Derek Fincham

@HoustonTX @HoustonPubMedia Wrong. The mayor refuses to answer questions from the paper of record in Houston

The truth about the mayor’s podcast. 901 Bagby: Inside The Mayor's Office is another communications channel the City is utilizing to keep the public informed and engaged. It serves the same purpose as social media, press releases, and other public forms of communication. The procurement process was conducted in accordance with the existing city ordinances and procurement guidelines. The podcast is not a campaign communication; any questions about campaign activity should be directed to the John Whitmire Campaign. The Texas Ethics Commission defines campaign communications as “Express Advocacy.” The podcast will be informative and feature guests beyond the Mayor, but will not feature any campaign content for measures or candidates.

Mayor John Whitmire is facing formal ethics complaints from the Houston Progressive Caucus over his new podcast, "901 Bagby: Inside the Mayor's Office." According to members of the caucus, the group filed grievances over the past week with the Texas Ethics Commission, the city of Houston's Inspector General, and the City Controller's waste, fraud and abuse division. The complaints came after Houston Public Media obtained documents showing the podcast costs up to $60,000 in public funds. Because the podcast is taxpayer-funded, the group argued Whitmire's brief allusion to next year's municipal election during the first episode of the podcast ran afoul of state ethics rules around political advertising. Full story: houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/…

"It's all sprawl!" It's certainly a lot, and hey, that's how cities always and everywhere boom. But it's also a lot of infill. It's a lot of everything, because Houston defaults to "let people do things," warts and all. This is what real, existing American abundance looks like.

It's funny, Houston is this supernova of growth, the rare place in the US that is absorbing millions of domestic and international migrants and making them richer, but if you say anything nice about it, e.g. maybe non-zoning is fine, people have a meltdown.

All the City of Houston has to do on the matter is follow the City of Austin's policy. Instead the mayor and chief of police are holding pressers blaming "young officers" instead of owning the fact that the mayor's policy is designed to foster maximal collaboration with ICE.

Update: they’re not working.

There have been 15 Top 10 games at Allen Fieldhouse where Kansas wasn’t the higher ranked team in the Bill Self Era. Bill Self’s record: 15-0.

The #Olympics2026 curling arena is amazing. An outdoor wooden structure built as the main arena for the 1956 Olympics. A roof was built to cover the rink in the 1980’s but it remained open air. For these games, it’s been completely enclosed with a new structure fit into the old.

This is a lie. Even if I had ordered this, the MPLS police department would never follow an order from me. Do better. Go fuck a couch.

Joint statement on Houston’s ongoing collaboration with ICE from Houston City Council District C candidates Joe Panzarella and Dr. Audrey Nath.

Two Rice University freshmen created a website mapping ICE incidents, as @TheRiceThresher chronicles here. This is great college journalism highlighting the best and brightest at @RiceUniversity . snwrks.co/1lbk7c9

The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.

Every Democratic member of Congress should be on a plane to Minneapolis right now to join the people protesting in the streets. Federal elected officials should physically place themselves between the public and these dangerous thugs sent to terrorize this American city.

Protester: "They say they're coming in to save us from some evil? They're talking about our neighbors who bake for us, who take care of us ... Alex was murdered while he was helping. I can't stop thinking of Mr Rogers. Mr Rogers said look for the helpers, and right now the helpers have a target on our forehead ... Mr Rogers would be here right now too, so I'm here."

The greatest centerfielder of all-time.

I’ve told this story before, but it’s a good time to share it again. Terry Pendleton told me he was standing at the batting cage with Andruw Jones once when we were in San Francisco, and Willie Mays walked up to them and said to Andruw, “You’re the best center fielder I’ve seen.”

-74% of all insulin used in America comes from Denmark. -100% of all Ozempic used in America comes from Denmark -15% of all shipping containers arriving in America come from a Danish company All 3 are being discussed within Denmark to halt.

Today in 2017, City Council approves renaming Dowling St. to Emancipation Avenue. @EPconservancy @HoustonTX

Turns out there are consequences for canceling street safety projects. click2houston.com/news/local/202…

Houston leads the nation in ICE arrests. That's unacceptable. As a Houston City Council Member, I will stand up to Trump's deportation machine. Our diversity is our strength. I'll always stand by our communities.