Total Burn Ban

Parker says the city is watering "signature trees," pleads for help from peoplewho love parks

The scene at Memorial Park is pretty grim.
Photo by Shelby Hodge
Mayor Parker, department heads, and council members show off the PeopleProtecting our Parks informational flyer
Photo by Whitney Radley
Parker addresses the press at Memorial Park, with a backdrop of dead and dyingtrees
Photo by Whitney Radley
More than one thousand trees are dead in Memorial Park alone
Photo by Shelby Hodge
The parks department is responding first to those dead trees with falling limbsthat might pose a threat to pedestrians
Photo by Shelby Hodge

Put away your tongs and charcoal briquettes: Mayor Annise Parker has issued a total burn ban in Houston city parks, effective immediately and until further notice.

This ban is part of a larger initiative, People Protecting Our Parks, that aims to promote fire prevention education and protect Houston's parks in this time of drought.

"It's easy to remember, and it's a clear message," Parker said at a press conference in Memorial Park on Friday. "This is our call for help from all people who love our parks and green spaces."

The City of Houston has never had measures to enforce issues like this one, as we're usually blessed (or burdened) by an abundance of rainfall during the summer months and into hurricane season. But now, the drought conditions have reached a dire state — millions of Houston's trees are dead and dying (at least one thousand within Memorial Park alone, with 66 million expected to die in the greater Houston area overall as a result of the drought), wildfires continue to break out across Texas — and there's no end in sight. Houston's a veritable tinderbox.

"We are watering where we can," Parker promises. "We're watering signature trees . . . and significant trees of notable size or historical connection to the City of Houston."

And the dead ones must go, starting with those trees with falling limbs that pose a threat to citizens.

Parker implores Houstonians to do what they can by watering trees on their streets and in front of their houses; contacting 3-1-1 with any information about hazardous trees, broken water mains, or grassfire outbreaks; and honoring the complete burn ban in city parks.

The City of Houston will distribute warnings to those citizens who have open flames in the park until the City Council votes on a formal ordinance on Wednesday. After that time, citations will be issued.

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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.”

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Thanks, Queen Bey

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