Hometown Glory

Annise Parker bonds with Stephen Colbert: What to expect from the mayor'ssurprise comedic TV turn

Annise Parker and Stephen Colbert are in on some TV fun.
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Annise Parker's appearance on The Colbert Report will air at 10:30 p.m.Wednesday night.
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It's been more than two years since Stephen Colbert's trip to NASA and failed attempt at astronaut training, but on Wednesday night's episode of The Colbert Report, he's giving Houston the spotlight again.

Mayor Annise Parker will be Colbert's guest on the show, which will both film and air on Wednesday. Parker joins other high-profile mayors, including Newark's Cory Booker and Julian Castro of San Antonio, in taking on Colbert's bloviating on-air personality.

Parker's office is staying mum on what the mayor plans to talk about, though The Colbert Report website says she "discusses being one of the first openly gay mayors." Though the trip to Colbert's New York studio is convenient for Parker — she's on her way to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Philadelphia — it's been a while since she made the press rounds to talk about the historic nature of her election in 2009.

So it will be interesting to see if she sticks to anodyne civic issues or comes out as a strong Texas Democrat and potential Obama surrogate to criticize Gov. Rick Perry's recent announcement that he would not expand Medicaid nor establish a health insurance exchange for Texas.

Either way, it will definitely be interesting — and funny.

Parker's appearance will air on Comedy Central at 10:30 Wednesday night. Come back to CultureMap for plenty of postshow coverage.

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share the road

Texas is one of the least cyclist-friendly states in the nation

Photo by Danist Soh on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in Houston, you already know how true this is.

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Houston, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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