Pooja Lodhia

1 week ago | abc13.com | Pooja Lodhia

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As Houston city leaders debate next year's budget, many are wondering: What do Houstonians really want? A new poll from the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs asks Houstonians to name the top three problems our city is facing. At the top of the list, 49% of respondents said they were concerned about roads and streets in bad condition. 41% listed crime. 37% traffic. 31% listed the high cost of housing.

2 weeks ago | abc13.com | Pooja Lodhia

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Home for Qais Shahbaz is now a sparse apartment in southwest Houston. He and his family arrived in Houston on Jan. 16. Four days later, President Donald Trump took office and immediately signed an executive order stopping all refugee admissions. "I was very happy when I came to the United States and we feel very safe and proud that we can get a better life," he said through a translator. Shahbaz is still learning English, but was a pharmacist back home in Afghanistan.

3 weeks ago | abc13.com | Pooja Lodhia

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's been almost a month since Congressman and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner died, and there are still no plans to fill the seat left by Turner. Gov. Greg Abbott has until Friday to call for a special election for U.S. House District 18 to make it on to the ballot in May. But, as of now, more than 700,000 people who live in the district will be unrepresented in Washington.

3 weeks ago | abc13.com | Pooja Lodhia

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Could the fate of Mayor John Whitmire soon be decided by Houston voters? A group working to recall the mayor is getting ready to start collecting signatures. Mayor John Whitmire has been in office for a year and three months. And he's confident he'll finish out his term. "It's silly. I appreciate people reviewing what I'm doing, and we're very proud of the team that we have and the public support we have," Whitmire said when we asked him about the recall effort.

3 weeks ago | abc13.com | Pooja Lodhia

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Striking images of immigration raids have been all over your screens since President Donald Trump took office. In February, we were there as state troopers stopped people on roads and parking lots in Liberty County, eventually reporting 118 arrests in the Colony Ridge subdivision. "We're getting questions like, 'If I give a parishioner a ride to church and he or she is undocumented, is that transporting?