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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income news

Texas residents earn 11th highest income in U.S. for 2026, study says

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

The highest-earning Texans make over half a million dollars a year.

A new WalletHub study comparing income disparities across America has ranked Texas residents No. 11 on the list of states with the highest earning residents in the nation.

The report, "States Where People Have the Highest Income (2026)," analyzed U.S. Census Bureau income data in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report evaluated the average annual income of the top five percent, the median annual household income, and the average annual income of the bottom 20 percent of residents in every state, all adjusted for the cost of living.

The report's data revealed the top five percent of Texans, the highest earners, make $520,378 on average yearly after adjusting for the cost of living. That's the seventh-highest income among the top five percent of earners nationwide.

Meanwhile, the median annual income of a Texas household is just under $76,000. The bottom 20 percent of Texas residents make $17,651 a year, the report found.

For additional context, the latest data from the Federal Reserve shows an American household's median yearly income is about $83,700. WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo also found that the highest earning 10 percent of individuals in the U.S. earn over 12 times more than those in the lowest-earning 10 percent, based on the latest Census data.

"By measuring the income of various percentiles against a state's median income, we can better identify where income disparities are more prevalent, which could help us better understand why residents of certain states struggle more to make ends meet," said Lupo.

Virginia is the state where residents earn the highest income in the U.S., WalletHub said. Based on the report's findings, the top five percent of Virginians make $545,097 on average per year after adjusting for the cost of living. The median annual income of a Virginia household comes out to $95,339, and the bottom 20 percent of residents make $19,671 annually on average.

Conversely, West Virginia is the state where people have the lowest income in the U.S. A West Virginia household makes a median annual income of $56,610, the third-lowest nationally, and the bottom 20 percent of residents make $13,260 on average per year, which is the fifth-lowest in the nation. The top five percent of West Virginians make $372,218 on average per year.

The top 10 states where residents have the highest income are:

No. 1 – Virginia
No. 2 – New York
No. 3 – New Jersey
No. 4 – Washington
No. 5 – Connecticut
No. 6 – Utah
No. 7 – Colorado
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Illinois
No. 10 – Massachusetts

income wallethub reports texas