Past Articles by Florian Martin
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Why Getting The Super Bowl May Have Been The Hardest Part For Houston Now that Houston has secured the 2017 Super Bowl, the host committee will focus on making the event a memorable one. Organizers have no doubt it will be. |
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Bid Committee Celebrates As Houston Gets 2017 Super Bowl The Super Bowl is coming back to town. During their meeting in Boston today, the NFL team owners named Houston the host city for Super Bowl LI in 2017. It was reason to celebrate for the people who worked on securing the big game. |
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Dreamliner's First Flight After Grounding Sees No Lack Of Passengers Today, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off in Houston to fly to Chicago. It was the first time United Airlines operated a Dreamliner since a battery-failure grounded it in January. If people are worried about flying the Dreamliner, it doesn't show in the number of passengers. |
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Why The Sequester Could Be Bad For Johnson Space Center Employees NASA's top executive says Houston's Johnson Space Center plays a critical role in the NASA budget proposed by President Barack Obama last month. During a visit to JSC on Thursday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden also expressed concern about the effects the sequester could have on the space agency's goals and employment at the space center. |
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Local Pastor Takes Lead In Effort To Educate Black Churches On HIV Awareness As black America continues to make up a disproportionate part of new HIV infections, the NAACP has been trying to recruit church leaders to raise awareness of the issue. Here in the Houston area, one pastor has taken the lead on spreading the word. |
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Small Legislative Error Proves Costly For Some Veterans' Dependents Texas veteran and education benefits have been a hot topic this legislative session. The most recent conversation was around a part of the Hazlewood Act that was unintentionally changed in the 2011 session. That error translated into an unexpected expense for people like Houstonian Dwayne McAfee. |
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Working Moms Ask City To Keep Out Wage Thieves Just in time for Mother's Day, working moms from different community organizations gathered at City Hall this morning to lobby council members to pass an ordinance to ensure fair wages for women. Studies show that low-income workers are most affected by wage theft. |
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Houston's Super Bowl Bid Committee Optimistic After Florida Decision Since it became clear on Friday that Miami won't receive state funds to renovate its football stadium, Houston's chances of hosting the 2017 Super Bowl have risen enormously. Houston's Super Bowl bid committee is submitting its final bid tonight. |
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Why A Local Cardiologist Targets Highly Caffeinated Products A growing number of products contain caffeine, including a new caffeinated chewing gum. That's reason to worry for some health professionals, including a local cardiologist. He and others are asking the Federal Drug Administration to regulate caffeine-containing products. |
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Airport Shooter Talked About Committing 'Suicide By Police' More details are emerging from Thursday’s shooting at Bush Intercontinental Airport's Terminal B. Police said Friday morning the shooter apparently wanted to commit "suicide by police", but the investigation is ongoing. |
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Why Houston Has Been Attracting A Growing Number Of Conventions Starting today, the NRA will converge on Houston and thousands from all over the country are expected to attend. Houston is increasingly establishing itself as a convention destination. |
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Effectiveness Of Gun Buyback Programs Depends On Objective Earlier this week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill into law that requires cities to resell guns they obtain through buyback programs. Gun buyback programs are popular with many municipalities. A former Houston police chief says such events can be an effective way of preventing guns from falling into the wrong hands. |
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Why Stress Can Make You Sick And What Houston Has To Do With It A new study shows stress can put you at higher risk for heart disease. Houston routinely places higher up in "Most Stressful Cities" rankings. Long working hours and long daily commutes can contribute to a heightened stress level. |
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Exhibit Shows The World Through The Eyes Of The City's Homeless A new project by a homeless charity group engages people living on the streets of Houston to capture their lives in photographs. The results can be seen on the walls beneath City Hall. |
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What The Profiling Of A Houston Muslim Tells Us About The National State Of Mind Last weekend's search of a graduate student's bag at an international film festival event here in Houston has sparked debates about profiling of Muslims. A lot of it has to do with last week's bombings in Boston. |
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According To Survey, Houstonians' Perception Of Economy Differs From Personal Experiences Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research has published its newest Houston Area Survey. Among the most significant findings is the discrepancy between Houstonians' perception of the local economy and their own financial situations. |
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Why The 'Don't Mess With Texas' Campaign Has Been Revived It's been more than 27 years that the phrase “Don’t Mess With Texas” was coined for a statewide anti-littering campaign. To reach young adults and new Texans, TxDOT is now reviving the campaign. |
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Security Tighter At This Weekend's MS150 Bike Ride This weekend, 13,000 riders are expected for an annual bike ride from Houston to Austin to raise money to combat multiple sclerosis. Security is more of a concern this year. |
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Why MADD Is Talking Less About The 'Driving' Part Of 'Underage Drinking And Driving' Proms and graduations are coming up, increasing the probability of underage drinking. In an effort to make teens aware of the dangers of alcohol, Mothers Against Drunk Driving is calling on parents to take up the conversation with their kids. |
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What Houston Immigration Reform Advocates Say About Bipartisan Senate Bill The group of senators called the "Gang of Eight" has filed a bill to reform the country's immigration system. Here in Houston, home of large numbers of Latino immigrants, immigration reform advocates reacted to the proposal Wednesday. |
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How Flame Retardant Chemicals End Up In Your Body Researchers are finding increasing levels of a flame retardant in the environment and in people. A Texas-based scientist has published several studies on the harmful effects of the chemical. |
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Poll Shows 87 Percent Of Undocumented Latino Immigrants Want To Be U.S. Citizens A new poll shows how deeply rooted most undocumented immigrants are in this country. The poll comes as the so-called "Gang of Eight" in the Senate is getting closer to presenting a bipartisan proposal for immigration reform. |
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Houston Bike To Work Day Brings Out Regular, Occasional And Non-Bicycle Commuters Today is Bike to Work Day in Houston and dozens of cyclists joined Mayor Annise Parker in riding to city hall from different locations across the inner loop. The annual day aims to encourage more Houstonians to think about the possibility of bicycle-commuting. |
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A Plan To Connect Downtown To The Galleria And Back Without A Car Houston Mayor Annise Parker has announced a plan to focus on Memorial Park as a kind of green connector between the Galleria area and downtown. The plan is meant to serve as yet another step toward improving quality of life in Houston. |
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Hundreds March To Sen.Ted Cruz's Houston Office, Demand Path To Citizenship As a bipartisan group of senators is expected to unveil an immigration reform bill this week, thousands rallied in cities across the country to show their support for reform. Here in Houston, hundreds marched to Sen. Ted Cruz's office downtown. |
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14 Wounded During Lone Star College Stabbing A stabbing at the Lone Star College campus in Cy-Fair left 14 wounded today. The suspect, a student at the community college, is identified as Dylan Andrew Quick. He is charged with 3 counts of aggravated assault. |
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Student Sit-In Ends After UH President Commits More Money For Teaching Assistants A four-day sit-in at the office of University of Houston Chancellor Renu Khator ended today after English teaching fellows had protested their wages that they say have been unchanged for 20 years. |
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After Controversy, Spring High School Lets Transgender Student Wear Dress To Prom After initially denying a transgender student's request to wear a dress to the prom, a Houston area high school has reversed its decision after the ACLU got involved. The school district denies that the student was ever told not to wear female clothing. |
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Students Compete For Best Gas Mileage With Home-Built Cars Every year around this time, the streets around Discovery Green turn into a race track and the George R. Brown Convention Center into a giant pit stop. As part of the Shell Eco Marathon, hundreds of student-built cars compete for the highest gas mileage. |
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Why More Bicycle Rental Stations Could Improve Houston's Bike Friendliness Houston’s bike share program has added 18 new stations to the three initial locations that were set up last year. The expansion is another step in the city’s efforts to make Houston a bicycle city. |
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Houston Mayor Prepared To Discuss Local Texting While Driving Ban While the Texas Legislature will make a second attempt to write a texting-while-driving ban into law, Houston Mayor Annise Parker this time doesn't want to hope for Gov. Rick Perry's support. The city has launched an awareness campaign, and Parker says she would consider a local ban on texting if the measure fails again in Austin. |
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After a five-year hiatus, Houston Metro's day pass is coming back. Yesterday's Metro board vote will make it possible for the Q-Card to accommodate the day pass feature. |
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JetBlue Announces New Boston-Houston Route JetBlue Airways has announced it will establish a connection between Houston’s Hobby Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston. The announcement is a good sign for frugal travelers. |
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Rice Sociologist: Improving Quality Of Life Crucial For Houston's Economic Future Houston has long been a great place to find a job, but it doesn't have the best reputation for quality of life. As the proportion of oil-related jobs continues to give way to other types of employment, beautification and downtown development become essential to secure the city's economic future. That's according to one sociologist, who says Houston needs to change in order to attract new talent. |
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Royce White's Openness With Mental Illness Is Blessing To Some, Curse To Others The mental illness of pro basketball player Royce White has been much discussed since he was drafted by the Houston Rockets last year. White was initially assigned to a minor league team but has continued to stir the conversation about his mental health here in Houston, most recently for leaving that team. |
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Bayou City Art Festival Draws Connoisseurs To Memorial Park This past weekend was the Bayou City Art Festival at Memorial Park. It was the 42nd year for the twice yearly festival, which attracts artists from all over the country and beyond. The event is characteristic for Houston's art culture. |
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Injured Officer's Gratitude Unwavering 20 Years Later Those who have lived in Houston for at least 20 years will remember what happened this week in 1993. The story of a Houston police officer who was shot several times at a police station made national news. Today, former officer Danny Vaughan is still on the road to recovery. |
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Rise Of Religiously Unaffiliated Mirrored In Harris County More and more Americans are not affiliated with a religious denomination. That is true not only nationwide but also here in Houston. |
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Green Pollen Ring In Houston Allergy Season Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, many cars were covered in green this weekend. But for many Houstonians that's not a reason to celebrate. |
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Today Medical Students Are Matched With Residency Programs Today was Match Day for fourth-year medical students all over the country including here in Houston. That means students found out where they will complete their residencies. |
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Iranian Brothers' Street Art Makes Them Political Refugees Two street artists from Iran are on a tour exhibiting their art. Today they are in Houston at a gallery in the East End. Their choice of art brought them political asylum in the U.S. |
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New Pope Francis The Right Choice To Many Here In Houston The news of the election of the new pope affects many here in the Houston area, home to many Catholics. After the announcement, representatives of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston pledged their support for the new pope. |
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Former Texan Donates 5 Police Cars — Again For the second time in less than two years, one former Houston Texan has made a major donation to the Houston Police Department. The defensive end's goodwill stems from a love for law enforcement. |
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Quantity Is Key When Following Mediterranean Diet In Houston A recent study reinforced what many already know: Mediterranean food is good for you. That should be good news for health-conscious Houstonians, since Houston has an abundance of different ethnic cuisines. But does Mediterranean food here have the same health benefits as the food in Mediterranean countries? |
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Last Year Saw High Job Growth In Texas, Houston Texas created almost 311,000 jobs from January 2012 to January this year. Houston also got a good boost in job numbers. |
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Venezuelan Expats Weigh In On Chavez's Death The controversial leader's death affects many here in the Houston area, where a high number of Venezuelan expatriates and immigrants live. |
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Van Tour To Brothels Aims To Raise Awareness In a city where human trafficking and prostitution are prevalent, several organizations have made it their mission to expose these illegal activities and help their victims. One group organized a tour with the goal to raise awareness about prostitution in Houston. |
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Study Finds High Rate Of Severe Harm To Patients Due To Misdiagnosis A study published this week suggests that thousands of primary care diagnoses are missed each year. The six authors, four of which are based in Houston, say most misdiagnoses result in severe harm to patients. |
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City Hall Farmers Market Caters To Downtown Working Population It's almost spring time and that means fresh produce for downtown as the City Hall Farmers Market opens. After the market at Discovery Green shut down about a year and a half ago, the city hall market has been downtown's only place for fresh fruit and vegetables. |
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Metro Reopens Main Street Bridge Houston Metro has reached another milestone for its light rail expansion project. Today the Main Street bridge by the University of Houston-Downtown was reopened for traffic. |
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