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Community Corner

🌱 Domestic Abuse Kitchen + Adult Happy Meals

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Houston.

Chris Stomberg, Neighbor
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(Patch Media)

Wake up, Space City! It's me, Chris, your humble servant of the Houston Daily — coming right back at you with the plug on what's happening. Today, we'll look at:

  • A local business aiding domestic abuse victims.
  • Miss Texas takes the crown.
  • A new McDonald's special.

But first, today's weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 88 Low: 65.

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Here are the top stories today in Houston:

  1. Chef Lena Le of Lena's Asian Kitchen is providing domestic abuse survivors with opportunities to return to the workforce. Le is a domestic abuse survivor herself and hopes to shed light on all of the difficulties that escaping domestic abuse entails. Perhaps most important among them is establishing financial independence. Jewel Miller, who works under Lena as a pastry chef, shared, "Even when I think, OK, maybe I can't, I just keep going. Lena is always supportive and she's always trying to encourage me that I can, I can do it." Lena's Asian Kitchen only operates through online orders at the moment, but they hope to open a storefront soon. (KTRK-TV)
  2. Miss Texas took home the Miss U.S.A. crown, winning the 2022 pageant show on Monday night. R'Bonney Gabriel is a 28-year-old model and fashion designer who hails from Friendswood. Back in July, she was both the first Asian and Filipina American woman to win the Miss Texas crown. However, she's now got an even grander achievement to boast about. Despite the glamor of the award, Gabriel said, "I feel like I have a very big responsibility to not only share my culture as a Filipina and a Texan, but I really want to show people the importance of embracing who you are." You've got to love seeing that Texas pride. (ABC13)
  3. McDonald's has begun selling adult Happy Meals in hopes of drawing on customer nostalgia. This new initiative comes in collaboration with clothing maker Cactus Plant Flea Market. The adult boxes come with your choice of a Big Mac or a 10-piece chicken McNuggets, fries, and a fountain drink. Of course, each box also contains one of four collectible figurines depicting McDonald's characters the Hamburglar, Birdie, and Grimace or the Cactus Plant Flea Market inspired figurine named Cactus Buddy. Strangely enough, each figurine features four eyes as a nod towards the four-eyed smiley faces common in Cactus Plant Flea Market designs. (Click2Houston)
  4. Bail reforms are shaping up to be an important topic for the upcoming gubernatorial election. Houston Republicans claim that the recent uptick in violent crime around the city is correlated with Democratic judges failing to set bail amounts high enough to keep violent criminals off of the streets. However, the executive chief of the HPD said that rising local crime is following a national trend since the start of the pandemic. AJ Roy, the deputy director of data and technology for the Harris County Office of Justice and Safety, chimed in, "Trying to pin the overall system on just the bail practices of the judges, it simply would be an oversimplification of an incredibly complex problem. It'll mislead if we just look at only one factor and not all factors that interact in this pretty complex system." (Houston Public Media)
  5. A new, temporary Houston migrant transfer facility will receive its first 50 people this week. The shelter is operated by the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in partnership with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A spokesperson for the group said, "We want to follow the example of Jesus Christ who taught us to, 'love thy neighbor' and 'lift up his fellow.' We are all children of God and part of the family of God. We are grateful to serve in this capacity as servants to those who are suffering." The shelter is expected to operate for up to 3 months and comes in response to an unprecedented number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. (Subscription/Houston Chronicle)

Headlines you need to see:

  • Nearly 100 firefighters battle massive fire at lumber warehouse in north Houston, officials say (KPRC Click2Houston)
  • First-ever multi-level 3D printed home is being built in Houston (KPRC Click2Houston)
  • Man's decomposing body found in closet of southeast Houston apartment (KHOU.com)
  • Houston teen enjoys going to school for first time in years after surgery removes rare brain tumor (Houston Chronicle)
  • Here's what residents in the Bellaire, Meyerland, West University areas need to know ahead of Nov. 8 midterm elections (Community Impact Newspaper)

Today in Houston:

  • Houston Astros vs. Phillies at Minute Maid Park (3:10 p.m.)
  • Dungeons & Dragons with Circle of Barhaven at Darkhorse Tavern (6 p.m.)
  • Fitness at Discovery Green — HIIT class with FitMix Communities (6:30 p.m.)
  • Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night at Palace Social (7 p.m.)
  • Concert: Charlotte Sands at White Oak Music Hall (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • Crocs fans can win a free pair of shoes every day through Oct. 7 in honor of the shoe company's 20th anniversary. You can enter to win your own pair by becoming a Croc club member. (FOX 26 Houston via Facebook)
  • Former President Donald Trump filed a $475 million lawsuit against CNN for defamation. The lawsuit focuses primarily on the term "The Big Lie" about Trump's false claims of widespread fraud that he says cost him the 2020 presidential election. (KHOU 11 News via Facebook)
  • Downtown Houston has partnered with Market Square to put on a nighttime plant market this Saturday from 5-10 p.m. Stop by to pick up a brand-new potted friend, and don't forget to visit Frank's pizza while you're in the area. (Downtown Houston via Instagram)

Featured Kitty:

Sid is a 6-month-old domestic short hair available for adoption at the SPCA.

She's SO FLUFFY!!! I'm gonna die.

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Now you're armed with current events and ready to throw down in H-town! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow. Peace ✌

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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