🌱 Shocking Local Elections + Teacher Toils

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 voting center closing due to a nearby death.
• Teachers struggling to increase safety and pay.
• Lina Hidalgo takes a shot at Mattress Mack after election win.

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But first, today's weather:

Sunny. High: 83 Low: 65.

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Here are the top stories today in Houston:

1. The Melrose Community Center voting location had to halt taking ballots yesterday after a city employee was electrocuted to death in a cherry picker nearby. Electrician Jorge Osorio, 64, was a lifelong Astros fan and consummate caretaker of his 92-year-old mom Rogelia Carrillo Osorio. His family says that he was incredibly passionate about his electrical work. At the moment, it remains unclear what the exact cause of the electrocution was. Sister Aida Copeland said, "He was a big teddy bear. He had a lot of love to give. He was very generous to all of us." She went on to comment on how Jorge cared for their mother more than anything in the world. Both Jorge's sister and mother feel that if Jorge's mother passed before him, he wouldn't have been able to handle the immense loss. (KTRK-TV)
2. Proposals to beef up school security and increase teacher pay failed across multiple Houston school districts. Teachers seeking to better their yearly wages and safety in Katy ISD, Fort Bend ISD, and Lamar Consolidated ISD are sure to be disappointed, however, teachers' union leader Glenda Guzman Macal was not surprised. She said, "It was difficult to sell. I think people were tired of just having one more thing taxed, frankly. Inflation has taken a toll on everyone. Teachers who live in the district and their tax bill was going to increase, it nets about $200 a year and it just wasn't enough for them." However, Macal also fears that the failed proposals will make teachers consider quitting, saying, "We have seasoned teachers who love what they do who are just done. They are done and this is going to push them right over the edge."(KHOU.com)
3. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called out local community figure Mattress Mack during her victory speech for his support of opponent Alexandra Mealer. Hidalgo said of opponent Mealer, "She had almost $10 million in the bank, she had a U.S. Senator, and she had a furniture salesman, can't win them all, can't win all the bets." Hidalgo's mention of bets was a clear shot at Mattress Mack's bet of $10 million on the Houston Astros winning the World Series this year: a bet which he won to take home a total of $75 million. Meanwhile, opponent Alexandra Mealer released a statement saying, "While we did not accomplish our goal of changing leadership in Harris County, we were successful in elevating the profile of critical issues like the need to appropriately resource our law enforcement and criminal justice system,". Hidalgo won the election by a slim margin of just over a single percent. (KHOU.com)
4. Local restaurant State of Grace made the website Gayot's list of top 10 brunch locations in America. Gayot specializes in content concerning lifestyle news and dining reviews and included State of Grace on its list for their seafood and raw bar offerings. Some of the items that tipped the scales in State of Grace's favor included their cinnamon rolls, crawfish Benedict and Gulf shrimp omelet, oysters, twice-fried Korean chicken, and pork chop schnitzel and sticky toffee pudding with malt ice cream. (Beaumont Enterprise)
5. There are tons of ways to celebrate Thanksgiving in Houston besides stuffing your face, but you should definitely do that too. Some of the events you can catch around town while you're not drowning in stuffing and gravy include the annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Houston on November 24, a stellar comedy show at Laugh Attic Thursdays at Montrose bar Avant Garden, and ice skating at Discovery Green opening on November 11. There's also the Great Houston Pie Run, Wine & Calligraphy at Vinology Wine Bar, Turkey Burn Bootcamp yoga at Frost Town Brewing, and much, much more. For all of the details on these events as well as similar celebrations that you can attend, check the link attached. (Houstonia Magazine)

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Headlines you need to see:

• Retail wrap: Three Brothers Bakery expands to Tanglewood (Houston Chronicle)
• Attempted armed robbery: Bar employee stops gunman from stealing woman's money in southwest Houston, police say (KTRK-TV)
• Review: 'Six' at Hobby Center has great fun turning history into her story (Houston Chronicle)
• Winter is coming—no really, it is (Space City Weather)
• Houston crime: Jugging suspect accused of following victim home from bank hid in nearby daycare, HPD says (KTRK-TV)

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Today in Houston:

• 42nd Nutcracker Market at One NRG Park (10 a.m.)
• Fitness: Pilates at Discovery Green (6 p.m.)
• Red Wine Tasting at Hotel Zaza (6 p.m.)
• Film: Pitch Perfect at Market Square Park (7 p.m.)
• Karaoke Thursdays at The Secret Group (10 p.m.)

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From my notebook:

• Manager Dusty Baker has signed a one-year contract extension with the Houston Astros. Let's run it back Dusty! (Houston Astros via Facebook)
• Fans are lining up for the opportunity to meet Jose Altuve a day in advance of the meet and greet. A lengthy line of lawn chairs now wraps around the Academy location where Altuve will make his public appearance. (ABC13 Houston via Facebook)
• Katy's Typhoon Texas water park is planning to open a new children's section for the 2023 season. The section will be called "Typhoon Junior" and feature a number of popular slides from the park scaled down to kiddie size. (KPRC2 / Click2Houston via Facebook)

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Events:

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• Taxes in Retirement Seminar at Jungman Neighborhood Library (November 14)
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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday! I'll see you tomorrow for the Friday low down. Hang in there, we're almost to the weekend.