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Community Corner

🌱 Gun Safe Giveaway + Rodeo Food

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

Chris Stomberg, Neighbor
(Patch Media)

Wake up, Space City! It's your resident informer, Chris, here with another edition of your Houston newsletter. Today, we'll cover ...

  • A free gun safe distribution.
  • A terrible crime.
  • New Houston Rodeo food for 2023.

But first, today's weather:

Breezy in the morning. High: 53 Low: 38.

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Here are the top stories in Houston today:

  1. At least 1,000 guns safes will be distributed to Houston residents by the city of Houston on a first-come, first-serve basis. The strange giveaway was spurred on by the city's efforts to reduce gun violence. In addition to safes, attendees of the giveaway can expect to learn about gun safety and gun locks. District Attorney Kim Ogg spoke to the need for such events, saying, "Younger and younger children with access to weapons are bringing them to school, and just yesterday the district attorney's office charged someone for leaving his gun unsecured in a public place, park where a 3-year-old retrieved it and shot himself in the hand." In other gun safety news, another gun buyback event will also occur this weekend on Saturday at Alexander Deussen Park. (KHOU.com)
  2. A Houston man has been charged with sexual assault against one of his 9 adopted sons. Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, has been investigated by CPS on multiple occasions, but no evidence ever came to light about wrongdoings in taking care of his boys. The key element that exposed these accusations was when one of his sons used a burner phone to call into a podcast and speak about his experiences with sexual abuse. Tracing the IP address of the call, a CPS investigator was able to get into contact with the caller and learn more disturbing details. The boy said Cohen abused many of his sons by forcing them to massage his feet, perform oral sex on him and each other, and raping them. Cohen also reportedly uses a wheelchair and oxygen mask whenever seen in public. (KHOU.com)
  3. The Houston Rodeo is going all out on food this year with nearly 70 vendors spread throughout NRG park. Among the offerings available will be classics like barbecue, turkey legs, and fried fare, but a number of new vendors are turning the dial up to 11. Here's just a few of the tasty treats newcomers will be offering. Pioneer Wagon will be selling their Snake Bite Nachos consisting of ground rattlesnake sausage topped with their house made venom sauce and Asian Streetness has an Un-PHO-gettable burger dripping with the flavor of a pho spices infusion. As far as the carnival is concerned, the Corn Shack has a new menu item called the Loco Elote Ramen Cup which are noodles topped with sweet corn, mayonnaise, cheese, and crushed Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Fried Affairs has added a fried banana split and fried bananas to their offerings. Lastly, Biggy's is the one and only home of the Bacon-Wrapped Pork Belly on a stick: a pork belly wrapped in honey glazed bacon that's been slow cooked for 2 hours. For more carnival food, check the (Houston Chronicle)
  4. A death row inmate who has struggled with mental illness that led to the murder of his wife and children is seeking clemency. Inmate Andre Thomas has seen religious hallucinations and experienced delusional thoughts all of his life. These experiences first caused him to try and commit suicide at the age of 10. When Thomas killed his wife, 4-year-old son, and 13-month-old daughter, he cut out the hearts of his children and told police God had instructed him to kill his family because they were demons. Since then, he's spent 15 years in a prison for the extremely mentally ill. During this time, he's gouged out both his own eyes, eating one of them, to prevent the government from hearing his thoughts. Thomas' attorneys say that he will never be competent enough to face execution. Meanwhile, a bill that would make the execution of those with severe mental illness will soon be debated in the Texas Legislature. (KPRC Click2Houston)
  5. You could make $1,000 for watching 10 hours of dog movies and writing a 1,000 word blog post about the experience. Company Pettable is looking to fill their Chief Doggie Flicks Officer (CDFO) position with someone who has a strong passion for animals. Applicants must be 18 years old, a citizen of permanent resident of the United States, and capable of writing the blog post. Applicants will also have to report the role that pets have played in their life as well as why they believe they're the best one to do the job. Some of the seven featured movies include Scooby Doo, Hachi, and the animated 101 Dalmatians. If you're interested in applying, follow this link. (FOX 26 Houston)

Headlines you need to see:

  • After just under 2 years of construction, Buffalo Speedway reopens Feb. 17 in West University (Community Impact Newspaper)
  • Ari Lennox, Taylor Swift tribute among this week's 40+ Houston concerts (Houston Chronicle)
  • Taking Your Health Care to Heart How Screenings Can Help Detect Heart Issues and What You Can Do About It (KPRC Click2Houston)
  • Road closures along Grand Parkway expected Feb. 17-19 in Sugar Land, Fulshear areas (Community Impact Newspaper)
  • Lina Hidalgo hits back over Mattress Mack's election lawsuit, calling 'the mattress guy' 'comical' (Houston Chronicle)

Today in Houston:

  • Colors in Bloom at the Color Factory (10 a.m.)
  • Roller Rink at Discovery Green (5 p.m.)
  • Dungeons & Dragons with Circle of Barhaven at Brass Tap (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • The Bronco Power Boost is a Houston made generator that can insure small spaces such as apartments against power outages. The Bronco is perfect for keeping important essentials like refrigerators, necessary medical devices, and Wi-Fi running. (KPRC Click2Houston via Facebook)
  • New wave band Depeche Mode just added Houston to their list of cities that they'll be touring later this year. They release a new album called "Memento Mori" in March of this year and will visit the Toyota Center in October. (Houston Chronicle via Facebook)
  • Money Cat is a brand new Japanese restaurant in the Upper Kirby Neighborhood that people are raving about. Instead of common Japanese fare like sushi, Money Cat focuses on serving traditional Japanese cuisine. (KHOU 11 via Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with another update.

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

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