let's cycle back

Here's what stopped Ken Hoffman in his tracks during the BP MS 150

This year’s BPMS150 was clear sailing, with blue sky and gentle breezes for about 9,000 riders raising $14 million for Multiple Sclerosis research and patient care. Here’s how smooth the ride was: I normally pull into Bellville, the Day One lunch stop, around 11 am. That’s when Dairy Queen on East Main Street opens, and I settle in for a burger, fries, and Blizzard — the lunch of supremely conditioned athletes.

My buddy Mark George and I reached Bellville at 10:30 am, a new world record (for us). Maybe it was the breeze whooshing us along, maybe it was the Daily Warrior drink I chugged the day before at Smoothie King. It’s got blueberries, bananas, peanut butter, dates, almonds, and blueberry juice. (This sounds like a Blizzard that’s good for you.)

With DQ closed, we went across the street to Newman’s Bakery. Talk about serendipity! This place is terrific, a full-service, great-smelling, old-fashioned bakery and cafe. They need to expand into Houston, near my spring/summer home in West U.

I had French toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Mark had pancakes, bacon, over-easy eggs, and a cinnamon bun. I bought a half-dozen Black-Eyed Susan and pecan cookies to go and stuffed them in my bike bag. I can’t believe I wasted all those lunches all those years. All I could think about the rest of the ride was that French toast.

Big fish, or bigger fish?
Which would you rather: a featured news anchor at a network affiliate in Houston...or part-time anchor (with future expectations) at a national cable news channel based in New York? Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Hot summer concert
John Fogerty makes his only 2018 Texas stop on June 9 at the Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels. Tickets are $45 for general admission up to $1,430 for VIP tickets. I will be there. Hello, G.A.

Our intrepid columnist joined some 9,000 cyclists for the annual charity ride.

Courtesy photo

Our intrepid columnist joined some 9,000 cyclists for the annual charity ride.

ken-hoffman

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.”