January 11, 2024
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 | Yasmeen Khalifa, Audience Engagement Producer |
Best of the Bayou
Today we're talking about Harris County's cash assistance program...
If you read one thing: Harris County's guaranteed income program, now set to launch on Friday, excludes undocumented immigrants and most visa holders from applying. But County Judge Lina Hidalgo has pledged to develop an alternative cash assistance program for those who are ineligible for the current one.
How does the program work?
The $20.5 million pilot program, called "Uplift Harris," will randomly select 1,928 low-income residents from its pool of applicants. These participants will receive $500 in monthly cash assistance for 18 months. Funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the initiative aims to tackle persistent poverty and health disparities in low-income areas.
Why was the launch delayed?
The program was initially set to open for applications on Monday morning, but just an hour before the scheduled launch, Harris County Public Health, the agency hosting the program, announced that it had been postponed.
Hidalgo told the Chronicle that the holdup was due mainly to miscommunications among county leaders regarding the eligibility of undocumented immigrants. Officials sought further legal advice during an hour-long, closed-door meeting on Tuesday. The county attorneys informed them that, under federal law, only citizens and certain eligible immigrants can apply for these type of public welfare programs, according to Hidalgo.
What is the plan for undocumented residents?
The county judge said she plans to establish a similar cash assistance program specifically for undocumented residents and other immigrants who are excluded from Uplift Harris. But it would take at least six months for Public Health officials to draw up a new plan and complete the necessary procurement processes, she said.
"I know that these days the politically hot topic is to malign immigrants," Hidalgo said. "But these immigrants, if they're living in poverty, they're living in poverty… And supporting them helps all of us and has good downstream effects on all of us, so I just don't think we ought to leave them out."
- Read Yilun Cheng's full story here.
Stay in the Loop
Photo by: Susan Barber
📰 Need to Know
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- Feds commit $70 million to build hydrogen fueling stations in major Texas metros. Federal money will be aimed at creating a hydrogen truck corridor from California to Texas, with stations in Houston, DFW, San Antonio and Austin.
- Lucrative songbirds are trafficked in Houston, feds say. Songbirds are being trafficked, bought and sold in Houston and across the country for hundreds of dollars per bird.
💼 Business
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- Whitmire questions the details of downtown hotel-convention center proposal. Mayor Whitmire is raising questions about the deal that could bring a new hotel-convention center to Post Houston in north downtown.
🚗 Outside the Loop
- Texas Supreme Court declines to take up a 'TEXIT' secession petition. The Texas Nationalist Movement accused the state GOP of trying to "suppress the voices of Republican voters" when it refused to add the referendum to this year's primary ballot.
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Point of View
Photo by: Yasmeen Khalifa
Vaping harms kids, but so do zero-tolerance school punishments.
A new Texas law was meant to empower school districts when it comes to vaping. But some districts have opted out of the "zero-tolerance" approach, writes the Editorial Board.
- Think Turner's tenure was positive? You must live in La La Land. I would say that Mayor Turner lost the war on potholes, one reader writes.
Houston vs. All Y'all
Photo by: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
Astros set the game time for their 2024 season opener against Yankees.
A midweek day game against the Yankees will begin the Astros' 2024 season, which will include two games in Mexico and 22 different teams visiting Minute Maid Park.
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- The message behind everything C.J. Stroud writes on his wrist before a game. Before each game, C.J. Stroud scribbles several messages on the tape wrapped around his wrist. The Texans quarterback explained what each writing means.
- J.J. Watt takes a veiled shot at Jack Easterby on the Pat McAfee Show. When Pat McAfee made a joke about failed Texans executive Jack Easterby, J.J. Watt appeared to pile on with his own statement.
Get Out
Photo by: Jojo Whilden/Associated Press
Review: Fun 'Mean Girls' loses a bit of edge as it transitions to a musical.
Tina Fey's retooling of her hit film about a clique of high school queens is not as cutting as it could be.
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Events at the Chronicle
Photo by: Brett Coomer, Nadya Hassan
Meet the Chronicle's new editor-in-chief at a live event
Curious about the Houston Chronicle's new Editor-in-Chief, Kelly Anne Scott? Join us Friday, January 12 at 12 p.m. for your chance to meet Kelly and ask her your questions. Register now.
Yesterday, I closed out the newsletter with some good news. I've got another positive story for y'all: A 4-year-old Texas Children's Hospital patient is the first at Texas Medical Center to receive gene therapy treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Puzzle of the Day: Really Bad Chess
Try to win in the lowest number of moves to score the highest amount of points. Don't let them put your king into checkmate.
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