H-E-B is on board

An electric buzz in Houston: City to have 250 public car charging stations by2013

The eVgo rapid charging station can give an electric vehicle-driver a 50-mileboost in approximately 15 minutes.
Photo by Caroline Gallay
One of the City of Houston's new all-electric Nissan Leafs
Photo by Caroline Gallay
Mayor Annise Parker gathers with partners to celebrate the launch event ofHouston Drives Electric.
Photo by Caroline Gallay
This eVgo-powered convertible Smart Car is darling.
Photo by Caroline Gallay
The eVgo stations at the Buffalo Speedway H-E-B can charge two carssimultaneously.
Photo by Caroline Gallay
Mayor Parker investigates a Gridbot charging station.
Photo by Caroline Gallay

The Houston Drives Electric launch event at the Buffalo Speedway H-E-B Thursday morning drew a buzzing crowd to examine the brand new eVgo charging station installed in the grocer's parking lot. The charging station, which includes one of the company's only rapid-charge stations and can give electric car-drivers a 50-mile boost in just 15 minutes, is just the first of similar charging stations to come to Houston-area H-E-B stores, including the newest location underway at West Alabama and Dunlavy, according to H-E-B spokesperson Cyndy Garza-Roberts.

The event celebrated Houston's electric car initiatives, and showcased the city's two new Nissan Leafs as well as a host of other electric and hybrid vehicles surrounding the tented press conference. Sustainability director Laura Spanjian, whose pregnancy has not slowed her one bit, told the crowd that Houston residents can expect to have access to 250 public electric charging stations by the end of 2012. The Houston Arboretum was one of the first public locations to install an electric charging station in July. The new Flite Banking Center has one as well.

Several manufacturers were on-hand, including Gridbot, which is installing a bank of 28 charging stations in the garage beneath Tranquility Park to charge the city's municipal vehicles — the largest such station in the United States, according to Gridbot vice president Chris Herbert. That downtown bank will be capable of charging 56 vehicles simultaneously, which is important for the City of Houston's growing fleet of electric vehicles.

"Innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit have long-defined Houston," Parker said in her opening remarks. "Oil and gas will continue to be incredibly important for the foreseeable future, but there's another future out there as well."

Two all-electric Nissan Leafs have joined the city's municipal fleet, which will increase its electric and hybrid plug-in car count to 40 by the end of 2012, said Mayor Annise Parker. She added the Nissan Leafs are the first all-electric municipal vehicles in Texas.

Twenty-eight public charging stations have been pledged throughout Houston's parks and libraries thanks to grant money (in addition to the 28 that will charge the city's municipal fleet), and Houston-based eVgo plans to install an additional 50 stations, including the one at H-E-B, by the end of 2012.

To learn more, attend a Nov. 11 screening of Revenge of the Electric Car at the Alamo Drafthouse Theater or visit the city's new electric vehicle 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.”

H-E-B is on board

An electric buzz in Houston: City to have 250 public car charging stations by2013

Thanks, Queen Bey

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

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