This Week's Hot Headlines

Where to eat, J.J. Watt's mystery lady and the joys of summer camp lead the week's top stories

Editor’s note: Another week has come and gone so we’ve rounded up the most popular stories on CultureMap from the last week:

1. Where to Eat Right Now: 10 distinctive new restaurants that are definitely worth a try in June. As part of CultureMap's monthly roundup of the latest and greatest eateries around the city, food editor Eric Sandler profiles 10 can't-miss spots, including upscale butcher shop and steakhouse B&B Butchers and Karbach Brewing Co.'s new restaurant.

2. Love Match or Just Good Friends? J.J. Watt spotted in Paris with beautiful blonde tennis star. In recent weeks, Houston Texans superstar defensive end J.J. Watt has been seen a number of times with Danish tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki, leading some to speculate about a possible romance between the two.

3. After move to $10.5 million River Oaks mansion, Joel Osteen offers Tanglewood land for $1.1 million. Several years after this piece on mega-church pastor Joel Osteen and his move to a multi-million dollar River Oaks mansion first appeared, it remains an extremely popular story.

4. Houston's massive flood and jinxed Montrose location lead the week's top stories. CultureMap recaps the most popular stories of the each week, and last week's edition, which included the torrential downpour and subsequent flooding and the closure of a Montrose restaurant in a seemingly unlucky location scored high.

5. Happy Summer Camper: Inside the Texas camp culture that changed my life. Five years ago, CultureMap staffer Meredith Riddle-Chastang extolled the virtues of summer camp in hopes that the long-time tradition is not lost on today's children living in a digital age — and the story resurfaced just as the season begins.

6. Drink & eat on the cheap: Hot new happy hours deals get the summer rolling. If you're looking for the best happy hour deals around town, contributor Marcy de Luna has you covered with eight of the city's top spots, whether you need an after-work cocktail or a delectable bar snack.

Meredith Riddle-Chastang's recollection of the joys of summer camp has resurfaced as a top story.

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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.”