New Water Park In Houston

A new water park opens in Houston: And Mayor Parker proves it's not just a kids thing

It's the middle of June. It's hot. It's Houston. What better way to beat the heat and cool off than with a new solar-powered water park?

I should have packed my swimsuit so I, too, could cool off and play when I checked out the new splash pad that opened this week on the 3700 block of Lyons Avenue in the Fifth Ward.

The Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation partnered with Reliant in creating a 2,340 square-foot splash pad play area for local families and children. The 18 solar panels are expected to generate about 6,600 kilowatt hours of electricity. Not only do they power the water, but the panels also provide shade for people to enjoy some down time away from the beating sun.

"It doesn't require that intense amount of adult supervision that a swimming pool does."

"When you pass by here on the weekends or in the evenings, the park is just full of families, full of life," says Kathy Payton, president of the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation. "This definitely helps us create an environment where people actually live, work and play here in the Fifth Ward."

Lyons Avenue was selected as the splash pad's location because it's one of the main quarters that run through the Fifth Ward running East and West.

"This area has gotten some attention from the city over the last year or so," Mayor Annise Parker says. "That's because this area is important to the City of Houston. It is not only historic, but it is a neighborhood with potential."

Officials consider a splash pad to be more beneficial to the community than a swimming pool because of safety and maintenance issues.

"The splash pad takes advantage of great technology, it provides a wonderful amenity where kids can play safely," Parker says. "It doesn't require that intense amount of adult supervision that a swimming pool does.

"And it's also a place where kids of all ages can participate equally, but it has an education component as well." Parker lived the dream herself, taking a quick run through the water in her business suit.

Surrounding the park are boards that detail alternative power sources and innovations.

The park will be open from May through September and it's free.

And the water park may just be the beginning of the neighborhood's continuing makeoever. A mere two blocks away, the long abandoned Deluxe Theater is in the works of being renovated in a partnership with the City of Houston. The theater will have the capacity to seat 125 people for performing and visual art events.

Reliant solar panels.

Splash Pad Houston June 2013 solar panels

Photo by Julia Davila

Reliant solar panels.

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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.”