Hometown Glory

Whatever, Mayans: National magazine forecasts economic greatness for H-Town in2012

What cities are going to get economic good news in 2012? According to national online financial magazine MainStreet.com, most of the top 10 cities that will be seeing prosperity and attention in 2012 are the cities hosting huge events — like Indianapolis and the Super Bowl, New Orleans with the just-completed BCS Championship Game, Mardi Gras and the NCAA Final Four and London with the Summer Olympics.

But of the cities without major events bringing money-spending crowds, Houston and Austin are the ones which earned spots for rosy economic outlooks. According to MainStreet, it's a relatively strong (or at least steady) employment rate and the lack of a burst housing bubble that is keeping the state's capital and largest city economic powers.

"The bloom's not off the yellow rose of Texas," said Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko in a statement about cities to watch in 2012. "Texas isn't hung over from the housing boom like the other big states of the South and West, so there's little to hold back growth."

And while we appreciate MainStreet thinking Houston has good economic news coming, we're even more impressed that author Jason Notte was able to write perhaps the most accurate assessment of the Houston/Austin rivalry that we've seen:

While college-boy Austin coasts by on education and arts, Houston shrugs off the cool kids, goes to work every day with its buddies in the energy industry and does what it can to keep unemployment below 8 percent. Unlike Austin, though, Houston doesn't have to drop its home prices to draw new blood."

More specifically, in Houston MainStreet credits a rare housing market that has actually seen prices rise since 2008, as well as an economic base provided by Fortune 500 companies like Marathon Oil, Halliburton and ConocoPhillips.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”

Hometown Glory

Whatever, Mayans: National magazine forecasts economic greatness for H-Town in2012

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

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