• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    River Oaks Showdown

    River Oaks showdown: Dueling Trayvon Martin rallies are tense at times but peaceful

    Tyler Rudick
    Jul 21, 2013 | 10:16 pm

    Staunchly opposed protest groups gathered in River Oaks Sunday afternoon for a pair of rallies centered on the controversial acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who fatally shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.

    In the past few days, Houston police prepared for the worst when a pro-Zimmerman Facebook group announced it would be holding a "River Oaks Stand Your Ground" event to counter activist Quanell X's "Justice for Trayvon" march into one of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. HPD chief Charles McClelland encouraged citizens to avoid the area if possible.

    More than a thousand Martin supporters passed by the counter-protest, where 50 people chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A" and held signs covering everything from "race-baiting" to O.J. Simpson.

    But aside from some traffic snarls, all remained peaceful as more than a thousand Martin supporters passed by the counter-protest at West Gray and Shepherd, where 50 people chanted "U-S-A, U-S-A" and held signs covering everything from "race-baiting" to O.J. Simpson.

    Perhaps in response to the Monday march that brought Route 288 to a halt, dozens of mounted police officers kept protestors to the sidewalks.

    "As a mother of eight, I wouldn't be any other place today," Houston native Jonae Dorsey explained from the Martin crowd. She brought every one of her kids to watch what she called "history in the making."

    The scene amongst the shaded boulevards of River Oaks was surprisingly jovial as marchers laughed off a trio of Stand Your Ground protestors who heckled the crowd from across Inwood and Del Monte Drives.

    While one man feverishly weed-wacked his front lawn to ward off protestors, a number of area residents came outside to offer an occasional word of support. (My personal favorite moment occurred when a woman stepped out of her house in a Downton Abbey shirt that read "What is a weekend?" and promptly raised her glass of wine.)

    "I don't even think some of you realize what you did today," X told the pro-Martin rally after the march, which ended where it started at West Gray and Dunlavy.

    "You have so many organizations and groups here today — Whites, Blacks, Hispanics and Asians. You have a United Nations that marched through Houston. The enemy never thought this would ever happen . . . And I'm sorry, boys in blue, but you didn't take any of us to jail."

    Police made no arrests at either rally.

    "You have a United Nations that marched through Houston. The enemy never thought this would ever happen . . . And I'm sorry, boys in blue, but you didn't take any of us to jail."

    In the early afternoon hours Sunday at the River Oaks Shopping Center end of West Gray near Shepherd, it looked like business as usual from the street before the marches began. But further down the avenue, half of Kroger parking lot was taken up by Houston Police Department squad cars and horse trailers that were being unloaded.

    HPD Lt. Randall Wallace, commander of the HPD mounted patrol unit that brought 25 horses to the shopping area, said that any time there is a large group protest, “we (HPD) are going to respond appropriately to ensure the safety of everyone concerned.”

    Several stores and restaurants noted that business was off and were considering closing for the day.

    Around 3 p.m., a pedestrian elsewhere in the shopping center, sporting a gray T-shirt emblazoned “GOT AMMO?” with a bullet in the “O,” said that he was looking for the site of the counterprotest rally. The man, who identified himself only as Matthew, said he wanted to go to the rally to “check it out.”

    CultureMap contributor Leslie Loddeke contributed to this report.

    Many protestors brought signs.

    Quanell X Trayvon Martin River Oaks Protest stand your ground George Zimmerman
      
    Photo by Tyler Rudick
    Many protestors brought signs.
    unspecified
    news/city-life

    america's best cities

    Houston loses top-10 rank in 2025 list of America's best cities

    Amber Heckler
    Jun 24, 2025 | 5:02 pm
    Downtown Houston skyline
    Photo courtesy of World's Best Cities
    undefined

    A just-released national report ranking the best cities in America has declared Houston is the 13th best U.S. city in 2025.

    The annual "America's Best Cities" report from Resonance Consultancy, a Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing firm, ranks the relative qualities of livability, cultural "lovability," and economic prosperity in America's principal cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more.

    These top 100 cities "brilliantly weave local culture with economic prospects, aligning with global and domestic travel trends to create premier experiences for both residents and travelers."

    Houston's new placement is three spots lower than its triumphant No. 10 rank in 2024. Though it no longer holds a prized top-10 spot, the report hails Houston as a "coveted hometown for the best and brightest on earth."

    Among Houston's other shining attributes are its booming population growth – which has now grown to a staggering 7.51 million people – plus its competitive real estate market and a vibrant hospitality and culinary scene. Additionally, Houston earned a well-deserved No. 4 rank in the report's "restaurants" subcategory.

    "A 221-room Home2 Suites/Tru by Hilton debuted near Toyota Center in March, while Marriott’s newly renovated Residence Inn NASA/Clear Lake keeps surging visitors happy," the report said. "West Houston’s Greenside will convert 35,000 square feet of warehouses into a park-laced retail hub by 2026, while America’s inaugural Ismaili Center, rising along Allen Parkway, remains on schedule for later this year, adding yet another cultural jewel to H-Town’s festival-fueled mosaic."

    The report additionally puts a large focus on Houston's innovative energy sector and its numerous large companies that boost the local economy and create thousands of jobs. Several of these Houston-based companies are some of the best places to work for, according to U.S. News and World Report.

    One such company that was specifically praised in the report was the HyVelocity Hub, which aims to "ensure economic resilience and long-lasting, domestic energy production" along the Gulf Coast.

    "The HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub just locked in up to $1.2 billion from the U.S. DOE, targeting 45,000 jobs and slicing 7.7 million tons of CO₂ a year," the report said.

    Elsewhere in Texas
    Dallas (No. 14) and Austin (No. 15) ranked right behind Houston in the top 20, while San Antonio sank into the No. 41 spot after previously ranking 32nd last year. El Paso also fell from No. 83 in 2024 to No. 100 this year.

    Jason McGrath, the executive vice president and head of U.S. Corporate Reputation at Ipsos, said in the report that American cities are proving their resiliency as they are faced with "climate issues, increasing infrastructural demands, and shifting geopolitical landscapes affecting international relations and travel."

    "Despite these hurdles, cities are creatively reinventing themselves to shine as examples of cultural vibrancy and innovation, keeping their competitive edge both locally and globally," McGrath said. "Our report shows that the allure of American cities
    remains strong, thanks to their rich diversity and vast attractions — from natural wonders to buzzing cultural hubs."

    The top 10 best cities in America in 2025 are:

    • No. 1 – New York City, New York
    • No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
    • No. 3 – Chicago, Illinois
    • No. 4 – San Francisco, California
    • No. 5 – Seattle, Washington
    • No. 6 – Miami, Florida
    • No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
    • No. 8 – Washington, D.C.
    • No. 9 – Las Vegas, Nevada
    • No. 10 – San Diego, California
    houstonamerica's best citiesreportslists
    news/city-life
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.
    Loading...