a little relief

Major 610 and 59 closures temporarily postponed due to weather

610 loop interchange Southwest Freeway Houston I-69

The work will pick up next weekend.

Photo courtesy of TxDOT

Houstonians planning for a major traffic headache have some relief—for now.

The Texas Department of Transportation announced that the upcoming, major closures of the IH 69 Northbound to IH 610 Northbound Connector, the IH 69 Southbound to IH 610 Northbound Connector, and the IH 69 Southbound Entrance Ramp from Weslayan Street have been rescheduled for next weekend.

Here is the current closing schedule for the area, per TxDOT.

IH 69 Southwest Northbound Connector to IH 610 West Loop Northbound
Closed from 9 pm Thursday, June 10 until further notice. Drivers should take the connector to IH 610 Southbound main lanes.
Take Fournace Place/Bissonnet Street exit onto IH 610 Southbound Frontage Road. Take U-turn at Bissonnet St. onto IH 610 Northbound Frontage Rd. Take the next entrance ramp onto IH 610 Northbound main lanes.

IH 69 Southwest Northbound Main Lanes at IH 610 West Loop
Closed from 9 pm Friday, June 11, to 5 am Monday, June 14. Drivers should take the connector to IH 610 Southbound main lanes. Take Fournace Place/Bissonnet Street exit onto IH 610 Southbound Frontage Road. Take a U-turn at Bissonnet Street onto IH 610 Northbound Frontage Road. Take the next entrance ramp onto IH 610 Northbound main lanes. Take the connector to IH 69 Northbound main lanes.

IH 69 Southwest Southbound Connector to IH 610 West Loop Northbound
Closed from 9 pm Monday, June 14 — until further notice. Drivers should take exit to Newcastle Dr. onto IH 69 Southbound Frontage Rd. Continue and merge ontoIH 610 Northbound Frontage Rd. Continue through Richmond Ave. Take the next entrance ramp onto IH 610 Northbound main lanes.

For the most up-to-date information, visit Houston TranStar, www.HOU610at69.com, or @HOU610at69 on Twitter.

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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.”