By Cat DeLaura

Happy Thursday, Houston!

☀️ Temps will start warming up the rest of this week. Expect highs in the mid 80s and more sunshine today.

⚾️ The Astros made a statement with a Game 1 win over the Yankees, thanks to three home runs.

🚧 Be aware: Large parts of Highway 59 and Highway 90A near Sugar Land will be completely closed throughout the weekend.

Let's get to it.

BEST OF THE BAYOU

Election audit woes

Harris County election judge Poppy Northcutt looks over the instructions for closing down the polling station at the end of the day at the voting site for the primary runoff election at La Quinta Inn near the Galleria in Houston

Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle

If you read one thing: In a letter Tuesday, the Texas secretary of state's office warned Harris County officials it still is missing information about the chain of custody for certain election materials in its ongoing audit of the 2020 election.

What information is still missing? The office listed 14 polling locations for which additional documentation is still needed and cited one polling location where it said 401 more ballots were tabulated than expected.

The letter also criticized the county's record keeping — describing over 500 boxes without inventory records — and said county officials have not been adequately responsive to the state's requests.

What happens next? The secretary of state's office also outlined plans to send "a contingent of inspectors" to the county's Central Count location to "perform randomized checks on election records" and "observe the handling and counting of ballots and electronic media" during this November's election.

According to the letter, the Attorney General's office also will dispatch a task force to Harris County that will be available "to immediately respond to any legal issues identified by Secretary of State, inspectors, poll watchers, or voters," during the election.

How are people reacting to the letter? Christian Beeler, a voting rights staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, called the letter an intimidation tactic and questioned the decision to send an attorney general office's task force to Harris County.

Beeler: "The AG's office saying that they are going to send in the AG's own staff members to police an election in which he's on the ballot creates an obvious conflict of interest."

Last thoughts: "The County Attorney and our Elections Administrator are taking a close look at the allegations made in the letter and will respond as legally required and appropriate," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement, "but all indications are that the allegations are unremarkable."

DATA OF THE DAY

Voter turnout by Zip Code

Text with the Houston Chronicle's Brian T. Smith for a behind-the-scenes look at the Astros' playoff run.

Alexandra Kanik / Houston Chronicle

Despite the unprecedented voter turnout in Harris County during the 2020 Presidential election, only 60% of eligible voters cast a ballot. And in some parts of town, the rates were even lower.

Zip Codes in Aldine and Downtown had some of the lowest turnout, while turnout on the east side of the city was across the board lower than the county rate. In the northern part of Clear Lake neighborhood, nearly 95% of eligible voters cast a ballot in 2020, one of the highest turnout rates in the country. Explore the data further here.

TEXAS TIES

Houston's ozone levels are too high

Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle

If you read one thing: Texas officials are in even deeper trouble with federal regulators this year as they once again failed to comply with nationwide limits for ozone levels in the Houston area, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a publication this month.

How is Texas not meeting the standards? The Houston area currently does not meet the ozone rule set in 2008 or the more protective standard set in 2015. The same is also true of Dallas.

How can Texas fix this? Most agree that Texas has made progress in recent decades improving air quality, but the state has failed to take advantage of all the options available to reduce contamination. And some argue that large scale change needs to be applied to a broad number of activities.

Others are less optimistic about change as the next big step to reducing ozone is changing the way transportation works. But changing from gas-powered vehicles to electric ones will take time, especially in the land of oil and gas.

So how does ozone affect people? The standards for ozone levels are meant to protect public health; high ozone days can cause coughing, difficulty breathing and increased asthma attacks.

People with asthma, people who work outdoors and children and the elderly are among those especially at risk.

STAY IN THE LOOP

Susan Barber / Houston Chronicle

⚖️ Courts: Ben Crump has been retained by the parents of a teen who is in critical condition after being shot by a San Antonio police officer while eating a cheeseburger in a McDonald's parking lot. (Houston Chronicle)

🏫 Schools: Katy ISD will display 73 "In God We Trust" signs donated to the district by Patriot Mobile, a far-right Texas-based cell phone company on a mission to "bring God back" to public schools. (Houston Chronicle)

🗳️ Mail-in voting: For a Texas family of five trying to vote by mail in the November election while they are out of town has already been a weekslong headache, despite beginning the process early. (Houston Chronicle)

🏘️ Renter protection: New rules guaranteeing renters the right to timely repairs and obligating landlords to provide alternative housing when a tenant's unit is unsafe or unsanitary passed in Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, on a day the court's two Republican commissioners skipped the meeting for a fourth week straight. (Houston Chronicle)

🏨 Travel: From full-service hotels to luxury motels, and plant-based menus to dive bars housed in 19th-century homes, here are the newly opened and coming-soon pit stops that should be on the list for your next trip to Round Top. (Houston Chronicle)

GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY

Susan Barber / Houston Chronicle

🚀 Get Inspired: Head to Axelrad for an exclusive night of Cowboy Bebop celebration and appreciation. The 18-piece Woody Witt Big Bad will perform original songs from the anime action series and exclusive Cowboy Bebop episodes will accompany on the big screen.

When: 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 21

Where: Axelrad, 1517 Alabama St.

🧗 Get Outside: Go for a drive and then dive into one of the largest caverns in all of Texas at the Natural Bridge Caverns.

When: Open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. every day

Where: 26495 Natural Bridge Caverns Rd., San Antonio

🍚 Get Festive: Celebrate Korean food, music, performing arts and culture at the 13th Annual Korean Festival Houston.There will be spontaneous dance competition, food vendors, skincare and KPop merch vendors, and more.

When: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Saturday, October 22

Where: Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St.

🏎️ Cat's Pick: Watch The US Grand Prix live at Gristworkz with other Houston F1 enthusiasts. Get there early to order food and beer as they expect a big crowd.

When: 2 p.m. Sunday, October 23

Where: Gristworkz, 1504 Chapman St. (formally Local Group Brewing)

As I mentioned before, I'd love to hear about where and how you give back to Houston. If there's any place you volunteer at regularly or other ways you help your fellow Houstonians, hit reply and let me know about it or fill out this survey here.

This weekend I'll be heading out of town for a much needed adventure. I'm flying to Seattle tomorrow and will spend the weekend exploring the Olympic Peninsula. If you've ever been to the area and have any recommendations for hikes, camp spots or places to stop, please let me know.

In the meantime, Ryan Nickerson will be writing The 713 for the next couple installments.

Cat DeLaura

cat.delaura@chron.com

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