the heat is on

Houston moves to Stage 1 drought plan as temperatures soar

Temps are rising which means less watering.

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Lowered rainfall amounts and higher-than-normal daily temperatures have pushed the city of Houston into Stage 1 of its drought contingency plan.

In a recent statement, Houston Public Works urged residents to take voluntary conservation measures in order for the city to reduce water use by 5 percent.

"During the past month, the City of Houston has had record-setting high temperatures above 90 degrees and a significant decrease in rainfall. As a result, most of Houston's service area is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions," Houston Public Works' statement read.

A significant measure that the city is pushing is a limited watering schedule that allows single-family residences certain days to water their lawns based on their street addresses.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

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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.”