Convenience Big Store: How Harris County is moving people into permanently affordable homes

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J.R. Gonzales
Senior Digital Production Editor
john.gonzales@chron.com

Alright, folks. Are you ready for what's coming this afternoon? Are the pipes wrapped? Plants covered or brought inside? Liquor cabinet restocked?

Maybe you're like me and you have a few errands to run this morning. Hopefully I can get everything done by noon without catching a speeding ticket.

For those of you who will set out to do some last-minute, weather-related shopping tomorrow, Megan Munce has an article on what you might need if you're making final preparations. I didn't see it in her article, but I would suggest getting a little digital weather station. I have one here at the Lindale Park bureau and I'm curious to see just how quickly the temperature will plunge this afternoon. You can find them at major hardware stores.

You might also be wondering how plumbers are preparing for the possible avalanche of calls they could see this holiday weekend. Yvette Orozco and Robert Avery checked in with one company to see how things are going.

Funny thing is, things will be quite pleasant before the front gets here. Skies will be cloudy with highs in the upper 60s. Expect lows in the teens once the front sweeps through.

Today's top story

Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Staff Photographer

Harris County is moving people into permanently affordable homes.

The Harris County Community Land Trust has begun moving families into permanently affordable homeownership by purchasing the land a home sits on. That both cuts down the homebuyer's purchase price dramatically and stabilizes the family's tax bills.

Five other stories to read today

Crime Stoppers' Andy Kahan to serve on a judicial panel that oversees judges.

Kahan, a vocal advocate for crime victims at Houston's Crime Stoppers, has been appointed to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct — a group of legal stakeholders who wield power over former, retired and current judges.

Shippers plan to meet Christmas deadlines despite the freeze.

Amazon, UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service say they'll continue to make holiday gift deliveries on time unless freezing weather makes it unsafe to do so.

Is the TxDOT I-45 compromise good for Houston? [Editorial]

Some aspects of this latest compromise seem oversold. A highway project is still a highway project. But this one should, and must, set the stage for even more community involvement on infrastructure projects in the future, writes the Editorial Board.

Magic 116, Rockets 110: Orlando's zone flummoxes Houston.

A 15-point lead over the Magic disappeared as the Rockets couldn't solve Orlando's zone defense, sending their losing streak to four games.

What the $1 music bin at Goodwill taught me about growing older.

How old is too old for new music? Discovering new holiday favorites from the $1 bin at Goodwill. Houston Chronicle music writer Andrew Dansby ponders his changing tastes.

One last thing ...

How does one get into the Christmas spirit? It sometimes isn't so easy, according to this Leon Hale column that appeared in the Chronicle on this day in 1988.

That's it from me this year. For the rest of 2022, Morning Report will go into "weekend mode." When regular programming returns the first week of January, there will be one teeny, tiny change to this email.

Starting next year I won't be republishing front pages from years ago. I have some new duties here at the Chronicle, which don't leave me much time for hunting down interesting front pages to bring out. I will continue to republish old columns, maybe even more often, because readers seem to like that.

With all that said, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!

— J.R., who hopes readers make it through the freeze with no problems