By Cat DeLaura

Good morning, Houston. It's Thursday.

☀️ Temperature check: High of 96; low of 76. Justin's insight: Humidity is returning to Houston, bringing with it a chance for showers. Read more here.

ICYMI: There are new vaccines available this fall for three different respiratory viruses: respiratory syncytial virus, the flu and COVID-19. Here's what you need to know.

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

Best of the Bayou

Today we're talking about court-appointed attorney costs...

If you read one thing: Harris County commissioners blasted local judges and attorneys after a new audit revealed that indigent defense payments to private attorneys soared by $20 million in just three years, reaching $55 million in 2022.

Why was the audit done?

The report was requested after a Chronicle investigation found that the county paid one attorney more than $1 million last year to represent hundreds of low-income people accused of crimes, while dozens of other private attorneys took on far more indigent clients than the state recommends.

Why has this happened?

Texas law gives judges complete authority to appoint a lawyer to a defendant who can't afford one, and while the county's misdemeanor judges agreed last year to let an independent agency begin handling their appointments system, the felony judges have not yet followed suit.

What's being done now?

The county plans to boost the public defender's budget by $8 million next year. However, even then, it will be far too small to take on the majority of indigent cases in the county.

Read Neena Satija's full story here.

Stay in the Loop

Susan Barber / Houston Chronicle

📰 Need to Know:

Ken Paxton lashes out at Texas House and Sen. John Cornyn. In his first public remarks since being acquitted on impeachment charges, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lashed out at the state lawmakers who targeted him and teased a future run against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, harshly criticizing his fellow Republican on a range of issues.
Houston City Council District E candidates focus on crime and finances. A pair of business leaders are vying to replace term-limited Council Member Dave Martin in District E, one of the few reliably conservative districts in Houston.
City delays vote on plan to ban some private front-facing driveways. Under the proposed rule change, only homes on lots 33 feet or wider would be allowed to have front-facing driveways directly connecting the street to the house.
Texas teacher fired for reading adaptation of Anne Frank's diary. District officials have claimed the adaptation of the book in question was never approved, but KFDM reports it was on a reading list sent to parents at the start of the school year.

💼 Business:

Texas business shrugs at the threat of a government shutdown. Despite warnings from the White House and congressional Democrats of the threat to the nation's economy and a likely slowdown in permitting and licensing for industries like oil and gas, there has been little public expression of concern from business leaders in Houston and Dallas.
Dallas-area investor expands Houston apartment portfolio. Price Realty purchased the Wildwood Apartments in Richmond's Veranda community from developer Allen Harrison Co., plus more Houston commercial real estate deals.

🚗 Outside the Loop:

Parvo Treatment Center in Pearland relocates. The new 1,200-square-foot facility can house 15 to 20 puppies or dogs, depending on their size.
Conroe ISD is creating an attendance zone for a new elementary school. The school is scheduled to open next year and will be able to serve 950 pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students.
Lily Seafood's new owners are adding their own twist to the seafood menu. Every weekend, the Khans, who bought the restaurant from its previous owners in July, introduce a new dish outside the regular menu, usually inspired by the family's Indian and Pakistani influences.

Click here to play the Houston Chronicle's puzzles.

Point of View

Quote from the Editorial Board: ''Until one of these hearings turns up something real that directly implicates [Biden] in some sort of wrongdoing, let's just call this impeachment inquiry what it is: a partisan circus act.''

🗣️ Impeach Biden? The Biden impeachment inquiry is an unserious attempt to tar the president as complicit in the very real criminal allegations against his wayward son, writes the Editorial Board. And a waste of Republican power.

🗪 Other points of view:

Election Q&As: The Editorial Board sat down with mayoral candidates Gilbert Garcia and Lee Kaplan to ask them about themselves and their vision for Houston.
$2 gasoline: Ron DeSantis' pledge to achieve $2 gasoline prices in his first year in office should terrify Texas, writes Bloomberg Opinion columnist Liam Denning.

Sign up for the "SaysHou" newsletter to get more editorials, columns and letters curated by the Chronicle's opinion team here.

Houston vs. All Y'all

Ken Ellis / Houston Chronicle

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud says his shoulder 'feels fine.' Stroud was listed on the team's injury report as "limited in practice" Wednesday with a right shoulder injury, but the quarterback expects to play in Sunday's game against the Jaguars.

Simone Biles will lead the U.S. team for world championships. Biles will compete from Sept. 30 to Oct. 8 in Belgium, in the same gym where she won her first world all-around title in 2013. Biles is the only American woman to make six world championship squads.

Freshman Parker Jenkins becomes option for UH at running back. As the Cougars search for a spark to what has been an underwhelming offense three games into the season, Jenkins is expected to see his playing time steadily increase in the backfield and on kick returns.

The scoreboard:

⚾ Astros 2, Baltimore Orioles 1.

Find more of our sports coverage here.

Get Out

Raquel Natalicchio / Houston Chronicle

A weekly lucha libre event in East Houston keeps a Latino subculture alive. The Sunday lucha libre matches, put on by a wrestler who goes by the name of Black Star, represent a pop-culture phenomenon that is currently having a moment. They're also a "stress relief" for some of the attendees, who aren't afraid to step into the wrestling ring if they have to.

Women's rights and the 14th amendment are hot topics in 'What the Constitution Means to Me.' Main Street Theater's new, interactive play is especially relevant in our politically contentious times.

Things to do in Houston this weekend: From Houston Ballet's Tu Tu, to Ali Siddiq's show at Houston Improv and Galveston's Island Shrimp Festival, there's something for everyone to enjoy this weekend.

This weekend I'll definitely be trying to catch a viewing of "Stop Making Sense." Who else is planning to catch the Talking Heads documentary in theaters?

Cat DeLaura

cat.delaura@houstonchronicle.com

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