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Ellis bested cat allergy for lawyer’s pet project; Turner needs new appeal with the fire union.
A landmark bail reform settlement required Harris County and plaintiffs to embrace compromise — and for County Commissioner Rodney Ellis to embrace something else: the lead plaintiff lawyer’s cat. Ellis recounted to the editorial board this week that when lawsuit negotiations stalled, he dropped by Civil Rights Corps lawyer Alec Karakatsanis’ house in Washington, D.C., to emphasize the importance of settling the lawsuit that would end poverty jailing in Texas’ biggest county. The lawyer eventually set aside a pet project he’d proposed. And Ellis set aside his cat allergy to hold Karakatsanis’ pet feline for a while. Hey, whatever it takes.
Maybe Mayor Sylvester Turner should inquire as to whether Marty Lancton owns a cat, dog or a particularly soft couch he could nuzzle to win the affection of the firefighters’ union president. The third round of mediation between the city, the firefighters and the police union failed again Thursday in the case over Proposition B, the voter-approved charter amendment that granted firefighters pay parity with police. Next time, somebody bring a Dalmatian to lighten the mood.
Or they could try seesaws. That was artist Ronald Rael’s strategy to bridge divides at the U.S.Mexico border this week. His “Teeter-Totter Wall” conceptualization allows families in Sunland Park, N.M., near El Paso, to seesaw on one side of a slatted border fence with families on the other side, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The art installation, according to Rael, is intended to demonstrate the delicate balance in cross-border relations: What happens on one side affects what happens on the other. It’s a subtle, artful way to address a divisive topic.
There’s nothing subtle about Tony Buzbee’s latest unconventional attempt to promote his candidacy for mayor. The words “cleanup the corruption” were spotted recently stenciled on a dirty utility cover at a downtown intersection. At first, the display resembled graffiti. But Buzbee says his staff simply, and legally, power-washed the words into public property: “We washed away some dirt and when we are in office, we will wash away all of the filth and corruption. A catharsis is coming.” Maybe, or maybe just another warning letter. A public works spokeswoman told Thumbs on Friday the city attorney sent two last month “advising that the campaign signage placed in the public right of way is illegal.”
Remember Linsanity? Since then, former Rocket Jeremy Lin has become the first Asian American to play on an NBA championshipwinning team as a member of the Toronto Raptors. But Lin, now a free agent, teared up recently on Taiwanese TV as he cited the vicissitudes of his NBA experience: trades, injuries, being waived and even feeling he didn’t do his part to earn the Raptors’ championship. He didn’t sound optimistic he can regain the Linsanity magic: “In English, there’s a saying, and it says once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. But rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me. So, free agency has been tough. Because I feel like, in some ways, the NBA’s kind of given up on me.” C’mon man. No crying on the Larry O’Brien trophy. At 30, you’ve done more than most NBA players do in a lifetime. Not to mention a Harvard degree and $65 million in earnings to fall back on.
Congrats to Lil Nas X for breaking the record for longest-running No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his genre-bending, viral song “Old Town Road.” The song by the 20-year-old country rapper from Atlanta, featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, has spent 17 weeks at the top of the chart. It’s an especially sweet victory for Lil Nas X, since the song was unceremoniously kicked off the Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in March, drawing accusations of racism. As he tweeted this week when the Billboard record was announced: “Yee Hawww.”
It’s a good time to be a baseball fan in Houston. The announcement this week that the Astros had acquired ace pitcher Zack Greinke, a six-time All-Star and former Cy Young Award winner, just under the trade deadline, means that the team is a clear World Series favorite. This comes just two seasons after the Astros won their first title. It’s a long way since the days when they lost more than 100 games in each of three consecutive seasons. Root, root, root for the home team!