No free zoo for you

Houston Zoo suspends Free Tuesdays in wake of massive, swarming summer crowd

Say 'so long' to free admission on First Tuesdays during the summer: The Houston Zoo has altered its admission policies through July and August in light of recent safety concerns.

The Zoo initially implemented the program for free admission the first Tuesday of every month, from 2 p.m. to closing time, in September 2010. The program, which will continue unchanged from September through May, greatly overburdens the area's infrastructure during the summertime — as was messily proved on June 5.

"Approximately 12,000 people came to the Houston Zoo in a three hour period that afternoon," Houston Zoo president and CEO Deborah Cannon said in a statement.

"Approximately 12,000 people came to the Houston Zoo in a three hour period that afternoon," said Deborah Cannon.

Those visitors packed the roadway around Hermann Park and the Texas Medical Center, causing massive congestion and blocking emergency vehicles from entrance to two nearby trauma centers — Ben Taub and Memorial Hermann.

"In 2011, 29,900 people attended the Zoo's Free First Tuesday afternoons (2 p.m. to closing) between September and May," Brian Hill, Houston Zoo's director of public affairs, wrote in an email.

On June 5, the Houston Zoo saw 40 percent of that total for nine months of Free Tuesdays in three hours.

"The Houston Zoo has worked diligently to identify opportunities for free and discounted admissions. However, in doing so we cannot adversely impact public safety. We must be a good neighbor to the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and to the Texas Medical Center," Cannon said.

Hill assured CultureMap that this suspension of First Tuesdays for the remainder of the summer does not change the existing free and/or discounted admission opportunities for field trips, nor does it affect the First Tuesdays program over the rest of the year.

Regular admission rates, as well as coupons and specials, can be found on the Zoo's website.

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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.”