This Week's Hot Headlines

Houston's grand $60M palace for sale and pioneering billionaire's passing lead this week's top stories

All this can be yours if the price is right.

Image courtesy of Icon Global

Editor's note: It's time to recap the top stories on CultureMap from this past week.

1. Houston palace graces market at $60 million as priciest listing in Texas. Formerly known as the Romanov Estate, the property includes a wrought-iron elevator, chandeliers, carved mahogany staircases, and space for as many as seven cars.

2. Pioneering Houston billionaire and financial titan Fayez Sarofim passes away in Houston at 93. Nicknamed “The Sphinx” for his quiet, regal demeanor, Sarofim was a noted art collector and benefactor, including a $70 million gift to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

3. Star Houston pitmaster reveals new fried chicken, seafood, and comfort food restaurant. Expect dishes such as gumbo, char-grilled oysters, and blackened fish to join buckets of fried chicken on the menu.

4. Longtime Bellaire BBQ joint announces end to its 40-year run. The space will become a second location of historic burger joint Lankford Grocery.

5. Charming Gulf Coast community named one of the most affordable beach towns in U.S. A new report from Realtor.com offers welcome news for those in search of Texas homes near the beach that won’t break the bank.

hot-headlines

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.”