April Towery

3 weeks ago | houstonpress.com | April Towery |Houston Press

Fuller, 70, could talk all day about the crime he’s witnessed in broad daylight, but he’s troubled lately by the scams that he says are shrouded in secrecy, targeting his elderly, unsuspecting and trusting neighbors. At least four Trinity Gardens property owners were victimized recently in a fraudulent property deed scheme in which a scammer pretended to own the properties he was selling, according to a lawsuit filed last month by Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee.

3 weeks ago | houstonpress.com | April Towery |Houston Press

Wearing a bright yellow Northeast Action Collective T-shirt and matching hat, Worthy addressed the Houston City Council last week, one of dozens who spoke out against Mayor John Whitmire’s proposed $7 billion budget. Several said they’d remember the “austerity budget” when the mayor comes up for re-election.

3 weeks ago | houstonpress.com | April Towery |Houston Press

A Houston Police Department policy requiring officers to make at least one traffic stop per shift was formally rescinded last week after some City Council members said they never voted for it and appeared unaware it was still on the books. City officials said a “general order” was given in 2022 encouraging Houston patrol officers to pull over one motorist per day.

3 weeks ago | houstonpress.com | April Towery |Houston Press

Sutherland tearfully urged members of the Texas House of Representatives not to pass legislation that would make it easier for parents to exempt their school-age children from vaccines. Spectators in the gallery at the April 28 Public Health Committee hearing said state representatives appeared to be “moved” by Sutherland’s story, letting her speak past the allotted two minutes and lauding her bravery for sharing her story. Then most of them voted to pass the bill.

4 weeks ago | houstonpress.com | April Towery |Houston Press

Tension has been escalating between Houston Controller Chris Hollins and Mayor John Whitmire since budget talks began earlier this year and will come to a head as the City Council votes on a $7 billion budget next week. Hollins said in an exclusive interview with the Houston Press this week that Whitmire has been inaccurate in his claims that the city’s proposed budget does not include tax hikes, fee increases or service cuts.