Not so hip to be at the square

Fewer than 200 people show for Sugar Land's "think big" Google rally

Sugar Land officials expected their courting of Google to reach a whole new level Friday evening as residents gathered in the city's picturesque town square to proclaim their affection for the search-engine giant's extreme-high-speed fiber-optic Internet network.

They just didn't expect the level to be this tiny.

City officials hoped for at least 200 residents at the “Think Gig” rally, but the crowd was smaller – especially small for a cool, clear night. Nevertheless, the souls who did turn out were enthusiastic when it came time to film a commercial the city will send to Google along with a thick application packet. (CultureMap f irst reported on Sugar Land's Google chase back on March 3.)

Sharlett Chowning, Sugar Land’s IT Director, was among the volunteers greeting people as they approached Town Square at the rally, encouraging everyone to hop on computer terminals to answer the questions, “Do you support Sugar Land becoming a site for Google’s pilot/ project?” and “Why?” The reward for thinking Gig was free ice cream and an opportunity to make Sugar Land stand out among the other locations vying for the network.

Some of the other cities jockeying to be chosen for Gig have been more enthusiastic than Sugar Land. Topeka, Kansas actually voted to change its name (sort of) to Google, Kansas for a month.

“Sugar Land is diverse, educated, successful and growing. We are not a publicity stunt," Chowning said. "We will still be all those things six months from now.”

Local companies like Fluor and Schlumberger, as well as the University of Houston, have all thrown their support behind Sugar Land's “Think Big With a Gig” movement. In a company statement, Google claims that its new network delivers speeds 100 times faster than "what most Americans have today."

It got at least one local, semi-celebrity moving Friday night.

Channel 2 anchor and Sugar Land native Daniella Guzman took to the city hall steps, encouraging the crowd to “get rowdy” for the commercial shoot. By nature, Sugar Land residents are a polite bunch, so while enthusiastic on command, the crowd of young families and baby boomers cheered for the commercial and then went back to their lawn chairs and chasing children.

The response was positive — even though everyone at the square wasn’t exactly there for the rally.

“What’s this for?” a man holding a baby asked. After hearing what it was all about he smiled and said, “Yeah, that would be pretty cool.”

Sugar Land officials will submit their proposal to Google on March 26. Don't expect them to include the sub-200 crowd figure from the rally in the packet.

In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Sugar Land's population — just within the city limits — at 79,943.

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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.”