officials Face Off Over Redistricting - Houston Press Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers got redistricted out of his own house in 2021 while his terminally ill wife was dying, and it appears he’s going Fort Bend County commissioners could vote Mon...

Fort Bend County Commissioners Court meets today at 1 p.m. and could vote on a new map Monday.

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Houston City Council Candidates Throw Jabs During Debate - Houston Press Dwight Boykins, Alejandra Salinas, and Jordan Thomas — all vying to fill former Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer’s unexpired term — debated Three candidates for Houston City Council debated...

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BARC Wants to Empty the Shelter - Houston Press There’s one simple way to make sure abandoned puppies and kittens find a good home: Adopt them.  As of Monday morning, 232 potential pets were As of Monday morning, 266 potential pets were available f...

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Affordable Healthcare Hangs in the Balance in Federal Government Shutdown - Houston Press Before the federal government shutdown announced last week, the most recent halt in services — also under a Donald Trump administration — lasted 35 days, Before the federal government shutdown announc...

Before the federal government shutdown announced last week, the most recent halt in services lasted 35 days, and the current political climate is much more acrimonious than it was seven years ago, signaling things may get worse before they get better.

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Houston Advocate Says Immigrants Are In The Civil Rights Fight of Their Lives - Houston Press Cesar Espinosa has been championing civil rights for immigrants for more than two decades, and the battle is becoming increasingly more dangerous under

"I believe to my core that this is the civil rights fight of our time." - FIEL Houston Executive Director Cesar Espinosa

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Survey Says Most Residents Want Practical Solutions to Climate Change - Houston Press Texans have grown accustomed to heatwaves and deadly floods, and, while a hurricane can’t be stopped by a panel of politicians, residents who vote on both

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"The statute is clear. The county attorney’s office has the sole exclusive right and duty to provide legal representation to the commissioners court. That is not my opinion; that is the law.” - Fort Bend County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson

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GOP Activist Steven Hotze Sues Former DA Kim Ogg, Alleging Politically-Motivated Charges - Houston Press Dr. Steven Hotze, a Republican megadonor who was briefly jailed for engaging in criminal activity only to have the charges dismissed, is suing former

Dr. Steven Hotze, a Republican megadonor who was briefly jailed for engaging in criminal activity only to have the charges dismissed, is suing former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

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Can Free Speech Exist in U.S. Higher Education Now? Four people lost their jobs at Texas A&M University this month after a student objected to a discussion about a book involving a nonbinary child, falsely claiming such a conversation is not allowed un...

Can free speech exist in U.S. higher education?

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It May Be Just a Formality, But Harris County Political Parties Are Backing Houston ISD Trustee Candidates Regardless of who is elected to the Houston ISD board of trustees in November, they won't have any power — but both major political parties are endorsing candidates in the nonpartisan race, with the H...

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Cypress-Area Church Backs Candidates in Nonpartisan School Board Race Glorious Way Church, east of Cypress, is backing Christian conservatives Natalie Blasingame, George Edwards Jr., and Radele Walker.

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EPA Mandates Cleanup Plan for San Jacinto River Cancer Cluster Site But Watchdogs Aren't Relaxing The Environmental Protection Agency approved last week a much-anticipated cleanup plan for the San Jacinto River Toxic Waste Pits Superfund Site, imposing 40 new conditions on “responsible parties” In...

EPA mandates cleanup for San Jacinto River Toxic Waste Pits.

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How Safe Are Houston College Students Feeling After the Charlie Kirk Shooting? In the wake of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University this month, students say their awareness is heightened.

How safe are Houston college students feeling after the #CharlieKirk shooting?

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Harris County Flood Control District Unveils Bond Project Dashboard The Harris County Commissioners Court tackled its controversial budget and tax rate on Thursday, but another agenda item was top of mind for Billy Guevara, Doris Brown, and members of the disaster res...

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Polls Net Varying Results in Congressional District 18 Race As Expert Says It’s Anybody’s Game When Texas Rep. Jolanda Jones fled the state to break quorum, joining House Democrats who refused to vote on what they believed was a racially gerrymandered redistricting map, she lost valuable time n...

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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo Won’t Seek Third Term Following months of speculation and a contentious budget season in which emotions ran high at Commissioners Court, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced she will not seek re-election to a third t...

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