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Top stories of the week: Chris Rock's unfunny movie, Lynn Wyatt's opera weekendand Starbucks' free offer

We ask, "Why can't Chris Rock make a funny movie?"
CultureMap readers loved Starbucks' offer of free coffee on Tax Day
Photo by DelewareOnline
Lynn Wyatt, center, was the center or attention at the Houston Grand Opera Ball.Hubby Oscar, left, and Price Talal of Jordan, right.
Photo by Gary Fountain

Readers are flocking to CultureMap in record numbers — we had our best week ever last week — for an eclectic mix of stories. Postings with pop culture themes dominated the top of the list, but other topics caught your eye — a look at the newly renovated Julia Ideson library, a big proposed rate increase in water bills for apartment renters, our green living series (my personal favorite: the fabric softener diet ), an events calender full of interesting things going on in town, and Janet Gurwitch's interview with Texas Children's Hospital CEO Mark Wallace — the first in a monthly series where she quizzes business leaders on their secrets of success.

Top stories for week of April 10-17:

1. Why can't Chris Rock make a funny movie?

2. Jamie Oliver's worst nightmare: Tasting the KFC Double Down

3. Elin Woods drops her last name for a Swedish manse?

4. Starbucks brings the green to Tax Day and it's free coffee for you

5. Oh my god, get over Tiger Woods swearing at the Masters

Editor's Picks:

1. Fireworks on all levels made the opera ball one for the record books — Houston's premier society scribe Shelby Hodge had the scoop on the Houston Grand Opera "Yellow Rose of Texas" Ball honoring Lynn Wyatt. The big news: Lynn's husband, Oscar, gave $1 million to the opera in her honor.

2. A liberal crashes the Tea Party (and finds some surprises) — CultureMapper writer Sarah Rufca went to the tea party rally at Discovery Green and was surprised to discover some speakers had ideas that seem downright sensible.

3. Greg Scheinman's Profile comes to CultureMap — CultureMap is proud to be the online home for the PBS/Channel 8 series that profiles Houston's top leaders in business, philanthropy, sports, business and the arts. Watch the second season's first episode featuring Sam Gainer, senior partner of Gainer Donnelly & Desroches, one of Houston's largest independent accounting firms. And catch all the episodes of the first season on CultureMap.

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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.”