Good morning, Houston. It's Wednesday. ☀️ Temperature check: High of 100; low of 76. Justin's insight: Signs of the coming fall will be evident this week as nighttime lows drop below 80. Read more here. 📅 Today's calendar: Houston City Council will meet at 9 a.m. today. Find the agenda here. 🌕 Look up: At 9:36 p.m. tonight a Blue supermoon will be at its peak over Houston. You won't get a chance to see a Blue supermoon combination again until January 2037. |
 | Cat DeLaura
Audience Engagement Producer
cat.delaura@houstonchronicle.com |
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Today we're talking about Guy Bluford, the first Black astronaut to reach space... |
If you read one thing: Guion "Guy" Bluford became the first Black American astronaut to reach space on the first night launch and landing of the space shuttle on Aug. 30, 1983. But in the past 40 years, only 15 other Black NASA astronauts have left the planet, just a fraction of the roughly 300 NASA astronauts and American-trained specialists who have launched on their first mission during that time. A brief history lesson: Bluford was part of the Thirty-Five New Guys, an astronaut class selected in 1978 that included NASA's first female, Black American and Asian American astronauts. Yet the conversation around Black astronauts can be traced back to the Apollo era. Ed Dwight, an Air Force test pilot, was chosen by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to train as an experimental test pilot in preparation of becoming the first Black American astronaut. But the momentum disappeared after Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. So why haven't there been more Black astronauts? Bluford and others pointed to education as a major barrier. There aren't enough Black students pursuing STEM careers, which is a requirement for astronauts. It may also be hard for students to see themselves as astronauts with only 12 Black men and four Black women having flown with the agency. Others pointed to socioeconomic dynamics as a reason for the gap. Minority children don't always have access to a quality education, they said. Bluford: "I don't know what I expected, but I'm hopeful that we'll get more and more African Americans in the future coming into the astronaut program."
Read Andrea Leinfelder's full story here.
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Susan Barber / Houston Chronicle |
Texas A&M begins fourth season of "Around Texas." In 30-minute episodes, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp takes viewers around the state, sharing the hidden gems in the 11 universities and eight state agencies he oversees. - Harris County's elections administrator to leave Friday. Cliff Tatum was the fifth person in five years to run Harris County elections, a level of inconsistency matched by few offices other than the Texas Secretary of State, which oversees elections statewide and also has had five people in charge in the past five years.
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Nature-focused community coming to northeast Houston. The Trails will set aside 600 forested acres for nature trails and outdoor recreation. Planned amenities include a resort-style family pool, lap pool, nature-themed playgrounds, splash pads and outdoor seating for concerts. First offshore wind auction in the Gulf draws limited interest. With its lower wind speeds and regular hurricanes, the Gulf of Mexico is widely viewed as less desirable than locations in the Northeast.
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Katy ISD adopts controversial policy on transgender students. Under the new policy, parents of students in the district must be notified if their child asks to be identified as transgender. Here are the key points of the new policy. Fort Bend first responders honored during Indian festival of Raksha Bandhan. Embracing a creative interpretation of the holiday's tradition, members of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh tied silk bracelets, or rakhis, usually given to brothers and cousins, on firefighters' and law enforcement officers' wrists to express gratitude for their role as dedicated protectors.
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Cougars catch a break from heat with evening kickoff. UH's first four games of the season are all scheduled for 6 p.m. or later. Analyzing Texans QB C.J. Stroud's 23 preseason dropbacks. Brooks Kubena reviewed All-22 film from each preseason game and analyzed how Stroud performs in offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik's offense, how he improved, what he learned and what kind of support the rookie can have around him. - Texas going to the SEC? Good riddance, says UH Coach Dana Holgorsen.
The scoreboard: Astros 6, Boston Red Sox 2.
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🗣️ Editorial Board: Houston police are supposed to enforce safe streets, not make them more dangerous. 🗪 Other points of view: Sign up for the "SaysHou" newsletter to get more editorials, columns and letters curated by the Chronicle's opinion team here. |
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Today photographer Kirk Sides is taking over this section of The 713 to explain his favorite part of covering a high school football game. |
Kirk Sides / Houston Chronicle |
Sides: Of all of my responsibilities as a photographer, I find covering high school football to be particularly challenging and enjoyable. I have covered high school games for over twenty years and each one still presents a new and different challenge. This week was no different. This was the first week of games. There were pre-season jitters, new teams, new coaches and game-time temperatures hovered at around 102 degrees. Games this week were certainly going to provide a fair share of hurdles. I also knew that there would be some good photo ops. I just hoped that my body would be able to stand up to the challenge. Strolling the length of the field multiple times and scaling the stands to the press box can take a toll. Sports photographers generally agree that successful sports photos should include peak action, the ball and the eyes of the player or players. Over the three games that I covered, I certainly got several action shots that met these criteria. However, the sports photographs that I enjoy the most are those of the fans. They are the ones that most often make me smile. In a two hour game, virtually every emotion known to humankind can occur. At any given moment, anger, despair, frustration, joy and solidarity are just a few that can be seen in the faces and actions of the fans. When one views the photo of the Manvel students yelling for their classmates, friends, brothers and fellow Mavericks against Shadow Creek last Friday, one cannot help but see a glimpse of life, a mini world, where young men and women, whites, African Americans, Asians and Hispanics can stand together, excited and supportive, cheering with love and unity for their team, their family and their community. |
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Finally, for the seltzer enthusiasts out there, two well-known locals are launching a different kind of seltzer. Check out HoBuzz here. Cat DeLaura cat.delaura@houstonchronicle.com |
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