Inside Today: Fed economist predicts inflation will remain ‘sticky’ in 2026 Page 6 PLUMBING, LLC ~Family Owned and Operated~ • Residential/ Commercial • Water Heater • Leak Detection • Licensed, Bonded & Insured • No Hidden Fees
Covering the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest & the neighborhoods of North Houston
“Your Neighborhood Plumber”
832-219-7599
Saturday, January 3, 2026 • Vol. 71 • No. 1
ABOUT US 713-371-3600 news@theleadernews.com www.theleadernews.com Facebook/FromTheLeader
Mixed-use White Oak District aims to anchor a revitalized Near Northside By JUHI VARMA The Leader News Contributor
you’re reading this, so are your potential customers call today to advertise!
713-371-3600
INSIDE.
Solid Waste Management Department announces holiday tree recycling program
Real estate firm Marquette Companies has planned a multi-phase redevelopment in Houston’s Near Northside, beginning with apartment complex Tempo at White Oak that was completed in May and is now on its way to being fully occupied. The next phase would bring a mixeduse district near White Oak Music Hall,
redeveloping portions of Keene Street with approximately 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Construction was initially anticipated to begin in 2025, but the project has not yet broken ground, Marquette said in an emailed statement. The development, dubbed the White Oak District, is intended to function as a neighborhood hub, according to Marquette, with an emphasis on walkability alongside long-term economic viability.
“The White Oak District is emerging as one of the city’s hottest destinations with existing attractions like the White Oak Music Hall, H-Town Brewing and Woodlands Social bar and restaurant, among others,” said Chris Yuko, managing director of development at Marquette. Marquette has released renderings of the project. The district takes its name from nearby White Oak Music Hall, a longtime anchor of the Near Northside community.
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Page 4
Guest Column: Navigating Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment with confidence
Page 5
Coming to a Table Near You: Cheers to Dry January!
Page 6
Pet of the Week: Meet Candy, a kitten as sweet as her name
Page 6
to make our streets safer, By STEFANIE THOMAS editor@theleadernews.com our schools stronger, and our shared spaces better for As we ring in 2026, we at everyone. In moments both The Leader say thank you— joyful and challenging, you to our readers, our neigh- showed up for one another. From celebrating local bors, the advertisers who milestones and small busisustain us, and the countless individuals who make the nesses to standing together Heights and Garden Oaks/ when it mattered most, the Oak Forest neighborhoods spirit of caring and connecsuch a special place to call tion defined the year. It’s a reminder that real change home. This past year reminded doesn’t always come from us of something powerful: big headlines—it comes community isn’t just a word, from everyday people who it’s an action. We saw neigh- choose kindness, generosity, bors helping neighbors, vol- and courage. At The Leader, it is our unteers stepping up without being asked, and residents privilege to tell these stories speaking out—sometimes and to serve a community loudly, sometimes quietly— whose residents believe in
looking out for one another. As we head into a new year, we carry with us the hope that this spirit continues to guide us—encouraging us to listen, to act, and to keep building the kind of community we’re proud to pass on. With that, we give you our picks for the top stories of 2025. The list is by no means comprehensive -- so many big and small acts and events have affected great change, inspired great hope, and made a great difference. Without further ado... #1 -- January 2025 Waltrip High School Band’s Sugar Bowl Trip Marked by Triumph and Terror
The Waltrip High School Ram Band’s long-awaited trip to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl and a major band competition became one of the year’s most dramatic stories. After earning more than a dozen awards for their performances, the students and chaperones were thrust into a citywide crisis when a terrorist attack struck Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day. Though at least 14 people were killed and dozens injured, Houston ISD confirmed that all Waltrip students were safe in their hotel at the time of the attack, See REVIEW P. 5
Tempo at White Oak
Located at 2623 Keene St., Tempo at White Oak was designed with remote workers and entrepreneurs in mind, offering apartments that combine living space with areas suitable for professional meetings and at-home business use. It has six stories, 304 units and ground-floor retail. Among the new apartment residents is Dustin Landry, the new owner of See WHITE P. 2
Heights’ Be More Pacific serves Filipino flavors – and staying power By BETSY DENSON The Leader News Contributor When Be More Pacific opened its Houston location in February 2020, co-owners Giovan Cuchapin, Mark Pascual, and Roveen Abante watched their Filipino bar and kitchen take off. It was “killing it,” doing almost double the business of the established Austin counterpart. “We thought, ‘This is it,’” said Cuchapin. “And then COVID hit three weeks later and shut everything down.” However, after five years, the Heights restaurant at 506 Yale Street remains standing – even though the original Austin location closed just three months into the pandemic. In an industry where restaurants are struggling nationwide, Be More Pacific’s story offers lessons in resilience, cultural authenticity, and creative community building. Cuchapin, a first-generation FilipinoAmerican born and raised in Houston, started Be More Pacific as a food truck with Pascual in Austin in 2011. Their goal was simple: introduce Filipino flavors to people who’d never tried them. “Filipino cuisine is pretty well unknown to the general community,” Cuchapin says. “We thought we’d start serving some of the stuff that we grew up with, that we love, and just wanted to share with everybody.” After six years of late nights, brunches, and catering gigs, they opened their See PACIFIC P. 2
Photo courtesy of Be More Pacific
Bottles of Be More Pacific’s signature banana ketchup, a Filipino staple featured on the restaurant’s menu.
Michael Morris: A young artistic talent with an unusually old soul By STEPHANIE SHIRLEY The Leader News Contributor
Tapestry of Culture: Houston’s 12th annual Islamic Arts Festival brings artists and communities together
Page 8
THE INDEX. Topics .....................................................4 Classifieds ............................................7
On Dec. 6, Redbud Arts Center in the Heights hosted an exhibit for artist Michael Morris. Last summer, he was awarded first place at their Emerging Visions Exhibition by curator Bradley Sumrall of the Ogden Museum. It was so successful that Redbud planned a follow-up event recently for a hungry art world to learn more about Morris. Executive Director and Curator of Redbud, Tanja Peterson describes Morris’ work this way: “His watercolor paintings
unfold as quiet, surreal worlds; psychological landscapes shaped by memory, mythology, and intuition,” she said. “The exhibition is appropriately named Hiraeth, after a Welsh word describing a deep longing for home, a place or time that may no longer exist, or perhaps never did.” There was something else extremely unique about December’s exhibition; Morris sold every one of his works at the exhibition, something that rarely happens, according to Peterson. Morris modestly refers to himself as a painter and printmaker. But, his body of work suggests so
much more. “Growing up, I developed a fondness for stories and myths, and how they mattered to the people of their day,” Morris said. “I became interested in mysteries, which evolved into an exploration in historical esoteric and occult practices. All these things make their way into my work and I apply the learnings into my art and myself.” At only 23, Morris is a promising young talent with a very old soul. “I was originally born in See MORRIS P. 2
Photo by Stephanie Shirley
Bradley Sumrall, Curator of the collection at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (L) moderated a conversation with Michael Morris, a burgeoning new artist at an event hosted by Tanja Peterson, Executive Director for the Redbud Arts Center.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? Scan this QR code to make a donation through Paypal today!