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Need help with your rent? Houston-area leaders promote resource to help renters in need

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Need help with your rent? Houston-area leaders promote resource to help renters in need

Commissioner Garcia says struggling renters “aren’t getting any breaks” and “there are no days off for them.”

Renters facing eviction can access information and resources online to help keep them in their homes and apartments.

Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia spoke at an event Monday morning to encourage renters to know their rights and access this resource.

Garcia says Harris County leaders are supporting a resource at http://stoptxeviction.org/, which helps people not only learn about how they can get help paying their rent but also aims to help keep evictions during the coronavirus pandemic off renters’ permanent records.

“Everyone deserves a safe place to call home, especially during a pandemic,” Commissioner Ellis noted on his Facebook page.

The resource helps to:

  • Get legal information about the eviction process and your rights.
  • Get access to important documents you can give to your landlord or the court.
  • Apply for legal assistance from organizations in your area that provide free legal services to qualifying tenants.
  • Find out about rental assistance and other resources in your area and how to apply.
  • Chat with a real lawyer about your questions regarding eviction.

At Monday’s press conference, Garcia criticized Gov. Greg Abbott, calling him “Governor absent,” over the state’s current eviction diversion program.

“The state program is poorly designed,” said Garcia, noting that it relies on a partnership that is currently on a “two-week vacation.” Garcia said struggling renters “aren’t getting any breaks” and “there are no days off for them.”

That program, which began in October, currently only covers “select pilot counties” but is expected to expand to the rest of Texas starting in January 2021.

Get more info on the program for renters here: http://stoptxeviction.org/

 

Houston Health Department, HFD paramedics receive Moderna vaccinations

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Houston Health Department, HFD paramedics receive Moderna vaccinations

Mayor Sylvester Turner said both departments each received 3,000 doses of the vaccine, which he considers a major step in Houston’s ongoing battle with coronavirus.

Employees with the Houston Health Department and Houston Fire Department paramedics started receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccines on Monday.

During a press conference, Mayor Sylvester Turner said both departments each received 3,000 doses of the vaccine, which he considers a major step in Houston’s ongoing battle with coronavirus.

“Today is a big day for Houston,” Turner said. “Houston has received a potentially life-saving gift just in time for the holidays.”

“This is the beginning of the end,” said Dr. David Persse, the city’s chief medical officer.

Health care providers and first responders qualify for the state’s Phase 1A vaccination group. Also included in Phase 1A are hospital workers, nursing home providers, community pharmacy staff, embalmers at funeral homes, and school nurses.

“Over the next few days we will be offering vaccines to over 365 HISD and Pearland school nurses who currently qualify, all of those who are in Phase 1A,” said HHD Director Stephen Williams.

Dr. Persse encourages anyone who qualifies for Phase 1A, whether you’re in Tier 1 or Tier 2 group, to get vaccinated.

“This is going to help you personally because it’s going to help you protect yourself, but also remember the person you are most likely to infect is a member of your very own family. So when your opportunity comes up for you to get vaccinated, I would jump on that” Persse said.

COVID by the numbers in Houston

The city of Houston stands at an 11.6 percent COVID positivity rate. Last week, the positivity rate was 11.2.

The health department added an additional 765 positive cases Monday, bringing the city’s total to 116,043. The death toll due to coronavirus us 1,544.

“If I can put it in these terms, even though the numbers are high in terms of the number of people getting the virus, the death numbers still remain relatively low and when you compare it to other [parts] of the country,” Turner said.

City officials said the health department will continue to play its traditional role in the fight against COVID-19, including offering vaccines in multi-service centers once doses become available to the general public.

“We will use the same principles and strategies that we used for testing, mobile testing sites, strike teams, to ensure that there is sufficient vaccine uptake in vulnerable communities especially,” said Williams.

HFD Chief Sam Pena said coronavirus has ravaged the department, so receiving doses of the Moderna vaccine is extremely exciting for his department.

He said firefighters have been responding extremely well to getting the vaccine and he hopes to get all firefighters vaccinated within the month.

As of Monday, there are 192 HFD firefighters in quarantine. There is currently one firefighter in the emergency room due to respiratory issues after testing positive for the virus.

The city is hoping the Houston Police Department will start receiving vaccines by next week as well as more people beyond the health department and EMS workers.

‘Wonder Woman 3’ is coming soon after Warner Bros. calls ‘1984’ a hit

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‘Wonder Woman 3’ is coming soon after Warner Bros. calls ‘1984’ a hit

The box office numbers are in, and Warner Bros. says “Wonder Woman 1984” is a hit.

The “Wonder Woman” sequel debuted at an estimated $16.7 million in the United States during the holiday weekend, Warner Bros. said on Sunday. The film has brought in $85 million worldwide at the box office so far.
By comparison, the first “Wonder Woman” movie in 2017 debuted to a $103 million domestic box office opening in its first weekend, and it ultimately grossed $822 million around the world. But that was a different time, before the virus when people were unafraid to go to theaters. “Wonder Woman 1984” debuted in 2,100 theaters nationwide — half of what the number that screened the first Wonder Woman movie during its opening weekend.
Although Warner Bros. said the “Wonder Woman 1984” opening was a record high for the pandemic, that’s a difficult number to assess. Some theaters that were open earlier in the year are now closed, and likewise, many that had been closed have since opened.
Nevertheless, the studio called the movie’s debut a success, leading to another big announcement from Warner Bros, which, like CNN, is owned by AT&T (T) subsidiary WarnerMedia: It’s fast-tracking production of “Wonder Woman 3.” It will star Gal Gadot, and Patty Jenkins will direct the conclusions of the film’s theatrical trilogy.
“As fans around the world continue to embrace Diana Prince, driving the strong opening weekend performance of Wonder Woman 1984, we are excited to be able to continue her story with our real-life Wonder Women — Gal and Patty — who will return to conclude the long-planned theatrical trilogy,” said Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. in a statement.

Armando Manzanero, legendary Mexican singer and composer, dead at 85

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Armando Manzanero, legendary Mexican singer and composer, dead at 85

Mexican composer and singer Armando Manzanero died Monday morning after battling Covid-19 for weeks.

Manzanero, who was 85, died at a hospital in Mexico City, Mexico’s Society for Authors and Composers confirmed to CNN. He was hospitalized in mid-December after testing positive for Covid-19.
Manzanero was a prolific composer, with more than 600 songs to his name, according to the society. His songs were interpreted by artists from around the world, including Elvis Presley, Dionne Warwick, Perry Como, Spanish singer Raphael, and fellow Mexican star Luis Miguel.
The Latin Recording Academy, which awards the Latin Grammys, expressed its sympathy. “Armando Manzanero received the Award for Musical Excellence and was the winner of the Latin Grammy, as well as a great friend that is now gone,” the organization said.
“We celebrate his life and work. An irreplaceable loss for the Latin music world. We are with the Manzanero family in their grief.”
Manzanero won a Latin Grammy in 2001 for his album “Duets.”
He went on to win a Lifetime Achievement award in 2014, becoming the first Mexican to receive this honor.
“Armando Manzanero was a sensitive man, a man of the people. That’s why I lament his death,” he said during a press conference on Monday. “He was also a great composer.”
Manzanero will be cremated in Mexico City and his remains will be taken to his hometown of Merida, in Yucatan state.
Mexico has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, recording 1,383,434 coronavirus cases and 122,426 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Trump slams US fashion magazines for not giving Melania a single cover shoot while he has been in office

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Trump slams US fashion magazines for not giving Melania a single cover shoot while he has been in office

President Donald Trump has bashed leading US lifestyle magazines for not giving his wife, Melania Trump, a single front page cover while he has been in office.

In a tweet on Friday, Trump called the First Lady “the greatest of all time,” while retweeting a Breitbart post that said “elitist snobs in the fashion press” were ostracizing the “most elegant First Lady in American history.”

“Fake News!,” Trump added.

Trump fans have long noticed and lamented the absence of the First Lady from US newsstands, and often accused the US press of revealing their liberal bias by granting Michelle Obama, the wife of former president Barack Obama, 12 magazine covers in her two terms as First Lady, including three Vogue covers.

“If you need any further proof of the shameless bias of the liberal mainstream media, the most stunning First Lady in American history has never graced our nation’s major style magazine covers,” US actor and Trump supporter James Woods tweeted in February 2020.

Melania Trump

In April 2019 Vogue editor Anna Wintour said: “You have to stand up for what you believe in and you have to take a point of view.”

However, Melania Trump drew criticism from Vogue readers and magazine publishers in February this year over comments she made during a leaked private phone call about Wintour’s decision to let Beyoncé guest-edit an issue of the magazine.

“Anna gave the September issue of Vogue cover — complete, complete, complete, everything — to Beyoncé,” the First Lady said on the July 2018 call.

“She hired a Black photographer. And it’s the first Black photographer ever doing a cover of Vogue.”

The president himself has also expressed his personal distaste some for TIME Magazine, which each year name the “Person of the Year.”

TIME named Trump as “Person of the Year” in 2016, but the president took issue with the magazine’s choice of Greta Thunberg for the 2019 award issue.

CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE PRESIDES OVER FLOOR DEBATE ON THE CRUCIAL “CASH ACT”  TO PROVIDE $2,000 PAYMENTS TO AMERICANS IN NEED

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CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE PRESIDES OVER FLOOR DEBATE ON THE CRUCIAL “CASH ACT”  TO PROVIDE $2,000 PAYMENTS TO AMERICANS IN NEED

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and the Budget presides over the long-awaited floor debate for the crucial Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help (CASH) Act of 2020, which will increase the amount of money struggling Americans receive in the second round of direct payments to $2,000.

            After the President changed his mind last week and decided to support Democrats’ call for increasing direct payments to $2,000, House Democrats immediately went to the Floor to ask for Unanimous Consent to bring a stand-alone bill to increase the payments. But on that day, Christmas Eve, House Republicans blocked the request – rejecting the American people’s right to receive  $2000 direct survival payments that the President agreed to support. 

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was chosen as a senior member of Congress to preside over the crucial floor debate in the U.S. House of Representatives, which will provide $2,000 direct survival payments to 15 million Americans. “I am honored to once again serve as Speaker Pro Temp, especially for this historic vote that will provide hardworking Americans with long-awaited direct survival payments. Thanks to the outstanding leadership and persistence of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, we can now move our nation forward and finally get a lifeline to so many hurting Americans who are desperate for relief.”

The CASH Act:

  • Increases the value of the economic impact payments (EIPs) provided in the end-of-year COVID relief package so that each eligible family member receives $2,000, up from $600.
  • Applies the same, broader eligibility established in the end-of-year package to mixed-status families where one spouse has a Social Security Number (SSN). As specified in the latest COVID relief legislation, these families are eligible for the EIP amount for each family member with an SSN and can claim the corresponding amount for the first round of economic impact payments when they file their 2020 taxes.

 

“The $2000 in payments to individuals will be used to pay bills, rent, utilities, car notes, or purchase needed items like winter coats, and other essentials, which will translate into income for small businesses. All of this spending will generate local, state and federal tax revenue as it fuels consumption and the provision of services that are still available through the economy.

“I have always supported a $2000 plus cash disbursement to support desperate families. House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly called for bigger checks for the American people. House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected – first, during our negotiations when they said that they would not go above $600 and last week, with their act of callousness on the Floor.

“Now, with this vote on the stand-alone CASH Act, Republicans will be on the record.  They have a choice: either vote for this bill, or vote to deny families the relief they desperately need.”

The debate will begin on the House Floor at 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Text of the legislation is available HERE.

How you can make holiday returns during the pandemic

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How you can make holiday returns during the pandemic

Many shoppers are braving the crowds barely a day after Christmas to exchange or return their gifts or even treat themselves to something new post-Christmas.

But with thousands of purchases made in-store and online, it’s important to know each retailer’s return policies. Retailers will commonly give you 30 days to make a return.

Certain stores give you 60 to 90 days to make returns, but there is usually a cutoff time for getting cashback and you may have to settle for a gift card. However, because of the pandemic, some retailers are more generous.

Amazon

Amazon is extending their return giving people until the end of January to return any items bought between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.

Best Buy

Purchases made at Best Buy between Oct. 13 and Jan. 2 have an extended return period through Jan. 16. However, there are some exclusions with third-party contracts, holiday products, and major appliances.

Kohl’s

Stores like Kohl’s allow for purchased items to be returned within 180 days. Premium electronics purchased between Nov. 1 and Dec. 25 may be returned through Jan. 31, as long as the product is in original packaging with a valid receipt or account lookup.

Target

Target has also extended its return policy. For electronics and entertainment items purchased Oct. 1 through Dec. 25, the refund period will begin on Dec. 26, though there are exclusions.

Walmart

Since many items purchased from Walmart between Oct. 16 and Dec. 25 are gifts, all items with shorter return windows have an extended return timeframe, which allows more time to return items.

Store policies are usually posted at the check-out counter or printed on the back of receipts.

The Shadow League’s Most Influential People of 2020 — Milwaukee Bucks Players

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The Shadow League’s Most Influential People of 2020 — Milwaukee Bucks Players

The year 2020 has been the most turbulent, chaotic, transformative, and tragic year in recent history. We witnessed the catastrophic surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resurgence of racial and civil unrest. Not to mention a political sideshow.  

While sports were supposed to be a distraction from the calamity of this year, they also served as an extremely visible platform to keep uncomfortable conversations going. In the midst of calamity, the athletes were out here, about the action and using their influence to spark change.

Milwaukee Bucks Players

The Milwaukee Bucks’ aspirations for a championship were thwarted by the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Bubble playoffs. However, the team’s impact in and out of the bubble during the NBA restart this summer can’t be denied. They were, in large part, catalysts for a social justice movement, that collectively shut down sports to demand that Black Lives be heard.

On August 23, 2020, 29-year-old Jacob Blake was shot and seriously injured by Rusten Sheskey, a Kenosha, WI police officer. Sheskey shot seven times at Blake’s back when Blake opened the driver’s door to his SUV and leaned in. In the days following the shooting, unrest during rallies and marches ensued.

Three days after the incident, the Bucks boycotted their first-round game against the Orlando Magic. The team decided not to come out of their locker room minutes before tip-off. Later that day, the NBA  and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) postponed all of the games scheduled.

After the NBA postponed play, MLB followed suit postponing three games. The first MLB team that boycotted was fittingly the Milwaukee Brewers. In addition to MLB, the NHL followed suit as well.

After a tense meeting with the NBPA and other teams in the bubble, play resumed after a day. Some believed that the gesture was pointless since the boycott only lasted a day. On the other hand, that gesture did enough to flex their leveraged influence.

It did enough to keep the conversation about injustice and systemic racism going. It did enough to remind fans and team owners/governors alike of their power.

On the surface, the boycott was about the Blake incident. However, it could also have been a result of an accumulation of the injustices that were witnessed before the incident or even experienced by players themselves.

In June, George Hill, who now plays for Oklahoma City, was joined by Myles Turner, Tamika Catchings, and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Anthony Walker, Jr in a video conference panel where he opened up about his thoughts on racism and racial injustice.

 

“If I didn’t have that talked, I possibly would’ve been that George Floyd,” Hill said. “I possibly would’ve been all my family members that got gunned down in the streets in Indianapolis.“ So yes, this for me, it impacts me even more because I’ve seen the killing going on, and I’ve seen the police brutality. I’ve seen that my cousin is laying in the street for an hour and a half before another police officer gets there. I’ve seen that. So I got emotional because it really hurts. I’ve got interracial kids, and I’m scared just for my whole life”

In the midst of the protests, the Bucks also presented Wisconsin lawmakers with a list of demands, citing disappointment in the state’s legislature inaction on policing reform bills.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ player leadership stepped up at a crucial moment and it wasn’t the first time these players used their platforms to make pleas for changes in the city’s race relations and the PD’s treatment of Black people.

Joining a slew of pro athletes to join protests after George Floyd’s death, six Milwaukee Bucks players participated in a Milwaukee social-justice march in June.

Among those in attendance was two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and players wore shirts that said: “I can’t breathe.”

“This is our city, man,” Antetokounmpo told the marchers, adding, “We won’t change. We want justice.”

As early as 2017, former Bucks player Jabari Parker spoke at an anti-racism rally in Salt Lake City. The rally was held in opposition to the white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Parker regularly spoke up on issues of race, joining a growing group of young NBA and WNBA players who began dedicating their platform to social issues.

In 2018, the Sterling Brown tasing brought police brutality to the NBA’s front steps.

The players of the Bucks have consistently displayed bravery and dedication to eliminating systemic racism and contributing to an improved America and they took no breaks in 2020.

December is the deadliest month in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began

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December is the deadliest month in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began

December has been the nation’s deadliest month since the Covid-19 pandemic’s start — with more than 63,000 Americans lost to the virus in the past 26 days.

In comparison, the entire month of November saw about 36,964 deaths.

The death toll comes on the heels of several brutal months, with Covid-19 ravaging communities from coast to coast, crippling hospital systems, and prompting new widespread restrictions.
The authorization of two Covid-19 vaccines earlier in December offered some hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. But experts continue to warn that while the end is in sight, the pandemic is not over and another surge stemming from the Christmas holiday could be on its way.
“We very well might see a post-seasonal — in the sense of Christmas, New Years — surge,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said “State of the Union” Sunday morning, pointing to holiday travel and private gatherings taking place despite the advice of health experts.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert described the potential rise in cases as a “surge upon a surge,” telling, “If you look at the slope, the incline of cases that we’ve experienced as we’ve gone into the late fall and soon to be early winter, it is really quite troubling.”
More than 1.1 million people were screened at airports on Saturday, according to the TSA, marking the third busiest day for US air travel since March. More than 616,000 were screened on Christmas Day alone, and hundreds of thousands more traveled in the days leading up to the holiday.
Covid-19 hospitalization numbers across the US are already at record levels. On Sunday, the country recorded its fourth-highest number of hospitalizations with more than 118,720 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
This is the 26th consecutive day that the US has remained above 100,000 current hospitalizations.
All of the five highest days for hospitalizations have been in the last week.
Another surge of cases and hospitalizations will, inevitably, mean more deaths — on top of an already devastating death toll.
“When you’re dealing with a baseline of 200,000 new cases a day and about 2,000 deaths per day, with the hospitalizations over 120,000, we are really at a very critical point,” Fauci said.
“As we get into the next few weeks,” he added, “it might actually get worse.”
Fauci’s comments Sunday came as the US surpassed 19.1 million coronavirus cases, yet another milestone for the pandemic, coming just over 11 months after the first case was recorded in the US in late January.
As of 8 p.m. ET Sunday, Johns Hopkins University has reported 125,041 new cases and 1,160 reported deaths.
More than 333,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the US. Another 193,000 could lose their lives over the next two months, according to predictions from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
“The projections are just nightmarish,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist at the Baylor College of Medicine. “People can still save the lives of their loved ones by practicing social distancing and masks. And remember, vaccines are around the corner.”

Vaccine rollout slow in some places, expert says

Nearly 2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 9.5 million doses have been distributed.
Those numbers now include both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. And while there are lags in data reporting, federal officials had previously said they would vaccinate 20 million people by the end of the year.
Asked about the apparent slow rollout of vaccines, Fauci told Sunday that large, comprehensive vaccine programs with a new vaccine start slow before gaining momentum.
“I’m pretty confident that as we gain more and more momentum, as we transition from December to January and then February to March, I believe we will catch up with the projection,” he said.
Dr. Esther Choo, a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, explained that vaccine distribution is “just a very complicated thing.”
“At every step, there’s the complexity and there’s a possibility for the delay, whether it’s individual state planning, allocation, training, the supply of vaccine, storage… there (are) just so many factors at this stage,” Choo said.
“We need to be prepared for the fact that it is going to be a slow rollout in many places and that it will not change our behaviors or necessarily the trajectory of the pandemic in this country in the short term,” Choo said.
A number of experts have warned Americans not to let their guard down as vaccinations begin and to continue wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds and gatherings, and regularly washing their hands.
It likely won’t be until summer that vaccines are widely available and begin to make a meaningful impact on the pandemic’s course, officials have said. Fauci estimates about 70% to 85% of the population needs to get vaccinated against Covid-19 for the country to achieve herd immunity.

Expert: Testing requirements won’t help control Covid-19 variant spread

The CDC also announced last week new testing requirements for travelers arriving from the UK, which will go into effect Monday.
Passengers must have had a negative PCR or antigen test within 72 hours of boarding a flight from the UK to the US, along with documentation of their laboratory results. Airlines will be required to confirm the test prior to the flight.
This comes after the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant first detected in the UK, which health officials say “has been predicted to potentially be more rapidly transmissible.” Since the discovery of the variant, more than 40 countries have restricted travel from the UK and in some cases, travel from other countries that have documented cases with the variant.
The third case of the variant first identified in the UK has been detected in Ottawa, Canada, a press release from the Ontario government said Sunday.
The case is a person who recently traveled from the UK, according to the release. That individual is now in self-isolation.
The two previous cases that were reported on Saturday have since been found to have had contact with a recent traveler from the UK, the release said.
One expert says the new testing requirements for travelers into the US have not been implemented quickly enough to be effective against a reported variant.
“It makes sense that for any place that’s experiencing a regional spike in cases that we put new measures in place,” emergency medicine physician Dr. Richina Bicette told CNN. “But if they’re trying to make sure that the virus isn’t imported to the United States, these measures are going to have no effect on that whatsoever.”

Houston hospital offers vaccine to pharmacists, school nurses

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Houston hospital offers vaccine to pharmacists, school nurses

A Houston hospital system plans to start vaccinating workers from outside its own buildings with its next phase of shots as the coronavirus continues its surge in Texas and beyond.

The recently approved Moderna vaccines arrived Wednesday in Houston. That cleared the path for healthcare officials at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Health System to begin scheduling appointments for first responders, community pharmacists, and school nurses who were not included in the initial rollout of shots.

Those over the age of 65 or older than 16 and suffering from at least one chronic medical condition will also be eligible.

Texas didn’t follow all the new federal guidelines for distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines over the weekend to prioritize those aged 75 and older and front-line essential workers in phase 2 of the rollout.

Local leaders have warned Texans to avoid travel ahead of the holiday weekend to reduce the spread of the virus through large gatherings.

Texas has seen the second-highest COVID-19 death count in the country overall, with 26,406 COVID-19 related deaths to date, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins. The state currently ranks 34th in the country for new cases per capita as the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 1,721 over the past two weeks. One in every 252 people in Texas tested positive in the past week.

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