pay up, philly

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner finally collects on World Series wager with his Philadelphia counterpart

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney Mayor Sylvester Turner

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney paid up with Mayor Sylvester Turner at an annual conference.

Photo courtesy of City of Houston Mayor's Office

As Houston prepares to celebrate the Astros this weekend at FanFest, Mayor Sylvester Turner is collecting on a friendly World Series wager with his Philadelphia counterpart.

Turner cashed in on his bet with Philly's Mayor Jim Kenney at the United States Conference of Mayors 91st Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, January 19. Fans may recall that Turner placed the wager on October 28, betting that his Astros would best the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. (They did so on Game 6 in a 4-1 victory.)

Here's what he offered:

Here’s what Houston will put on the table:

-Chicken & waffles from The Breakfast Klub @katfishandgrits
-Some Dome Faux’m to avenge our 1980 Astros from @8thWonderBrew 🍻
-Donation to my friends at Kids Meals Inc of Houston

What’s Philadelphia got to offer?#LevelUp https://t.co/AP9hUjWoBq
— Houston Mayor's Office (@houmayor) October 28, 2022

Kenney, who lost, had to pony up two-four packs of beer (brewed in Philly) plus a $500 donation to Houston's Kids Meals. The beer, produced by Philadelphia company Triple Bottom Brewing, is woman-owned company, powered by renewable energy, and hires workers in need of second-chance employment.

Turner, for his part, says Triple Bottom Brewing's values especially align with his and posed for pics with Kenney.

"The City of Houston and baseball fans will never get tired of celebrating the Houston Astros and the 2022 World Series Championship," Turner said in a statement after the meeting. "I am grateful to Mayor Kenney for following through on our friendly wager and especially for donating to a Houston-based organization with a mission to end childhood hunger."

houston astros world series

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.”