When you think about the image Texas projects to the rest of the country, who has had the bigger role in shaping it?
We ranked both on our list of the 250 most influential Texans, but influence isn't always about politics or business. Sometimes it's about the people who shape how millions of others picture the state.
Who gets your vote?
Stevie Ray Vaughan's influence extended far beyond Texas.
We weighed his role in reviving blues for a new generation and ranked him No. 27 among the most influential Texans.
Where would you have put him?
Joe Rogan has only lived in Texas since 2020, but he brought one of the world's biggest podcasts to Austin and helped turn the city into one of the country's biggest comedy destinations.
That earned him No. 178 on our list of the 250 most influential Texans since 1776.
Would you have moved him higher?
We recently ranked the 250 most influential Texans since 1776, and Willie Nelson finished ahead of George Strait.
Would you have ranked them differently?
We just published a ranking of the 250 most influential people in the state's history, spanning politicians, civil rights leaders, business leaders, athletes, scientists and musicians.
Selena finished No. 9 overall.
Do you think that's about right, or would you have put her even higher?
One of the stranger consequences of ranking 250 years of Texas history is that you eventually have to compare Elon Musk with Sam Houston.
Regardless of how anyone feels about him personally, his impact on Texas over the last decade is difficult to ignore. Comparing that to people whose legacies have been debated for generations is another matter entirely.
So, we landed on #65. Where would you have put him?
We just published a ranking of the 250 most influential people in the state's history, spanning politicians, civil rights leaders, business leaders, athletes, scientists and musicians.
Beyoncé finished No. 3 overall.
Do you think that's about right, or would you have put her even higher?
Rescue efforts are ongoing in Venezuela after twin earthquakes devastated the region on June 24. As crews sift through the rubble for survivors, Houston restaurants with ties to the country are doing what they can to help two thousand miles away.
Gusto Gourmet at 3306 Shepherd Dr. is one of them. Yosi and Sandra Sarshalom both hail from Venezuela. The couple opened a Mediterranean restaurant in the country, Mazal Gourmet, in 2000. Eventually, they immigrated to Houston in 2011 and opened Gusto a year later.
In the early years, Gusto leaned more into Yosi's Syrian-Mediterranean background, but an influx of Venezuelans nudged the restaurant to Sandra's roots.
"A lot of people came from Venezuela, so we changed the menu because we wanted people to feel at home in the states. That's how we turned into a Venezuelan restaurant," Sandra told Chron.
Beyoncé
Hakeem Olajuwon
Barbara Jordan
George H. W. Bush
Michael DeBakey
Simone Biles
Nolan Ryan
Roger Clemens
Earl Campbell
Tilman Fertitta
Butterfly effect rules, erase one person. Which absence completely rewrites the state's timeline?
Houston is now firmly in the running to add an NHL team, with the Bayou City in a battle with Austin to be the home of the league's next expansion franchise. But professional hockey will still come to Houston regardless of the expansion team's home.
Michel Petit, a former NHL player and the founder and CEO of Blueline SlapShot LLC, said Tuesday his group has confirmed the arrival of an ECHL team in Houston in the next "two-to-three" years. Petit declined to say which current ECHL club will move south to Houston, though whichever minor-league team arrives, it will play in a new, state-of-the-art, minor-league hockey stadium.
Petit said his group is set to buy land north of I-45 and just south of The Woodlands, with a purchase agreement expected by the end of 2026. An 8,000-seat arena with club suites will then be constructed, with an ECHL club set to arrive as early as 2028-29. The final price tag on the new arena will likely settle around $200 million, per Petit.
"The commitment from the ECHL is already made," Petit told Chron. "The contract for the team that will be here ends right at the same time we're going to be done with our arena, which turns out to be perfect.
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