🌱 Valentine's Day + Natural Pawz Saved?

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. This beautiful Tuesday morning, we'll talk about ...

• A heart-warming love story.
• Disposing of celebratory balloons responsibly.
• Texas pet store Natural Pawz might be saved from bankruptcy.

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But first, today's weather:

A shower and thunderstorm. High: 78 Low: 54.

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Here are the top stories in Houston today:

1. In honor of Valentine's Day, today we'll cover a story about two high school sweethearts who rekindled their childhood romance 65 years later. Mary Nelson and Jerry Hill grew up and went to school in Indiana, eventually dating one another and going to senior prom together. However, as is often the case with high school sweethearts, they broke up soon after. Fast forward 65 years later and Mary and Jerry reconnected on Facebook through an old high school alumni group. The two began talking and rekindled their love online, but due to COVID they couldn't actually see each other until 15 months after they began talking. Mary said, "I was so excited when we finally met in person. Jerry put his arms around me, hugged me, and gave me a big kiss. It felt so wonderful to be in his arms, not alone anymore and with that special someone." The two 85-year-olds now live together in Houston at the Buckingham: a senior living community. (KHOU.com)
2. Environmental conversation organization SPLASH Texas is reminding Texans to handle Valentine's day balloons responsibly. Due to their propensity to float away into the sky, balloons often end up in places where they can do harm to local wildlife. Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, a wildlife sanctuary in Lake Jackson, says they have already cleaned up over 400 balloons from their sanctuary this winter season alone. Balloon trash is deadly to many types of wildlife, including most commonly birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and whales. Whether mistaking the shining balloon plastic for food or becoming entangled in their long nylon strings, balloons do no favors for our beloved Texas wildlife. (Chron)
3. Despite being set to close as part of a bankruptcy plan, Natural Pawz may see a second life after the original Houston owners filed to purchase 24 stores from current owners Independent Pet Partners (IPP). Couple and founders Nadine Joli-Coeur and Biff Picone started the Texas name brand back in 2005 and built it up to great success. However, they sold the brand to IPP in 2018 as they believed the company would be able to grow the Natural Pawz brand while maintaining the store's original vision. IPP blamed rising inflation, the effects of COVID-19, and "unexpected changes in consumer behavior resulting from a potentially fatal heart disease in dogs." as reasons for the bankruptcy filing. An approval hearing to decide the future of these local favorite stores will be held on February 21. (Houston Chronicle)
4. A total of 72 Houston-area students will receive at least $1,500 as a reward for their artistic works being featured in the Houston Rodeo. All of the artwork done by these students will be sold as part of an auction on March 12. Over 200,000 students from over 160 Houston schools both private and public submitted artwork to be judged as part of the Rodeo's school art program. Schools selected 4,000 of these pieces to be sent ahead to official Rodeo judges who then chose the final 72 works to be featured at the upcoming auction. On top of the cash reward for all artists whose work is sold at the auction, two Houston students in particular will see tens of thousands of dollars for winning the art show's top honors. The two winning artists are Mia Huckman from Lamar Consolidated ISD and Eliza Hoffman from Clear Creek ISD. (Houston Public Media)
5. Houston police arrested and charged a 51-year-old man for multiple break-ins to Houston-area libraries over the past four months. Surveillance video shows a figure similar to James Wilson using a sledgehammer to break into the buildings during off hours. Once inside, Wilson stole money from cash machines and copiers. The machines typically hold anywhere from $30 to $100. In addition, police caught Wilson red-handed at a library burglary on Corbin road last week. Sgt. Marvin Collins explained the idea behind the crime spree, saying, "It's a soft target. Because it's a library, it's a public building, and there's probably not as much security as there is with other buildings. So it's a little bit easier to break into." (KTRK-TV)

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Headlines you need to see:

• 'It's a work in progress': Houston beats every major city in violent crime reduction, mayor Turner says (KPRC Click2Houston)
• Body found: Man discovered dead outside southeast Houston business on Martin Luther King Boulevard near Selinsky Road, police say (KTRK-TV)
• German grocery store to open in Pearland shopping center - Houston Business Journal (The Business Journals)
• Hines Global Real Estate Firm celebrates more than 60 years beautifying Houston's skylines (FOX 26 Houston)
• New farmers market in League City runs every Sunday evening (Community Impact Newspaper)

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Today in Houston:

• Dungeons & Dragons with Circle of Barhaven at Rudyards (6 p.m.)
• Valentine's Day at Solstice - Discovery Green (6 p.m.)
• 10th Annual Valentine's Day Battle of the Sexes Comedy Show at the Secret Group (7 p.m.)
• Concert: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band at Toyota Center (7:30 p.m.)
• The Neon Rouge Cabaret Show at The Isis Theater (8:30 p.m.)

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From my notebook:

• A small number of residents from Europe managed to witness an asteroid streaking across the sky. The one-meter long asteroid is the seventh asteroid that has been successfully predicted by space agencies. (ABC13 Houston via Facebook)
• U.S. fighter jets have shot down at least 4 separate unidentified flying objects in American air space over the past week. Pentagon officials say the objects pose no security threat but also claim that so little is known about the objects that they "aren't ruling anything out." (KHOU 11 News via Facebook)
• U2 will return to the live stage in Las Vegas later this year, but they'll be missing an original member. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. is currently healing from an injury to his hand and will not join the rest of the band. (KPRC2 / Click2Houston via Facebook)

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Happy Valentine's Day everybody! Whether you've got someone to share the day with in your life right now or not, the most important thing is to love yourself. Be safe out there, and don't be afraid to buy yourself something nice!