By Cat DeLaura

☁️ High of 83; low of 74. | 📰 Click here to view today's e-Edition

Good morning, Houston. It's Thursday.

ICYMI: Several other arrests have been made in connection to the Cleveland mass shooting, suggesting a wider network of friends and family might have been helping the alleged shooter stay on the run.

Cat DeLaura
Audience Engagement Producer
cat.delaura@houstonchronicle.com

Best of the Bayou

Today we're talking about crime rates in Houston...

If you read one thing: Mayor Sylvester Turner is touting his One Safe Houston crime initiative as the reason behind a double-digit year-to-year reduction in violent crime in the first quarter of 2023, but experts say that analysis may be a bit premature.

Houston's violent crime by the numbers:

Houston experienced a 12 percent decrease in violent crime during the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period last year, according to a police report. Let's break it down further:

Murders dropped 28 percent
Reported rape dropped 6 percent
Robbery dropped 10 percent
Aggravated assault dropped 12 percent
Kidnapping dropped 19 percent
Human trafficking dropped 23 percent

What's the reason for the drops?

Turner is crediting the $44 million crime iniative the city launched in early 2022, saying the downward trend started after its launch.

However, New Orleans-based criminologist Jeff Asher said that Houston's numbers appear to align with broader national trends, noting that it's hard to pinpoint the reason for it and too early to say if the downward trend will continue.

Read the full story here.

More from the Bayou City:

A Texas woman was accused of exploiting her ward. Then she was reappointed as his guardian. Advocates say it's another example of how backlogged courts and a patchwork county-by-county system are leaving some of the state's most vulnerable residents at risk for victimization.

Stay in the Loop

Susan Barber / Houston Chronicle

💼 Business:

ERCOT warns of possible brownouts this summer. The grid operator is projecting record-breaking peak demand but says the lights should stay on .
The Woodlands' priciest listing has everything but a buyer. The mansion is built for entertainment with a bar on every floor.
Here are seven affordable Houston apartments with luxury amenities. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to get luxury amenities.

⛱️ Get Out:

Inside the new Montrose Kingdom Hall. For a century, Kingdom Halls have been entirely designed and built by Jehovah's Witnesses in the community, and this hall was no different.
What it's like bringing an 8-year-old to the Houston Symphony. Correspondent Chris Gray tests the PNC Family Series concerts' effectiveness with their target audience — elementary-aged kids.

🚗 Outside the Loop:

Tomball home sales rank among the top in the Houston area. A new report shows that more homebuyers are purchasing homes in the more affordable communities in the northern and western parts of greater Houston.
Sugar Land's animal shelter warns it may close pet intakes soon. The shelter was designed to house 31 dogs and 52 cats. It currently has 65 dogs and 43 cats.
New Alchemy Bake Lab opens in Katy. The bakery specializes in "whimsical" mini desserts and custom cakes.

Click here to play the Houston Chronicle's puzzles.

Texas Ties

Texans overcoming differences.

If you read one thing: Texas politics are certainly not above pettiness, but it's nice to know that when it matters, Texas' biggest rivals can put aside their differences for the greater good — in this case, saving a longhorn.

No, we're definitely not talking about Democrats and Republicans working together.

Veterinarians at Texas A&M University put aside their college rivalry to help a longhorn. No, it wasn't Bevo, the University of Texas mascot, but I'm sure a little part of them still felt like they were betraying College Station by doing so.

So why did the longhorn need saving?

Dante, a longhorn from the Austin Zoo, had a fractured skull that was exacerbated by his especially long horns (93 inches from tip to tip), which kept his skull from healing.

To avoid amputating both horns, the Aggies rigged up an external implant to repair the fracture and a large rebar splint to take the right horn's weight off the skull.

The happy ending:

Dante took about three months to heal, but he's back to running around the Austin Zoo, now. Go say hi if you visit.

Read the full story here.

More from Texas:

New trial denied for Army sergeant convicted of murdering Austin protester. Daniel Perry, whose murder conviction gained national attention when Gov. Greg Abbott preemptively announced a plan to pardon him, will face sentencing on May 9.
2023 STAAR testing is underway. Here's what parents need to know about how to access scores and what happens next.
A new proposed solution to gun violence: more Christianity in schools. Instead of considering new gun laws, the Legislature is advancing bills to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in schools, create periods of prayer or Bible study and allow chaplains to be hired as school employees, touting them as a way to deter mass shootings.

Point of View

Quote from Helen Drefus from Houston: ''Houston is too broad, accepting and open-minded to have its primary daily newspaper limit its daily spiritual offering to the Bible.''

🗣️ Do Bible verses belong in the newspaper? Religious and non-religious readers wrote in with their varied opinions on the matter.

🗪 Other points of views:

The Texas House dishonors Uvalde shooting victims with inaction. Families of Uvalde victims want the House to vote on a gun control bill even if it will ultimately fail, but that kind of transparency is the most frightening thing to elected officials who know they've sold their consciences for political power, writes the Editorial Board.

Houston vs. All Y'all

A triptych showing a sketch of a basketball in a hoop, a baseball in a glove, and a football.

Ken Ellis / Houston Chronicle

Astros' Chas McCormick says he feels "100 percent." The outfielder has played in four minor league rehab games with Class AA Corpus Christi after injuring his back lifting weights.

Big 12 wants behind-the-scenes access at the forefront of TV games. During meetings this week, Big 12 administrators, football coaches and media partners explored ideas to modernize football broadcasts.

Wednesday's scores:

⚾ San Francisco Giants 4, Astros 2.
⚽ Dash 2, Chicago Red Stars 0.

Find more of our sports coverage here.

Get to Know Your City

Susan Barber / Houston Chronicle

Thursday — May the Fourth be with you:

Lean into your Star Wars nerdery at Ingenious Brewing Company's Star Wars Day. Expect special-themed can and small-batch releases, songs of the trilogy from Homebrewed Brass Ensemble, a best dressed-contest and a Star Wars-themed sip-and-paint workshop.

When: 4 - 10 p.m.
Where: Ingenious Brewing Company, 1986 S Houston Ave., Humble
Cost: free; $35 for the workshop.

Friday - Cinco de Mayo:

Celebrate the holiday with lots of mariachi music. Catch an all -female band at 9 p.m. at Dan Electro's Guitar Bar or head to Cadillac Bar at 4 p.m. for mariachis, drink specials and a taco eating contest. Check out other mariachi performances and holiday specials here.

Saturday

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a docent-led tour of Asia Society Texas' "Summoning Memories" exhibit. The artwork focuses on experimental ink painting, calligraphy, deconstructed language, landscape and more from over 30 contemporary artists of Chinese descent.

When: 11 a.m.
Where: Asia Society Texas, 1370 Southmore Blvd.
Cost: free for members; $8 for nonmembers

Sunday:

The Japanese Festival of Houston returns this weekend after a four-year-long COVID-19 pandemic hiatus to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Expect traditional and contemporary music, dance and martial art performances, food, and demonstrations and displays of tea ceremony, origami, bonsai and more.