u/evan7257

The Houston Chronicle editorial board calls on Mayor Whitmire to reach across the aisle and bring in moderate and Republicans in the push against ICE's violent chaos in Houston. Here's a key quote:

>We’ve met with business leaders who get it and yet remain far too quiet about what’s happening in our communities. Whitmire should encourage these business leaders to speak out, speak out and speak out again. 

>So please, dear readers, go join the peaceful protests this weekend.

>Except you, Mayor Whitmire. We want you to keep doing what you do best. Reach across the aisle. Show Republicans why these policies are harmful. Add new voices to the calls for accountability and justice — voices that will resonate in Austin and Washington. Bring the conversations we know are happening behind closed doors out into the public light. Now is the time to be bold. 

Houstonians’ lives depend on it. 

The Houston Chronicle has a column about a forum for black voters about their concerns with James Talarico and the greater Democratic Party. Here is a key quote:

>The energy was, frankly, infectious. It reminded me of my own rambunctious Mexican family reunions: as fun and soul-nourishing and exasperating as they are edifying. I couldn’t imagine why candidates like Talarico wouldn’t prefer that kind of real-world spontaneity over prepackaged campaign stops. 

>Sure, you might get the odd speaker who confronts and challenges you. But that's what it's all about. As Alexander told me, real campaigning is about “active participation in communities you don’t belong to – even if it’s uncomfortable.” 

>Talarico, wherever you are, I hope you're listening.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from Sen. Carol Alvarado, a Democrat, and Rep. Dennis Paul, a Republican, advocating for the construction of the Galveston Bay Barrier System aka the Ike Dike. Here's a key quote:

>One of us is a Democrat and the other is a Republican. We disagree on many things. The Coastal Texas Project is not one of those things. Protecting nearly 6 million Texans, 32 percent of the nation’s refining capacity and the Houston Ship Channel’s $1 trillion in economic impact is not a partisan issue. That’s exactly why this project has drawn support at every level, from Republican and Democratic members of Congress, from successive administrations in Washington and from bipartisan majorities in the Texas Legislature.

>The plan restores wetlands, reinforces natural barriers and constructs the gates and dunes that will defend our region. The Galveston Bay Barrier System, known to us as the Ike Dike, is its centerpiece. With the dollars appropriated so far, engineers are advancing detailed designs for the gate, the beaches and dune features of that system. Every dollar secured, every design milestone reached, brings us closer to a Gulf Coast that is protected, not recovering. In 2021, acting on a bipartisan basis, Texas lawmakers created the Gulf Coast Protection District as the lead non-federal sponsor for the project. In the two budget cycles since, the Texas Legislature has appropriated nearly $1 billion in state dollars toward Texas coastal storm protection — $200 million in the 86th Legislature, $200 million in the 87th Legislature and another $550 million in the 88th Legislature. Last year, we passed House Bill 1089 together, creating a dedicated Gulf Coast Protection Account in the state budget to receive and direct Texas's share of the project's costs. Together, those bills and those dollars put design work in motion and position Texas to draw down its share of the much larger federal investment to come.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed about how a Republican border sheriff has endorsed Talarico's border plan, if not Talarico himself. Here's a key quote:

>Sheriff Cleveland reminded me that he’s not endorsing Talarico’s candidacy — “I think my days of endorsements are over” — but he is endorsing the Democrat’s border-security plan. 

>About the wall, Cleveland wrote on Facebook: “Not a single Republican elected official or member of Republican leadership has come to Sanderson or the Big Bend to hear from the people who will be impacted. I believe too many are unwilling to publicly question this plan.”

>Rubbing shoulders with a Democrat has suddenly made the sheriff, an Air Force veteran, the target of incoming vitriol from his Facebook followers. They were particularly enraged by Cleveland’s comments, such as the following at the Sanderson event: “People that we catch crossing the border are no different than the majority of us. Yes, we may see some criminals, but the vast majority that I deal with are no different than us.”

>“You’re done Cleveland,” was one of the milder Facebook responses.  

>The sheriff professes to be unconcerned about the angry comments. “There have been good and bad!” he wrote in his email to me. “I knew the risk/reward before I accepted his invitation and before I posted the photo. I’m glad he came out!” He said he’d even stand next to President Donald Trump and tell him the border wall is a bad idea to his face. “That’s why Republicans won’t come out. They are afraid of Trump,” he continued.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed about how buildings aren't being designed to deal with our hot, and getting hotter, summers. Here is a key quote:

>People tend to underestimate indoor heat for a few reasons.

>One is that the thermostat typically sits on one wall in one room. It does not tell what the temperature is in an upstairs bedroom or near a sun-facing window. In older, underinsulated homes, the actual felt temperature can exceed 90 degrees even when a thermostat reads 75. The hot walls, ceilings and windows can radiate heat directly onto your body.

>Another reason is that people assume all homes respond to heat the same way. However, a newer home with double-pane windows and good insulation acts like a thermos, keeping heat out for a longer time. An older home with single-pane windows and cracks in the walls heats up fast.

>Two houses on the same street, exposed to the same outdoor conditions, can have completely different temperatures inside. And in a blackout, where neither home has cooling, those differences can become a matter of life and death.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board issued a call for City Hall to eliminate parking minimums. Here is a key quote:

>For the sake of bolstering economic development, tax revenue and population growth, Houston has to start cutting this red tape. First on the list: Eliminating parking minimums. 

>Right now, with limited exemptions, City Hall micromanages private development by telling each individual business exactly how many parking spots it needs to provide. This rigid, byzantine system adds unnecessary costs. After all, land and parking garages aren’t free. And requiring parking spots that aren’t needed essentially mandates pouring more concrete in a city already vulnerable to flooding. 

>Removing these mandates would give developers greater flexibility to build the mixed-use, infill projects that help our city continue to thrive. It would also give Houstonians more places to shop, work and, critically, live. At a time when too many Houstonians struggle to afford quality housing, City Hall should be taking every step possible to add more housing supply. 

>Parking reform could also help the city’s budget. Not only would it allow for more development — meaning more sales and property taxes — but it could also help Houston qualify for federal transit project funding under the new ROAD to Housing Act. 

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed explaining why biblical literacy is actually a good thing. Here is a key quote:

>The Bible is indispensable to understanding the United States — and, frankly, the entire English language — and no Texas student should graduate from its public schools without a strong working knowledge of its stories, language and influence. 

>More specifically, biblical literacy enhances general literacy. The English language and its constituent literature are steeped in references to Biblical stories and motifs. Shakespeare alone alludes to the Bible more than 1,300 times — an average of more than 40 times per play — and it is similarly integral to the works of authors like Geoffrey Chaucer, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Phillis Wheatley. 

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed calling on Congress to pass the INSULIN Act, which would cap the out of pocket price of insulin at $35 for people with private insurance. Here is a key quote:

>Over the past decade alone, spending for insulin has tripled from $8 billion in 2012 to $22.3 billion in 2022. I know this experience personally. In my own life since the passing of the Affordable Care Act, I have had to forego insurance for the first time ever. I pay out of pocket for all my diabetic needs because insurance rates and deductibles are out of reach. My last attempt to get four vials of Humalog was at Walgreens. The cost? $1,200! 

>My own story isn’t unique. According to the National Institutes of Health, 1 in 6 Americans who use insulin report rationing it due to cost.

>Far too many of our fellow Texans have to choose between rising costs for insulin, utility bills, gas and so many other everyday expenses — and the consequences of this can be deadly.

>The status quo, where millions must pick between lifesaving medication or bills, doesn’t have to continue. That’s why I’m urging my home senators, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, and my representative, Randy Weber, to pass the bipartisan Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act of 2026. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is considering it this week.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board wrote a piece arguing that our city's success in hosting the World Cup shows that taxpayers don't need to be on the hook for a new football stadium. Here's a key quote:

>As for the actual games, NRG Stadium proved to be a big hit with international fans. The positive feedback should put any pleas for a new taxpayer-funded stadium to bed. We do hope the Houston Texans consider heeding the concerns of their players by keeping the natural grass intact. It took a lot of effort to transform the synthetic turf of the gridiron into a verdant, grassy soccer pitch, but it’s an investment the team should consider, especially since fewer injuries happen on grass. 

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed about how ICE killing Lorenzo Salgado forces us to focus on the big picture values of a free society. Here is a key quote:

>Any violence that we allow should be considered means to that greater end — means that should be rarely seen, highly controlled and only barely tolerated. 

>John Adams put it well. 

>“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.”

>Reading so many interviews with Salgado’s sons, it seems that the longtime Houstonian had his own way of expressing that sentiment. 

>“I love our dad, he worked hard,” Ronaldo, the oldest of Lorenzo’s three boys, told The Bulwark’s Adrian Carrasquillo. “He always told us that we needed to do well in school so we don’t end up like him in the sun.”

>I almost laughed when I first read that line. It’s practically a paraphrase from 30 Rock character Jack Donaghy. 

>“We’re an immigrant nation,” the fictional NBC executive says proudly. “The first generation works its fingers to the bone making things. The next generation goes to college and innovates new ideas. The third generation snowboards and takes improv classes.”

>That last sentence is the punchline — and an argument for why we need continued immigration to refresh our nation’s ambitions. But it is also the gleeful truth. Fathers — and forefathers — endure hard labors so that the next generations are free to learn and create and discover better ways to live. The ancient Greeks called it Eudaimonia. 

>If you want to see what this looks like in Houston, take a trip to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and look at the names of donors on the walls. Local business leaders who spent decades of their lives amassing incredible wealth have apparently decided that the highest and best use of their money is to house some of humanity’s highest cultural achievements for the benefit of everyday Houstonians. The final refined product in the oil and gas pipeline is modern art. 

>

The Houston Chronicle editorial board calls on Houstonians to join protests this weekend under the broad, uniting message that ICE should stop killing people. Here's a key quote:

>“Where’s the compassion from the federal government?” Whitmire said. “Mr. Araujo ought to be going to work this morning.”

>To the president, however, that kind of basic humanity just makes Whitmire one of the “Radical Left Dumocrats.”

>Of course, Houstonians know that’s not true. We know there are moderates, MAGA voters and people who don’t fit neatly on any political spectrum who all agree that Salgado should be alive today. That law enforcement is supposed to protect and serve. That they’re supposed to be the good guys. That they’re not supposed to kill someone after chasing them in unmarked vehicles in a scene that looks more like a carjacking than a law enforcement action. 

>More than anything, that’s what these protests are about. That’s what we can all agree on.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board has a piece talking to Lorenzo Salgado's neighbors and coworkers, and calling on political action to put an end to ICE killing Houstonians — which also means immigration reform and securing the border. Here is a key quote:

>When she found out about Lorenzo, all of it — the pain and anger and fear — came rushing back. “Why don’t they go after criminals?” she asked. “They’re going after people who are only looking to provide for their families.”

>That’s how Pedro, 34, remembers Lorenzo: as a respectful, hard-working man. Pedro has lived in this barrio, as he put it, for 14 years and worked with Lorenzo years back on a project building 400 apartment units. 

>Pedro, an electrician who works for a Texas company, helped wire them. The work exacts its price. Beneath his backwards Astros cap, Pedro’s eyes strayed right. A consequence, he explained, of a transformer that blew up in his face and put him in a two-month coma. His arm bears the scars, the imprint of whipping cables.

>But he loves the job, he said. He takes especially great pride in the work he did during hurricanes Harvey and Beryl, when he reconnected downed lines and helped a man dependent on an oxygen machine. 

>“You never know when you might need someone yourself,” he said. 

>And here, in Houston, there’s always work to do. But now, Pedro, who is undocumented, only goes out for necessities — say, to cash a check at La Michaocana. 

>

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from Annie Farmer, an Epstein abuse survivor, calling on Sen. John Cornyn not to approve Todd Blanche as US attorney general due to his role in the Epstein coverup. Here's a key quote:

>Like many survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's exploitative behavior who had been speaking out publicly about the government’s failures in this case, I was relieved when Congress voted to release the Epstein files last year. That decision gave the Justice Department an opportunity to take accountability for its long history of mistakes in this case and right the wrongs that have allowed abusers and enablers of Epstein’s network to skirt accountability for decades.

>However, that opportunity was squandered. Survivors’ identifying information was exposed, millions of files remain unreleased, and no one named in those files has been prosecuted. Nevertheless, Todd Blanche — the key figure who turned this opportunity into one of the biggest failures in the Justice Department’s history — has been nominated to lead it.

>As a survivor who has been personally failed by his disregard and incompetence, I urge Texas Senator John Cornyn, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to reject Todd Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General. 

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed about A&M's growing role in US nuclear development. Here's a key quote:

>When people think of the A&M System, they may think first of classrooms, agriculture, engineering, disaster response, health care, football Saturdays or the Corps of Cadets. All of that is part of our story.

>But the A&M System also has a growing role in one of the most important national security missions in America.

>Nuclear security is not the same thing as nuclear energy. This is not a debate about electricity generation. Nuclear security is about deterrence, stockpile modernization, research, safety, security, workforce and readiness.

>It is also not work any one institution can do alone. The Nuclear Security Enterprise is a national team. The federal government sets the mission. Laboratories, plants, sites, universities and industry partners help deliver it.

>The A&M System’s job is to bring useful capabilities to that team and help prepare the next generation of Americans who will carry this responsibility forward.

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from energy expert Michael E. Webber about the Trump administration's efforts to inject politics into research grants and energy projects. Here is a key quote:

Don’t be fooled by photogenic images of roughnecks on rigs. The Texas energy industry relies just as much on scientists in labs as it does on roustabouts out in the oil patch.

Rigorous, objective inquiry has enabled significant breakthroughs in the oil and gas industry such as hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, advanced seismic imaging techniques and the deployment of big data, artificial intelligence, and supercomputing. Texas scientists and companies can also take credit for other critical innovations throughout the broader energy industry, such as the development of the lithium-ion battery and cutting-edge approaches to geothermal drilling.

Unfortunately, scientific pursuit is at risk of being upended in favor of political preferences — and that’s bad for Texas.

The Houston Chronicle editorial board calls on Houstonians to keep on protesting and keep up the pressure for immigration reform. Here's a key quote:

>Of the many City Council meetings this editorial board has observed, the session this week was among the most impassioned and unified in its message.

>Viva Lorenzo, Houstonians said.

>To all those who have raised your voices, please, keep going. After ICE shootings in Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Maine, the temporary halt on car stops by the Trump administration is nowhere near enough. Protection from the abuses of federal officers should be encoded in the law. 

>Congress must get to the root of the problem — our broken immigration system. Not a return to a border overwhelmed by asylum claims during the Biden administration but a functioning system that treats people with dignity.

>Houston has in the past produced Democratic and Republican leaders, the likes of Barbara Jordan and George H.W. Bush, who understood that immigration enforcement must be balanced with compassion and pragmatism. As U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico put it, “We should treat our southern border like our front porch. We should have a giant welcome mat out front, and we should have the lock on the door.”

>Houston has many thousands of Lorenzo Salgado Araujos. Men and women who build our homes, who nurse our elders in hospitals, who have raised their children here. 

>Lorenzo’s family deserves justice. And the many, many families like his deserve paths to citizenship.

>

The Houston Chronicle editorial board has an editorial thanking Sen. Susan Collins for trying to put a stop to ICE's deadly practice of vehicle stops. Here is a key quote:

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The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from friends of the Salgado family calling for justice for ICE killing Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Here's a key quote:

>One fall weeknight, after a grueling football match, Lorenzo arrived to pick up Ronnie. Lorenzo, like many of our own fathers, worked exhausting days doing manual labor, and Ronnie could have gotten a ride home from any teammate. Instead, his father made a point to be there. 

>That is how immigrant fathers show love: They show up to watch a son play when every muscle in their body is begging them to lie down, knowing they have to be back out under the scorching Texas sun in just a few hours. 

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed from Olivia Julianna calling on Democrats to run on a platform of accountability for ICE. Here's a key quote:

>U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, recently elected to represent Texas’ 18th Congressional District, captured that urgency after Lorenzo's death:

>“When Democrats take the House back, ICE, you better buckle up, because we will be investigating you day after day after day until this lawlessness and this militarism stops.”

>Every Democrat should respond with the same intensity, because accountability is not an abstract political promise. It is what families like Lorenzo’s are owed when the government takes a life and then asks the public to accept its version of events without question.

>The American people cannot tolerate a rogue government agency that appears to believe it can control the story, withhold the evidence and avoid the consequences.

>Every Democrat must make clear that accountability is coming, and the people responsible for these deaths — their names, their actions, their choices — will remain in the public record long after this administration is gone. 

The Houston Chronicle has an op-ed that explains how we can tell Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was a real Houstonian even if he wasn't a U.S. citizen. Here's a key quote:

>[T]he people of Houston know that Salgado was one of our own. They know it in their hearts out of love of neighbor.

>That’s something Houstonians have known for a long time. Our city has long been filled with men and women just like Salgado who may not be U.S. citizens but are absolutely Houstonians. These are people who have done everything right by our city even if they aren’t here legally — the “really honorable, decent family-loving people” George H.W. Bush once spoke of when explaining why Congress needed to reform our immigration laws. 

>And yes, immigrants like Salgado should get in line and try to fix their immigration status, and they would if they had a viable path. His sons have said he had applied for legal status.

>But these days, you won’t hear many Houston politicians talking like Poppy Bush. Instead they seem to transcribe their talking points from California ghoul Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump of New York City, or a legion of Beltway pundits who think that July 13 is just another summer Monday.