hidalgo exposed

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in quarantine after COVID-19 exposure

Hidalgo says she will be in quarantine for two weeks following the exposure.

Just days after raising Harris County’s COVID-19 threat level to red — or severe — Judge Lina Hidalgo announced that she has been exposed to the virus.

Hidalgo has not shown any symptoms and is self-quarantining after being potentially exposed last week, according to a statement. The exposure came on Monday, June 22, via a member of her office; the staffer has tested positive and is also self-isolating, according to Hidalgo’s office.

Due to the exposure, Hidalgo and other staff who were potentially exposed will self-quarantine for 14 days until July 6, in accordance with guidelines from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

“Given what we have learned, I will be quarantining at home,” said Hidalgo in a statement. “The reality of it is, there are thousands of residents across Harris County that are increasingly finding themselves in the same position I am in today.

“There are rising numbers of residents testing positive for this virus, and more and more requiring hospitalization. We are at Threat Level 1 - Red - and I continue to call on everyone to stay home except for essential activities. That is the only way we avoid a crisis in our hospital system and put our community in a position to reopen in a smarter and more sustainable way. We will beat this threat together as a community and I will continue to ensure we are pursuing every option we have to bring this back under control.”

As for how this will affect her current workload, Hidalgo reports that she will continue her duties virtually; normal county operations will continue without interruption.

The statement adds that most county judge staff have already been following work-from-home protocols. Others in the office have been wearing masks and maintaining social distancing practices.

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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.”