This Juneteenth I will stand at the Hermitage and help celebrate Black music. The Hermitage was Andrew Jackson’s plantation, outside Nashville. I want to be honest about how strange that is.
I am descended from slaves and from the men who owned and abused them. The men who denied them their God-given right to freedom. My family was enslaved by the Blands of Virginia. Richard Bland was the famous one. He was a patriot before there was a country. He told the king and Parliament that a shackle chafes a man no matter how well you polish it. His young cousin Thomas Jefferson asked him to bring a bill to make it easier to free the enslaved. Bland did it. He was denounced as an enemy of his country. Then he went home and kept his thirty. He died still holding them.
That is my inheritance. My grandmother, Mamie Bland Todd, is the griot of our family. She carries two hundred years of it. Her great-grandfather Frederick was the only enslaved man named in his owner’s will, and the will was written to protect him. The man who owned Frederick was his own brother. That is how close the blood runs. Thomas Jefferson is my cousin. He wrote that all men are created equal. Robert E. Lee is my cousin too. He took up arms to keep my other ancestors in chains. I carry the blood of the man who argued for freedom and the blood of those he would not free. I resent his cruelty. I pray my children show his courage against the men who would be kings. That is the duality of this nation.
So I know something about awkward ground.
The Hermitage is beautiful. A thousand acres. A white mansion. Gardens. The tombs of the seventh president and his wife. It is also a graveyard. More than three hundred men, women, and children were enslaved there. Archaeologists are still finding their graves. The land was Native land first. He signed the Indian
ON JUNETEENTH, I’LL CELEBRATE BLACK MUSIC AT ANDREW JACKSON’S PLANTATION
By Ben Jealous, National Political Commentator
Removal Act. He set the Trail of Tears in motion. Settlers’ bones are in that ground. The bones of the enslaved. The ground is sacred for what is buried in it. It is stained for the same reason.
And we are going to sing on it. Jackson owned the people there. He fathered no children, white or Black. Betty cooked for him, as her mother had before her. Her son Alfred was born on that land and lived there longer than any man. After freedom came he stayed. They put “Faithful Servant” on his stone. But once a white man told him slavery had its comforts, and Alfred asked him, “How would you like to be a slave?” The man had no answer.
For a while that felt like trespass. Who brings a celebration into a wound? Black music was not made in spite of that ground. It was made on it. The field holler. The spiritual. The work song that timed a hoe. People who were called prop-
erty made them, and the songs said they were not. “Follow the Drinking Gourd” was a map to freedom. They sang it where the men who owned them could hear.
Juneteenth is the right day for it. Freedom came late, two and a half years after it was declared, to people who had been free in the eyes of God the whole time. The day does not pretend the delay away. It celebrates anyway.
So I will go. I will stand where Jackson stood, and where the people he enslaved stood. I will not soften either truth. I will say their names if they let me.
We are more curious now than ever about how we are joined. I have a cousin who descends from the people who owned mine. We are kin. The country is like that.
Nothing feeds the American need for unity and hope like the music made by enslaved people and their children. It is the
truest thing this country has made. And we are still singing it.
So this Juneteenth, on sacred and stained ground, we will sing. And we will remember the oldest truth Mamie Bland Todd ever taught me: our people were always free.
And — oddly, ironically, and even somewhat poetically — it happens to be the same lesson her own slaveholding forebear, Richard, helped teach both his young cousin Thomas and King George. Freedom is inherent. It belongs to us from the beginning.
Ben Jealous is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and former president and CEO of the NAACP.
In Texas House District 131, democracy did what democracy does best: it gave the people a voice, counted every vote, and opened the door for a new generation of leadership. On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Staci Childs won the Democratic primary runoff with more than 60 percent of the vote, positioning herself to succeed longtime Texas State Rep. Dr. Alma Allen, whose more than six decades of public service helped shape one of Houston’s most community-rooted districts.
For Sunnyside and the surrounding neighborhoods, Childs’ victory is more than a political headline. It is a passing of the torch — from one respected public servant to a rising leader whose life has been shaped by classrooms, courtrooms, policy tables, and community struggle. At 38, Childs brings a résumé that reads like a Houston story with deep Southern roots: educator, attorney, State Board of Education member, small-business builder, and proud advocate for children and families.
“I grew up in Atlanta because my family worked in the clay dirt of Georgia for hundreds of years,” Childs said, reflecting on the lessons of perseverance, faith, and civil rights passed down from her parents and grandparents. “When I won the spelling bee in fifth grade, it sparked a fire in me that because people believed in me, anything is possible.” That spelling bee did more than crown a young champion. It planted a purpose.
Childs went on to graduate from Hampton University, earn a master’s degree in
FROM SPELLING BEE SPARK TO STATE HOUSE STAGE: STACI CHILDS CARRIES SUNNYSIDE’S VOICE FORWARD IN TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 131
By Burt Levine, Political Editor for www.StyleMagazine.com
education policy from Georgia State University, and complete her legal education at Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Along the way, she served on President Barack Obama’s White House Domestic Policy Council Education Team, where she saw national policy through the eyes of a young woman determined to make government work for everyday people.
Her heart, however, remained close to the classroom. Childs became a fifth-grade teacher because she believed students were not simply preparing for the future — they were the future. In 2019, she was recognized as an HISD Teacher of the Year, a distinction that reflected her commitment to children too often underestimated by the very systems meant to uplift them.
“I became a fifth-grade teacher because of my love for what those students can mean for all of our future,” Childs said. “Then I became an attorney when I saw students mistreated in school.”
That experience turned compassion into legal action. After passing the bar, Childs founded Sunnyside Legal Clinic, where she has helped fathers reconnect with their children, supported young parents navigating adoption, and guided neighbors through legal challenges with dignity and clarity. In a community where access to justice can too often feel like a luxury, Childs built a doorway.
Her public-service path continued in 2022 when she was elected to the Texas State Board of Education. In 2024, she won reelection, representing more than two million Texans. From that seat, she worked with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, building relationships and pushing for resources connected to education, families, and community opportunity.
“With hard-won relationships with Democrat and Republican legislators, I secured
bills and funding for efforts never done in Houston and especially in Sunnyside,” Childs said. “But I knew getting a seat inside the Capitol was needed to bring neighborhood change.”
That is the heart of her campaign: neighborhood change. Not political theater. Not empty slogans. Real change — the kind that shows up in stronger schools, safer streets, fairer systems, and families who feel seen.
Childs’ victory also arrives during a deeply personal season. Last fall, as the House seat opened, her fiancé Isaiah Davis proposed. The couple married in December, adding a chapter of love and partnership to an already powerful story of public purpose.
“I love Texas,” Childs said. “Together with my faith and family, I’m fueled to make it the best for all that call it home.”
For Houston Style Magazine readers, Staci Childs’ rise is a reminder that democracy is not an abstract idea locked away in Austin. Democracy lives in Sunnyside. It lives in school hallways, legal clinics, church pews, community meetings, and voting booths. It lives wherever people decide their voices matter.
Now, as Childs moves toward the November general election, Texas House District 131 stands at the edge of a new chapter — one written with a teacher’s patience, an attorney’s precision, a daughter of the South’s memory, and a Houston woman’s determination to turn possibility into power.
Staci Childs
This past weekend, Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor who will face Greg Abbott on the ballot this November, was in Houston. We caught up with Hinojosa during a small gathering put on by Run Sister Run and Pretty Petty Politics at Gatlin’s BBQ.
This stop was important for several reasons. First and foremost, it was held at a local business, reflecting a key priority of Gina Hinojosa’s campaign: a renewed focus on supporting Texas’ small businesses. Second, it was a Black-owned business. For many Black voters in Harris County, authentic grassroots outreach matters. Visiting locally owned establishments and investing in Black-owned businesses while seeking Black voter support is important. It shows a candidate is not just talking the talk.
Hinojosa discussed a range of issues impacting Texans, including public education, high electricity bills, grocery costs, and gas prices. She criticized Abbott’s refusal to expand Medicaid, noting that Texans contribute federal tax dollars that help fund the program but do not receive the full benefits available through expansion.
She also spoke extensively about insurance companies denying claims for patients seeking surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, and other necessary medical
GINA HINOJOSA HOUSTON CAMPAIGN STOP: EDUCATION, ECONOMY AND
VOTING
RIGHTS FOCUS
By Lisa Valadez for www.StyleMagazine.com
care. Hinojosa said some of those denials reflect bad-faith insurance practices and said the governor has the authority to influence the agencies responsible for regulating the insurance industry. Did you know that?
Hinojosa also touched on rethinking economic development in Texas, with a greater focus on supporting small businesses. She said large corporations often receive substantial tax incentives, the cost of which is ultimately borne by taxpayers. At the same time, she said, many of the highest-paying jobs created by those companies go to workers relocating from outside Texas, while many Texans are left with lower-paying positions that offer few benefits or worker protections. “Our small businesses embody our ambition as Texans,” Hinojosa said. “They give back to
the community, and we should be helping to boost our small businesses that are barely holding on right now.”
Public education was another major focus of the discussion. Hinojosa said one of the primary reasons she entered public office was the closure of a school her son attended. Her successful run for school board later led to her election to the Texas House (District 49). She noted that taxpayer dollars are increasingly being directed to private vendors rather than classrooms.
While Texas needs strong teachers in every classroom, she said the current system is not prioritizing educators. Teachers are facing increasing stress, stagnant pay, and rising economic pressures, leading many to leave the profession altogether. If elected governor, she said she would review
and eliminate what she considers corrupt vendor contracts, redirect funding back into classrooms, and work to make Texas teachers among the highest-paid educators in the nation.
In regard to the attack on the Voting Rights Act, Gina stated, “First and foremost, this should not only be Black elected leaders talking about this. We all need to do something because all of us are about to be impacted. We see and talk about the rigged maps. That is what is coming next year. Republicans have already said they are coming back next year to redraw those maps in an effort to block Democratic control of Congress for a generation.”
Gina Hinojosa’s Houston stop offered a closer look at the priorities driving her campaign, from public education and economic opportunity to healthcare access and voting rights, as she continues to build support across Texas. To learn more about Gina Hinojosa, visit www.ginafortexas. com. You can also sign up for her newsletter to receive updates on upcoming campaign stops as she continues her statewide run.
To learn more about Gina Hinojosa, visit www.ginafortexas.com.
In a Texas political season already hotter than a July sidewalk and louder than a Friday night stadium, the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board has made its choice for U.S. Senate — and its message is as clear as a church bell on Sunday morning: Texas needs servant leadership, not self-serving spectacle.
The Chronicle endorsed James Talarico for U.S. Senate, framing the contest as a defining choice between integrity and chaos, public service and political self-preservation, democratic responsibility and partisan performance. In its endorsement, the editorial board presented Talarico as a leader focused on coalition-building, education, accountability, working families, and the moral courage required to govern a state as powerful and diverse as Texas.
For Houston Style Magazine readers, this endorsement is more than another campaign headline. It is a civic alarm clock. It reminds Texans that elections are not entertainment, public office is not a personal shield, and the U.S. Senate is no place for leaders who treat government like a courtroom escape hatch or a cable-news audition.
Talarico, a former public school teacher, Presbyterian seminarian, and Texas state representative, has built a political identity around decency, faith-informed service, and practical reform. That matters in
HOUSTON CHRONICLE ENDORSES JAMES TALARICO FOR U.S. SENATE:
A DEMOCRACY-SUPPORTIVE CALL FOR TEXAS TO CHOOSE SERVICE OVER SCANDAL
By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
a moment when many Texans are exhausted by political shouting matches that generate heat but very little light. The Chronicle’s endorsement praised him as someone who can speak across party lines while still standing firmly for public education, economic opportunity, government transparency, and democracy itself.
That is especially important in Houston, where democracy is not an abstract classroom word. Democracy is whether Third Ward, Sunnyside, Acres Homes,
Fifth Ward, Alief, Fort Bend, Katy, Pasadena, Pearland, and every corner of Harris County has a voice that counts. Democracy is whether public schools are strengthened, whether workers have opportunity, whether seniors are protected, whether small businesses can thrive, and whether communities of color are treated as partners in progress rather than afterthoughts at election time.
The Chronicle’s endorsement also drew a sharp contrast with Republican nominee Ken Paxton, whose political career has been clouded by years of controversy, ethics questions, impeachment drama, and criticism from both sides of the aisle. While Paxton’s supporters describe him as a fighter, the deeper question for Texas voters is this: fighting for whom?
Fighting for democracy is different from fighting for personal survival. Fighting for families is different from fighting for headlines. Fighting for Texas is different from fighting to keep political power at any cost.
Talarico’s message, as reflected in the endorsement, is not rooted in rage. It is rooted in repair. He has spoken about banning congressional stock trading, pushing back against gerrymandering, protecting public schools, and building an energy future that respects Texas’ oil-and-gas foundation while embracing renewable innovation and job
creation. For Houston — the energy capital of the world — that balance is essential. Our city understands energy. We understand industry. We understand labor, technology, ports, pipelines, petrochemicals, innovation, and environmental justice. A serious Texas senator must understand that the future cannot be built by ignoring either workers or communities. The future must include both.
At its core, the Chronicle’s endorsement is a challenge to Texas voters: choose character over controversy, unity over division, and public service over political revenge.
The 2026 Texas U.S. Senate race may become one of the most watched contests in America. But for Houstonians, the question is beautifully simple: who will fight for the people when the cameras turn off?
Democracy does not defend itself. It must be protected at the ballot box, strengthened in our neighborhoods, taught in our schools, and renewed by citizens who refuse to let cynicism win.
The Chronicle has made its choice. Now Texas must make history. For more info or to make a donation, go to: https://jamestalarico.com
James Talarico
HarrisCity Council Member Abbie Kamin has been appointed to serve as Harris County Attorney, effective Monday, June 15, 2026, time to be announced, positioning her to become the first woman and first mother to hold the office in Harris County history. The appointment, approved by Harris County Commissioners Court, places Kamin at the helm of the county’s chief civil legal office during a pivotal moment for local government, public trust, democracy protection, voting rights, and the everyday legal machinery that keeps Texas’ largest county moving.
For Houston Style Magazine readers, this is more than a political appointment. It is a civic milestone. Kamin’s rise from native Houstonian, civil rights attorney, and District C council member to the county’s top civil lawyer tells a story familiar to every neighborhood that believes public service still matters: show up, do the work, answer the call, and keep your heels steady when the water rises.
And in Houston, the water does rise.
During her time representing District C, Kamin worked on flood mitigation, drainage improvements, disaster preparedness, public safety, parks, family-centered policies, domestic violence awareness, gun
ABBIE KAMIN’S NEXT CHAPTER: A HISTORIC HARRIS COUNTY LEGAL SEAT MEETS A HOUSTON-BUILT PUBLIC SERVANT
By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
violence prevention, climate resilience, labor issues, and quality-of-life concerns. In her own farewell reflections to constituents, she pointed to projects like Turkey Gully and Beechnut drainage work, while also honoring the smaller but deeply personal victories — missed trash pickups resolved, water leaks addressed, and residents reminded that government can still pick up the phone and deliver.
That blend of big-picture policy and block-by-block service may be exactly what Harris County needs as Kamin prepares to succeed County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne. The County Attorney’s Office
does not prosecute criminal cases; instead, it serves as the civil legal backbone for county government, advising elected officials, defending county actions, handling civil litigation, and protecting public interests.
Kamin steps into the role after a season of rapid transition, with Christian Menefee having left the office to run for Congress and Fombonne serving in the interim.
Kamin’s appointment was not without debate. Commissioners Court voted 3-2, with some officials raising concerns about the timing and process because Kamin is also the Democratic nominee for the November election. Still, supporters point
to her legal background, council record, and public-service experience as reasons she is ready for the assignment.
Her own words offer the clearest window into the mission ahead. Kamin said she is “deeply honored” by the opportunity and pledged to “defend and protect” Harris County. She also framed the role through the lens of family, saying that as the first mother to serve as Harris County Attorney, she would fight for Harris County families with the same fierceness she brings to her own.
That message lands strongly in a county where families are watching legal battles over voting rights, local control, public safety, disaster recovery, reproductive freedom, environmental justice, and democracy itself. Kamin’s résumé includes civil rights and voting rights litigation, work with the Anti-Defamation League’s Southwest Region, service in the Texas Legislature, and legal training from American University Washington College of Law. She also earned her undergraduate degree from Tulane University, where her experience as part of the “Katrina Class” helped shape her interest in local government and resilience.
Houston’s civic heartbeat was on full display as the Harris County Democratic Party hosted its Coordinated Campaign Kick Off on Saturday, May 30, 2026, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Discovery Green, specifically on the Hess Tower Fountain Lawn Space. With community energy, campaign urgency, and a democracy-first spirit, the gathering served as both a celebration and a call to action for voters, volunteers, precinct chairs, candidates, and concerned citizens across Harris County.
H HCDP – COORDINATED CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF H
Harris County Democratic Party – MAY 2026 BLOCK PARTY
LAUNCHPAD
By Francis Page Jr. for
The event brought together grassroots leaders who understand that democracy does not defend itself from the sidelines. It is protected by people who register voters, knock on doors, make phone calls, share trusted information, and show up when local government needs public attention.
A key focus of the event was the upcoming Harris County Democratic Party County Executive Committee meeting, where Democratic Precinct Chairs will nominate
candidates for two judicial positions. The CEC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 3826 Wheeler Ave., Houston, TX 77004. The evening schedule includes 5:00 PM check-in, 6:00 PM CEC Part 1, 7:00 PM Congressional District meetings, and 8:00 PM CEC Part 2. Attendees are encouraged to download the memo explaining the change of date for full details.
Those judicial seats include Civil Court at Law No. 5, opened after a Demo-
cratic appointee vacated the seat in December 2025, and the 486th District Court, viewed by organizers as a major opportunity after a Republican appointee resigned mid-term. For Houston Style Magazine readers, this moment matters. Judicial races may not always dominate television headlines, but they directly affect families, fairness, public trust, civil disputes, court access, and the everyday meaning of justice in Harris County.
From Discovery Green to Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, the message is unmistakable: Harris County Democrats are organizing early, moving with purpose, and preparing to meet 2026 with unity, optimism, and muscle.
www.HarrisDemocrats.org
Gina Hinajosa - Democratic Nominee for Governor
Dr. Letitia Plummer & Mario Castillo
Tucker, Texas AG Commissioner Candidate
Baird Campbell & Traci Gipson
On Saturday, May 30, 2026, 9:00 AM–11:00 AM CT, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, the Houston Parks Board, elected officials, community partners, and hundreds of neighbors from Sunnyside, South Acres, Crestmont, and surrounding communities celebrated the grand opening of Hill at Sims Park, located at 11808 Scott Street, Houston, Texas 77047. The community celebration marked the official opening of a nearly $30 million, 100-acre regional park in Sunnyside — the neighborhood’s first new park in nearly 50 years.
And Houston Style Magazine must say it plainly: this is not just a park. This is progress with a walking trail. Sunnyside has always had soul. Now, it has a hilltop view to match.
Hill at Sims Park transforms active flood mitigation infrastructure into a vibrant community asset designed for resilience, recreation, and connection. Built at Harris County Flood Control District detention basin, the park shows how Houston can turn necessary infrastructure into neighborhood joy — protecting families from flooding while giving them a beautiful place to gather, walk, ride, fish, play, and breathe. Local reporting notes that the park can hold nearly 325 million gallons of stormwater and is expected to strengthen flood protection while serving tens of thousands of area residents.
SUNNYSIDE STANDS TALLER: HILL AT SIMS PARK OPENS AS A $30 MILLION VICTORY FOR GREENSPACE , COMMUNITY PRIDE, AND HOUSTON’S FUTURE
By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
The opening celebration featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony, guided walks and bike rides, music by DJ Supastar, free food and drinks, and family-friendly outdoor activities. In true Sunnyside style, the morning was not only civic — it was communal, joyful, and rooted in neighborhood pride.
Commissioner Ellis, who grew up in Sunnyside, has long framed Hill at Sims as a matter of equity, access, and public investment in communities that have too often been asked to wait their turn. “For too long, communities like Sunnyside — where I grew up — have gone without the parks and greenspaces they deserve. Hill at Sims changes that,” Ellis said in advance of the opening.
The park’s amenities include hilltop and basin trails, a 1.6-mile basin loop trail, nature trails, a water access pier, parking, a Al Green pavilion with restrooms, picnic pavilions,
flexible lawn space, new plantings, the Scott Street Greenway, and a Dr. Alma Allen pedestrian/bicycle bridge across Sims Bayou connecting Hill at Sims to Sims Bayou Greenway and Margaret Jenkins Park. Houston Parks Board says Sims Bayou Greenway, once complete, will stretch nearly 20 miles from Blue Ridge Park in Houston to Milby Park.
One of the day’s most meaningful moments came as the Houston Parks Board and Commissioner Ellis’ office honored Congressman Al Green by naming a new pavilion within Hill at Sims Park in his honor. Congressman Green secured a $1 million federal grant during the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations process to support the Hill at Sims/Scott Street Greenway Multi-Use Trail, which connects local schools and surrounding community facilities. Congressman Green called the recognition an honor and praised Hill at Sims as a symbol of
“partnership, public investment, and community vision,” adding that he trusts families from Sunnyside, Greater Houston, and around the world will enjoy the park, greenway, and opportunities for recreation and connection for years to come.
The celebration also included leaders such as State Representative Dr. Alma Allen, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Houston Parks Board CEO Justin Schultz, Mt. Hebron Baptist Church Pastor Max Miller, community partners, and neighborhood residents.
For Sunnyside, this investment carries a message bigger than concrete paths and scenic overlooks. It says that every Houston neighborhood deserves beauty. Every child deserves safe green space. Every family deserves access to nature. Every community deserves infrastructure that does more than function — it should also uplift.
Houston start your engines—and your résumés. Houston City College has officially shifted into high gear with Tesla, Inc., launching a workforce training partnership designed to strengthen the region’s talent pipeline and open direct career pathways in advanced manufacturing, electric vehicle technology, and sustainable energy. The partnership was celebrated at HCC’s Stafford Campus Workforce Center, where HCC and Tesla signed a Memorandum of Understanding and honored the first 12 graduates of the program.
For Houston Style Magazine readers, this announcement is more than a ribbon-cutting moment. It is a roadmap. The collaboration connects classroom instruction with hands-on industry experience, giving students the technical foundation to step confidently into high-demand careers at Tesla’s Megafactory Texas in Brookshire, where the company is manufacturing Megapack 3, its large-scale energy storage system.
The first cohort of 12 students earned certificates of completion through HCC’s Industrial Maintenance and Advanced Manufacturing curriculum, demonstrating skills in maintenance, troubleshooting, and industry safety standards. Even better, these graduates are expected to take those skills straight into the workplace at
HOUSTON CITY COLLEGE AND TESLA CHARGE UP HOUSTON’S WORKFORCE FUTURE WITH ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PARTNERSHIP
By Francis Page Jr., for www.StyleMagazine.com
Tesla’s Brookshire-area facility—proof that when education and industry work together, opportunity does not just knock; it comes with a badge, boots, and a career path.
Building on the success of the pilot program, HCC and Tesla announced plans to expand enrollment to 250 students through the remainder of the year, a major move for Houston-area workforce development and a timely investment in the future of advanced manufacturing across the Gulf Coast region.
A Partnership Built for
Houston’s
Next Generation
“This partnership reflects Houston City College’s commitment to building strong industry connections that create meaningful career opportunities for our students and community,” said HCC Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher, Ed.D. “By partnering with Tesla, we are taking a leading role in meeting the demands of today’s advanced manufacturing industry for our region.”
That leadership matters. Houston has long been known as the energy capital
of the world, but the next chapter of energy will require workers trained for a world of automation, battery storage, electric vehicles, industrial maintenance, and clean-energy systems. HCC’s partnership with Tesla places local students near the front of that line.
Javier Corral Astorga, Tesla Director of Operations at Megafactory Texas, said the collaboration is about preparing the next generation for a fast-growing sector. “We are proud to partner with Houston City College to help prepare the next generation of manufacturing professionals,” Astorga said. He added that Tesla is excited to create opportunities for individuals to gain the technical skills and real-world experience needed to support the rapidly growing advanced manufacturing sector.
From Classroom to Career
Under the MOU, HCC and Tesla are collaborating on curriculum development, shared resources, and direct training opportunities for program participants. That means students are not simply learning theory; they are training for the actual demands of modern manufacturing environments.
Houston, get ready to dress in white and celebrate women who make government work with purpose, polish, and public-service power. Women Professionals in Government, better known as WPG, will host its 2026 Summer Social, “An Evening of Elegance and Excellence,” on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 6:00 PM CT, inside the distinguished Harris County Ceremonial Courtroom, 201 Caroline Street, Houston, Texas 77002. The evening will bring together civic leaders, elected officials, public servants, community advocates, professionals, and supporters for a stylish fundraiser with a serious mission: scholarships, service grants, mentorship, and leadership advancement.
The 2026 Summer Social will feature Harris County Administrator Erica Lee Carter as guest speaker—an especially fitting voice for an organization dedicated to advancing women in government and public policy. In February 2026, Harris County Commissioners Court appointed Carter as County Administrator, making her the first African American woman to hold the position; she officially assumed the role on March 9, 2026, overseeing county operations, strategic-plan implementation, and coordination across departments.
Founded in 1981 by Mary Dip-
WPG – WOMEN PROFESSIONAL IN GOVERNMENT BRINGS “ELEGANCE AND EXCELLENCE” TO HARRIS COUNTY
By Francis Page, Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
boye, a University of Houston graduate with a master’s degree in public administration, WPG was created to give women in government a professional network rooted in knowledge, skill-building, and career support. More than four decades later, that founding vision still shines. WPG remains a nonprofit, politically nonpartisan organization committed to charitable, educational, and social-welfare purposes, including scholarship opportunities for young women pursuing government and public-policy careers.
Guests are encouraged to wear white, creating an atmosphere of unity, elegance, and shared purpose. Admission is $50 for members and $60 for non-members, with proceeds supporting WPG’s scholarship fund, community-service grants, and operating budget. Sponsorships and donations help WPG continue investing in women students, public-service professionals, and organizations serving women and children across Harris County.
confidence, the community spirit, and the white outfit that says, “I understood the assignment.”
EVENT DETAILS
Event: Women Professionals in Government Summer Social — “An Evening of Elegance and Excellence”
Date & Time: Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 6:00 PM CT
Guest Speaker: Harris County Administrator Erica Lee Carter
Attire: Members and guests are encouraged to wear white
Throughout the year, WPG hosts monthly luncheons from September through May, excluding January, where women and men working in or with city, county, state, and federal government can network and hear from outstanding community leaders. But the Summer Social is one of WPG’s signature moments—a celebration with sparkle, substance, and a strong sense of sisterhood.
For Houston Style Magazine readers, this event is more than a beautiful evening in a historic courtroom. It is a civic call to celebrate the women who help keep government moving, communities connected, and future leaders inspired. It is where mentorship meets mission, where networking meets opportunity, and where elegance comes with an agenda: empowerment. And yes, it is absolutely a networking event—so bring the business cards, the
Admission: Members $50; Non-Members $60
Tickets & Info.: www.wpghouston.com
Houston Style Magazine readers, this is the kind of evening where excellence is not only honored—it is funded, forwarded, and fabulously dressed in white.
In a city that knows how to fight through storms, Harris Health is earning national recognition for helping patients weather one of America’s most heartbreaking public health crises: opioid and substance use addiction.
With five national sites participating in a clinical study designed to improve substance use disorder treatment in primary care, the National Institutes of Health recently commended Harris Health for successfully recruiting nearly one-third of the study’s 300 participants. Harris Health enrolled 87 participants in the study led by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of NIH, while also receiving praise for its outpatient treatment program as a model for helping patients battling opioid and stimulant addiction.
That is not just impressive paperwork. That is Houston-style public health leadership—where compassion puts on comfortable shoes, walks into clinics, reaches out to shelters, makes phone calls, prints flyers, listens without judgment, and helps people find a path back to themselves.
“Harris Health shares a vision to provide patients with the most effective care available,” said Matthew Schlueter, PhD, RN, chief nursing officer for Ambulatory Care Services at Harris Health. “Having our patients included in the national benchmark-
HARRIS HEALTH SYSTEM EARNS NIH PRAISE FOR TURNING COMPASSION INTO A CLINICAL CARE COMEBACK STORY
By Francis Page, Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
ing research will only help all communities around the country.”
The timing could not be more urgent. The opioid crisis remains a national emergency, even as recent data finally show signs of progress. CDC data show U.S. drug overdose deaths fell to 79,384 in 2024, with 54,045 involving opioids. The CDC also reported that overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone dropped sharply from 2023 to 2024.
For Harris County families, those numbers are more than statistics. They are empty chairs at dinner tables, parents
praying late into the night, children waiting for a loved one to come home whole, and communities asking healthcare systems to do more than diagnose. They are asking them to heal.
Harris Health’s Office Based Addiction Treatment program—known as OBAT—is answering that call with a practical, patient-centered model rooted in primary care. Under the leadership of Jennifer LaHue, MBA, RN, project manager, site principal investigator and director of OBAT, the team has recruited participants through physician and staff referrals, wordof-mouth, in-person outreach, virtual connections, community events, shelters, flyers and information booths.
“We are meeting people where they are and making it easy for them to connect to services and treatment that can help them overcome their substance abuse disorders,” LaHue said.
That sentence deserves to be framed in every clinic lobby in America. Because the future of addiction care is not about forcing patients to navigate a maze while carrying trauma, withdrawal, shame and fear on their backs. It is about building doors where walls used to be.
The NIH HEAL Initiative, launched to accelerate scientific solutions to the opioid and pain public health crises, continues
to support research aimed at improving prevention and treatment strategies for opioid misuse and addiction. NIDA leads HEAL research connected to opioid use disorder and overdose, making Harris Health’s successful participation part of a much larger national movement to make recovery more accessible and evidence-based.
In other words, recovery is not a solo act. It is a choir.
One anonymous OBAT participant shared that when they started, they were struggling with cocaine, alcohol and opioids. After their first visit, they received appointments, medications and support. They later found work, improved their health and began managing life again as a productive member of society.
That is the kind of success story Houston understands. Not polished. Not perfect. But powerful.
Mohammad Zare, MD, medical director of OBAT, assistant chief of staff for Ambulatory Care Services at Harris Health, and professor and vice chair of Family Medicine at UTHealth Houston, credits the program’s success to a holistic team approach.
Downtown Houston is tuning up the guitar, firing up the grill, and clearing room on the patio. Construction is officially underway on the new Downtown Houston location of The Rustic, the beloved restaurant, bar, and live music venue from FreeRange Concepts, returning with a bigger footprint, a bolder stage, and a front-row seat in Houston’s next great entertainment district.
The new 18,300-square-foot venue will rise at the southwest corner of Jackson and Pease streets, spanning a full city block bounded by Jackson, Pease, Jefferson, and Crawford streets. Completion is slated for March 2027, bringing back the hand-crafted American food, premium beverage program, family-style brunch, daily happy hour, and free live music that helped make The Rustic a downtown favorite since its original Houston location opened in 2018.
This is more than a restaurant reopening. It is a strategic piece of Houston’s downtown renaissance. The Rustic’s new home will sit just two blocks south of Toyota Center and near the future GRB South building, helping anchor the expanded convention and entertainment district envisioned by Houston First Corporation. The broader transformation includes a new 700,000-square-foot GRB South expansion and a 100,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza
THE RUSTIC RIDES AGAIN: DOWNTOWN HOUSTON’S FAVORITE FRONT PORCH BEGINS ITS BIG COMEBACK
By Francis Page Jr., for www.StyleMagazine.com
designed to strengthen the connection between the convention center, Toyota Center, nearby hotels, dining, nightlife, and major events.
For Houstonians, The Rustic has always felt like Texas hospitality with a soundtrack. It is where boots meet business cards, brunch meets live bands, and tourists quickly discover that Houston’s flavor is not just served on a plate—it is played on stage. The new location is expected to offer sweeping indoor and outdoor spaces flexible enough for casual lunches, community gatherings, private celebrations, corporate
events, and full venue buyouts.
Kyle Noonan, co-owner of FreeRange Concepts, called the project the start of an exciting new chapter, noting that Houston has embraced The Rustic “in a big way” and that the new location will allow the company to create an even larger gathering place for “great food, great music, and remarkable memories.”
Houston First President and CEO Michael Heckman also framed the project as a key investment in downtown’s future, saying The Rustic will energize the area while strengthening connectivity between
the convention center, hotels, and nearby venues. He described The Rustic as the kind of “experience-driven concept” that helps elevate Houston as a premier destination. The project team includes Fusion AE as architect, Griffin Partners as development manager, and Harvey Cleary as general contractor. Houston First will build the new location and lease the space to FreeRange Concepts, continuing a partnership that began with The Rustic’s original downtown site near the George R. Brown Convention Center.
And the timing could not be better. Downtown Houston is experiencing a wave of public-space and visitor-district improvements, including the new pedestrian-focused Main Street Promenade, part of a broader push to make the urban core more walkable, connected, and event-ready.
For Houston Style Magazine readers, the takeaway is simple: The Rustic’s return is another sign that downtown Houston is not just rebuilding—it is reimagining. With food, music, culture, conventions, sports, and community all sharing the same stage, this new chapter promises to make downtown feel less like a destination you visit and more like a front porch where the whole city can gather.
The Community Music Center of Houston (CMCH) will mark Black Music Month with the return of its annual Legacy Project, a citywide celebration honoring Black musical heritage, community storytelling, and live performance in Houston’s Third Ward.
The 2026 program will feature the debut of the Firey String Sistas of New York City, alongside tributes to musicians, educators, and artists whose work has shaped Houston’s Black cultural landscape.
The celebration opens Sunday, June 7, at the historic Eldorado Ballroom in the Third Ward Cultural District. The afternoon begins at 2 p.m. with a Black Music Month art opening in the Dupree Room, featuring the exhibition “Music is My Sanctuary” presented in partnership with the Community Artists’ Collective. The exhibition highlights visual interpretations of music as cultural memory and community expression.
The program continues from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with the Legacy Honoree Celebration and Concert, featuring a performance by the Firey String Sisters, a New York City-based ensemble led by Nioka Workman (cello), Marlene Rice (violin), and Mala Waldron (piano and vocals). The group blends jazz, soul, global funk, and world music and has performed with artists
CMCH LEGACY PROJECT RETURNS FOR BLACK MUSIC MONTH AT ELDORADO BALLROOM
By Lisa Valadez for www.StyleMagazine.com
including Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Lauryn Hill, and India.Arie.
Fitzgerald, B.B. King, and the late Jewel Brown.
This year’s programming also expands through a partnership with the Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum in Freedmen’s Town, extending Legacy Project activities throughout June as part of “Harmonies of Heritage: A Juneteenth 2026 Celebration of African American Music.” Events will take place at the J. Vance and Pauline Gray Lewis Museum Home of Legal and Education Professions.
Additional June activations include community programming on June 18, June 25, June 27, and June 30, featuring tours, public events, and educational offerings in partnership with Community Artists’ Collective and Freedmen’s Town Museums Houston / Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum. Private tours are available for $25, with proceeds supporting the museum’s preservation work spanning more than three decades.
The Legacy Project concludes its opening week with a donation-based concert experience on June 7, supporting CMCH programming and continued community access initiatives.
Attendees may RSVP via Eventbrite
The Eldorado Ballroom, a landmark in Houston’s cultural history, has long hosted some of music’s most iconic performers, including Duke Ellington, Ella
CMCH’s Legacy Project builds on that national foundation by bringing together visual art, live performance, and public memory. This year’s honorees include Dr. Anne Lundy, Dr. Ruth Stewart, Ina Zellers, and Dr. Gloria Quinlan, recognized for their contributions to music education and cultural preservation.
