Houston Style Magazine AUGUST 27, 2026 – SEPTEMBER 02, 2026
Houston’s Premiere Weekly Publication, Since 1989
Volume 37 | Number 35
Complimentary
Dolly Parton Dies at the Age of 80
Ben Jealous American Men Have Been In Crisis for Generations
HOUS HO USTON TON TEXANS:
A UNIFORM AS BOLD,FRESH AND H-TOWN AS THE CITY ITSELF
James Talarico
Abbott Rallies Behind Paxton But Talarico Turned Texas Into a Toss-Up
By Reginald Dominique for www.StyleMagazine.com
Commissioner Rodney Ellis Millions for HART Program
HAUTE SHOTS: GHWCC Harris County Judge – Candidate Forum
Teneshia Hudspeth Delivers a WOW Lesson in Leadership
TSU's New Men’s BB Head Coach
N E W S | C O M M E N TA R I E S | S P O R T S | H E A LT H | E N T E R TA I N M E N T Supporting Small Owned Businesses
EXPLORE YOUR HEALTH MARKETPLACE COVERAGE OPTIONS Need health insurance? Have questions about your options? We’re here to help at no cost to you!
FREE ACA NAVIGATOR ASSISTANCE Our certified ACA Navigators can help you: • Enroll in Marketplace health insurance • Understand your coverage options • Check if you qualify for financial assistance • Renew or update your current plan • Get answers to your health insurance questions
HEALTHCARE.GOV
SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT TODAY SE HABLA ESPAÑOL
CALL 713.374.1282 CIVICHEART.ORG
Disclaimer: This Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators in Federally facilitated and State Partnership Marketplaces is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $310,000 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government. 2
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
www.StyleMagazine.com
Al Green Hosts 5th Annual Slavery Remembrance Day Program and Legislative Update:
“HARDER YET MAY BE THE FIGHT – HOUSTON” By Francis Page, Jr., Editor for www.StyleMagazine.com
Publisher Francis Page, Jr. fpagejr@stylemagazine.com Associate Publisher Lisa Valadez lisa@stylemagazine.com Social Media Editor/Videographer Reginald Dominique reggiedominique@me.com Graphic Design /Layout Editor Cameron C. Lee thisiscam6@gmail.com Political Editor Burt Levine texascampaigns@gmail.com
Congressman Al Green’s 5th Annual Slavery Remembrance Day
Sports Editor Brian Barefield brian_barefield@yahoo.com Food & Wine Writer Monica Jones alexandriajack1991@gmail.com Entertainment Writer D'Nesha Bell / TotallyRandie Totallyrandie@gmail.com Career Columnist Nikki Miles ailormaderesumes2576@gmail.com NATIONAL WRITERS Ben Jealous info@benjealous.com PHOTOGRAPHERS Vicky Pink vhpink@gmail.com ADVERTISING/SALES advertising@stylemagazine.com Got community news? We want to hear from you! editorial@stylemagazine.com
MINORITY PRINT MEDIA, LLC, D.B.A. Houston Style Magazine & www.StyleMagazine.com Phone: (713) 748-6300 • Fax: (713) 748-6320 Mail: P.O. Box 14035, Houston, TX 77221-4035
H
ouston transformed remembrance into responsibility during a powerful weekend honoring the enslaved, as Congressman Al Green continued his years-long campaign to ensure that the men, women and children whose forced labor helped build America are never erased from the nation’s story. The observance carried into Sunday at The Community of Faith Church, where Green joined Bishop James Dixon II and the congregation for Slavery Remembrance Sunday—bringing the commemoration from the civic arena directly into Houston’s faith community. Social posts from the church and participants confirm the Sunday observance with Green and Dixon.
Houston Style Magazine and the church connection has deep roots. Dixon and Community of Faith have supported Slavery Remembrance observances both for many years, emphasizing worship, education and intergenerational understanding. Dixon has previously stressed the importance of connecting today’s families—particularly children and young adults—with the experiences of ancestors who endured slavery and segregation. Together, Green and Dixon delivered a message bigger than any single ceremony: America cannot fully appreciate how far it has traveled without remembering where the journey began. Green’s Slavery Remembrance
movement has sought national recognition for the millions whose uncompensated labor contributed enormously to America’s economic development, while Houston’s churches have helped make remembrance personal, spiritual and community-centered. For Houston Style Magazine, the weekend offered a timely lesson: remembrance is not about remaining trapped in yesterday—it is about carrying yesterday’s truth confidently into tomorrow. From community gathering to Sunday sanctuary, Houston’s declaration rang clear: We remember. We honor. We rise. And harder yet may be the fight.
©2026 Houston Style Magazine, a Minority Print Media, L.L.C. Company. All Right Reserved. Reproduction in whole or within part without permission is prohibited. Houston Style Magazine has a 2021 Audit by Circulation Verification Council (CVC). Houston Style Magazine is a member of the Texas Publishers Association (TPA), Texas Community Newspaper Association (TCNA), National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), Independent Free Paper of America (IFPA), Association of Free Community Papers (AFCP) and Members of Greater Houston Partnership(GHP). National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. (NAHP, Inc.), Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (HHCC), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Latin Women’s Initiative (LWI), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Houston Association of Hispanic Media Professionals (HAHMP), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and Supporters of Greater Houston Partnership(GHP)
www.StyleMagazine.com
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
3
COMMENTARY
AMERICAN MEN HAVE BEEN IN CRISIS FOR GENERATIONS.
A REMEDY FROM 1879 OFFERS HOPE. By Ben Jealous, National Political Commentator
I
understood the depth of it first at a friend's twenty-first birthday party in college. Somebody raised a glass to celebrate him. Then another raised his and, before it reached his shoulder, tipped it. He poured libations for the ones who did not make it. Shot, or sent away, before the rest of us got to college. In a room of nothing but young Black and Latino men, we all joined in. A Latino friend from childhood, hiding from his own gang the last time I saw him. My best friend, Black, locked up for taking sunglasses from a Goodwill. A Filipino buddy shot dead that summer over a drug deal, folks said. Splash. Splash. Splash. Then a friend lifted his glass and toasted the plain fact that one more of us had lived to twenty-one. That cut me like a knife. In the richest country on earth we were congratulating a Black man for breathing past his birthday. That grief runs deep in our community. But it floats on deeper American water. Not long after, my mind raced through every young man I knew who was suffering or gone. Among them, White friends whose father killed himself when we were teenagers, after the plant let him go. Last week I promised you numbers on the crisis facing our nation's men. Here are a few. Start with work. About seven million American men between twenty-five and fifty-four are neither working nor looking for a job. More than one in ten. Every recovery of the last fifty years has left that share higher. Then violence, which wears two extreme faces. In 2023 Black men were murdered, usually by other Black men, at roughly eight times the rate of White men. Meanwhile White men killed themselves
at nearly twice the rate of Black men. Then prison. America locks up more of its people than almost any nation on earth. Here is what nobody says. Count White Americans alone and they are still locked up at several times the rate of Canada, Germany, or Japan. This is a national problem, far bigger than any one community. And yet we stay a house divided. Divide and conquer is the oldest game in America. The British brought it here to keep the king rich. The Revolution should have killed it. It did not, because it works just as well at helping the rich get richer. Whenever working people have reason to stand together, somebody pits them against each other. Dr. King named it in Montgomery in 1965. Borrowing from historian C. Vann Woodward, he called segregation a strategy to keep the masses divided and labor cheap. After that party I went to my grandmother's house and laid the burden on her table. Her grandfather was Edward David Bland, born enslaved in Virginia
in 1848. He was sixteen when he walked out of slavery in the last days of the war, and he learned to make shoes. Then he went into politics at the worst moment imaginable. Reconstruction was over, the troops sent home, the men who once ran the Confederacy taking it back with rifles. He did the arithmetic anyway. Poor White farmers wanted the same free schools his people wanted. Together they were a majority. Apart they cancelled each other out. So, he pushed for a deal with the unlikeliest partner in Virginia, a railroad magnate and former Confederate general named William Mahone. In 1879 Bland stood before his own people and made the case. He won them over. They called themselves Readjusters, and they swept into power. In a few short years they abolished the whipping post, repealed the poll tax, and funded schools for every child. Virginia had 415 Black teachers in 1879. Soon it had 1,588. Then, in Danville, on November 3, 1883, after a circular full of lies about
HUB Supplier Opportunity Avant Assessment LLC is bidding on RFP 2604-46 Addendum 1 (Instructional Curriculum Materials, Supplies, and Digital Resources) for the Houston Independent School District. We are looking for possible HUB subcontractors to provide the following products and/or services: conference materials.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact vendor@avantassessment. com by September 20, 2026.
4
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
www.StyleMagazine.com
Black rule swept the town, white gunmen killed at least five people, four of them Black. Three days later white supremacists took back the legislature. The oldest trick, right on time. Still, they had governed four years, in the old capital of the Confederacy. The men in trouble today are in trouble together. The White man in the hollowed-out mill town and the Black man on the South Side want the same thing. A better future for their children. They are not each other's problem. Nobody is coming to tell them so. Bland did not wait for anyone. He did the math, organized, and made it real. The old Readjuster arithmetic still works. Divided we cancel out our children's dreams. Together our families are the majority that can make them real. Let's get to work. Ben Jealous is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and former president and CEO of the NAACP.
DR. LETITIA PLUMMER V. ORLANDO SANCHEZ PRESENTS CHOICES TO HOUSTON WOMEN’S CHAMBER
D
emocracy works best when candidates step beyond campaign commercials and make their case directly to voters. That was the scene Monday as Democratic nominee Dr. Letitia Plummer and Republican nominee Orlando Sanchez shared the stage before the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, presenting contrasting visions for leadership, emergency preparedness, affordability, public safety and the future of Harris County. With less than 10 weeks before the Tuesday, November 3 General Election, the packed Junior League of Houston ballroom offered business and civic leaders a revealing first look at two experienced public servants competing to lead one of America’s largest and most diverse counties. Plummer introduced herself through the intersection of business, family and public service: a dentist, mother of three, longtime small-business owner and former Houston City Council member. She told the audience that every neighborhood, precinct and part of Harris County deserve to be heard and protected. Her campaign has emphasized emergency preparedness, affordability, healthcare, economic opportunity and public safety — issues she argues are inseparable from the everyday lives of working families. Plummer has owned a dental practice for more than 25 years and served as an at-large Houston council member before launching her countywide campaign.
By Burt Levine, Political Editor for www.StyleMagazine.com
Dr. Letitia Plummer Across the stage, Sanchez offered another unmistakably Houston story. His family came to Houston from Cuba when he was a child, and Sanchez went on to graduate from Bellaire High School and the University of Houston. His résumé includes service in the U.S. Air Force and Texas Air National Guard, six years on Houston City Council and 12 years as Harris County Treasurer. His campaign centers on reducing property-tax pressure, strengthening public safety, controlling government spending and accelerating flood-control and infrastructure projects. Emergency management produced one of the forum’s clearest contrasts in ap-
Orlando Sanchez proach.
Plummer pointed to her City Council experience advocating for generators and emergency resources at community facilities, arguing that neighborhoods must be prepared to survive the crucial first days after hurricanes, freezes, floods or prolonged power outages. For a county that has learned some hard lessons from Harvey, Uri, derecho winds and hurricanes, emergency preparedness is no theoretical exercise. Sanchez emphasized his military background and decades of relationships across city, county, state and federal government. His argument: when disaster arrives,
www.StyleMagazine.com
coordination matters, and established relationships can help move resources faster. Yet there was notable common ground. Both candidates questioned the cost and structure of county government at a moment when taxpayers are feeling squeezed. Harris County’s administrator position was advertised at $411,964 annually, while Commissioners Court recently approved salaries of roughly $305,000 for several county elected officials and department heads. The discussion raised a question taxpayers across the political spectrum can appreciate: Are residents getting enough government for the government they are paying for? That question may help define this election. Sanchez is presenting voters with a veteran public official emphasizing fiscal restraint, taxes and public safety. Plummer is presenting a small-business owner and former council member emphasizing preparedness, affordability, healthcare and neighborhood-level responsiveness. Neither candidate arrives without experience, and neither can afford to ignore the realities confronting a sprawling Harris County.
Read More At:
www.StyleMagazine.com
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
5
Abbott Rallies Behind Paxton — But Talarico Has Turned Texas Into a Toss-Up As Abbott rallies Republicans, Talarico’s money, message and crossover appeal turn Texas into a true Senate battleground. By Burt Levine, Political Editor for www.StyleMagazine.com
T
exas Gov. Greg Abbott may be telling Republicans not to panic about Attorney General Ken Paxton’s increasingly competitive race for the U.S. Senate, but there is one inconvenient little detail staring both campaigns squarely in the face: James Talarico has made Texas competitive. Appearing Sunday on ABC News’ This Week, Abbott confidently predicted that once Texans take a closer look at Democratic nominee Talarico, they will be “rushing to vote for Ken Paxton.” Abbott blamed Paxton’s sluggish general-election start partly on the costly Republican runoff against outgoing U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. But if Democrats were nowhere close to winning Texas, Republicans probably would not need the governor of Texas spending national television time explaining why they eventually will. That is the political plot twist of 2026. Talarico, the 37-year-old state representative and former public-school teacher, has transformed himself from an ambitious young Texas Democrat into a nationally watched Senate contender. His campaign has leaned heavily into a kitchen-table argument: Texans are working hard, yet housing, groceries, health care and raising a family increasingly feel beyond reach.
6
James Talarico And voters appear to be listening. An August 9–10 Emerson College Polling/Nexstar survey of 1,000 likely Texas voters showed Paxton at 47% and Talarico at 46%, with the difference well inside the poll’s three-point credibility interval. Talarico held a commanding advantage among voters under 50, 53% to 38%, while Hispanic voters favored him by 19 points. Another July poll from Texas Public Opinion Research had Talarico ahead 45% to 40%. Individual polls differ, but the unmistakable storyline is competitiveness. Then came perhaps the biggest flash-
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
ing political billboard yet. On August 20, the respected Cook Political Report moved the Texas Senate race from “Lean Republican” to “Toss-Up,” citing public and private polling showing a race too competitive to continue treating Texas as reliably Republican. That is no small accomplishment in a state where Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate election since 1988. Talarico Is Talking — and Texans Are Hearing Him Money is helping him carry that message. Federal filings show Talarico had raised approximately $68.6 million through June, dwarfing Paxton’s roughly $9.2 million. Even more striking is the television battlefield: according to AdImpact data reported by The Texas Tribune, Talarico has spent more than $25 million advertising since the general election began, while Paxton’s campaign had spent only about $119,000—a greater than 200-to-1 difference. Texans have seen Talarico talking about grocery prices, faith, family and affordability. Hispanic Texans have also seen a Spanish-language campaign message designed to meet voters where they are—not simply during election season, but culturally and conversationally. Republicans are responding. A Ted
www.StyleMagazine.com
Cruz-aligned super PAC recently launched a $1.7 million advertising campaign supporting Paxton, including television placements in Houston, while President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in Houston August 27 as Republican fundraising efforts intensify. Translation: Texas is getting expensive because Texas is getting competitive. Houston Could Help Write the Ending For Talarico, the road to history runs straight through Houston and Harris County. His Pasadena outreach to Hispanic families, appeal to younger voters, emphasis on public education and working-class economics, and deliberate effort to court Republicans uneasy with Paxton form the outline of an ambitious coalition. No Democrat can win Texas on enthusiasm alone. Talarico will need enormous turnout in Harris County, Dallas County, Bexar County and the state’s other urban centers— while improving Democratic performance in suburbs and persuading independents and some Republicans that this election should be about more than the letter beside a candidate’s name.
Read More At:
www.StyleMagazine.com
Commissioner Ellis Calls on Harris County to Invest Additional $4.5 Million for Effective Community Safety Strategies By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
I
n a county of more than five million people, public safety is never a one-tool job. Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis is making the case that keeping neighborhoods safe requires not only responding to crime, but investing earlier — before a behavioral-health crisis becomes an arrest, before neighborhood tensions become gunfire and before domestic violence turns deadly. Ellis, alongside Georgetown Law’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety, has released Advancing Safer Communities in Harris County, a report recommending an additional $4.5 million for three community-safety initiatives launched in 2022: the Holistic Assistance Response Team (HART), RISE community violence interruption program, and domestic violence prevention and intervention programs. The additional funding would bring the proposed investment in the programs to $15.3 million. For Ellis — a longtime civil-rights leader with more than four decades in public service — the philosophy is straightforward: good government should be smart enough to stop some emergencies from becoming emergencies in the first place. “For too long, our public safety systems have been built to respond only after harm has already happened,” Ellis said, arguing that mental-health and substance-use challenges often require treatment rather than a jail cell. “We have four years of proof that these programs work. Now we have an obligation to make these programs permanent.” HART: Sending the Right Help HART may be the clearest example of that
Commissioner Rodney Ellis approach. The program dispatches unarmed interdisciplinary response teams to nonviolent calls involving behavioral health, homelessness, substance use and other quality-of-life concerns. Harris County Public Health confirms that HART began in March 2022 and expanded throughout all Harris County Sheriff’s Office districts by 2025. The newly released report says HART has now answered more than 31,000 calls, connected more than 5,000 residents to care, and freed thousands of hours for deputies and emergency medical personnel to concentrate on situations requiring their specialized response.
That is not about replacing law enforcement. It is about letting law enforcement do more law enforcement. “Community safety cannot rest on law enforcement alone,” said Mariela Ruiz-Angel, Georgetown Law’s Director of Community Safety Initiatives and a report co-author. She emphasized behavioral health, crisis response and prevention as complementary tools that allow police to focus on situations where an armed law-enforcement response is truly necessary. RISE: Interrupting Violence Before the Trigger Is Pulled The county’s RISE — Relentless Interrupt-
ers Serving Everyone — program takes prevention directly into neighborhoods. Harris County’s strategic plan identifies RISE expansion as part of its objective to reduce violent crime, using trusted “credible messengers” to interrupt conflicts and defuse tensions before they escalate. According to the new report, Cypress Station — where RISE was piloted alongside other public-safety interventions — experienced a 36% decline in crime, including a 48% decrease in family violence and 34% decrease in aggravated robberies during the first two years of the initiative. Domestic-violence initiatives provide the third pillar. The report says county programs have assisted more than 5,000 survivors and children in safely leaving abusive situations while delivering more than 20,000 hours of therapeutic care to 1,000 families. And then comes the taxpayer test. The report estimates Harris County could save more than $5 million in detention and legal expenses if an expanded HART prevents 500 additional low-level jail bookings and RISE prevents seven gun-related homicides. With Commissioners Court preparing to make Fiscal Year 2027 budget decisions, Ellis’ proposal presents a distinctly Houston-sized question: If prevention is working, can Harris County afford not to invest in more of it? For a county accustomed to thinking big, $4.5 million could prove that sometimes the smartest public-safety investment is the crisis that never happens.
www.StyleMagazine.com
MEMORIAL PARK
October 9-11
2026
S. PICNIC LANE
10 AM - 6 PM
FEATURED ARTIST
Aubrey Hogan
n
n
n
n
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
n
bayoucityartfestival.com
n
250 National & International Artists 19 Disciplines of Art Live Music & Entertainment Active Imagination Zone VIP Hospitality Lounge Art Installations & Exhibits
www.StyleMagazine.com
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
7
“Purpose Over Pleasure”: Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth Turns Down $305,000 Salary and Delivers a WOW Lesson in Leadership By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
J
ohnathan Traylor captured it in three unforgettable words: “Purpose over Pleasure.” And every so often, a public official makes a decision that gives those words real-world meaning—so refreshingly unexpected that taxpayers collectively lean closer and say, “WOW.” Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth has created one of those moments, choosing employees, fiscal stewardship and the mission of serving Harris County over personal financial gain after announcing that she would not accept her newly authorized $305,000 salary if the increase had to be absorbed within her office’s existing budget. After Harris County Commissioners Court approved salary increases placing several countywide elected officials at $305,000 annually, Hudspeth announced she would not accept her newly authorized salary because the additional compensation came without additional funding for her office. Recent county budget proceedings confirm the $305,000 salary level approved for most affected elected officials. Why? Because accepting more for herself could mean having less available for the people helping her office serve Harris County. Somebody cue Jonathan Traylor. “Purpose over Pleasure.” That simple phrase from Traylor’s song could practically serve as the soundtrack to Hudspeth’s decision. Hudspeth could have taken the money, smiled for the cameras and kept moving. Instead, she
8
thanked Commissioners Court for recognizing the responsibilities and demands of her position while explaining that the increase would have to be absorbed within the County Clerk’s existing budget. Her priority, she said, remains filling positions requested during the budget process and maintaining staffing necessary to serve Harris County residents. In other words: recognition appreciated; mission first. Meaning
Making History—Then Giving Leadership
Hudspeth is no stranger to breaking barriers. In November 2020, she became the first African American woman elected Harris County Clerk. Today, the Clerk’s Office notes that she spent 19 years serv-
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
ing in multiple roles under four county clerks before ascending to the office herself. That history makes this latest decision even more compelling. Representation matters—but what leaders do with the opportunity to lead matters even more. Hudspeth’s office touches the everyday lives of residents through public records, property documents, marriage licenses, court records and other essential government services. Behind every counter, computer, filing system and customer-service interaction are employees expected to make a massive county government work. Hudspeth essentially said those people deserve consideration before her paycheck gets bigger. That is servant leadership with receipts.
www.StyleMagazine.com
There was no attack on Commissioners Court. No political theater. No self-congratulatory press conference declaring herself the patron saint of fiscal responsibility. Instead, Hudspeth was gracious, measured and remarkably clear. There is also an important distinction: elected officials should be appropriately compensated for enormous responsibilities. Declining an increase does not mean the work is not worth the salary. It means Hudspeth decided that under these particular budget circumstances, purpose outweighed personal benefit. And perhaps that is why the moment resonates. Leadership is not always about what you can obtain. Sometimes character becomes clearest through what you are willing to sacrifice. For Harris County residents, Hudspeth has offered a timely reminder that public service can still mean exactly what those two words suggest: serving the public. Jonathan Traylor gave us the phrase. Teneshia Hudspeth just gave Harris County a powerful illustration: Purpose over Pleasure. People over Paycheck. Service over Self. Now that deserves a Houston-sized WOW.
www.HarrisVotes.com
Federal Judges and Legal Community Convene in Houston for JTB’s 13th National Conference Pursuing a More Perfect Union” brings judges, lawyers and future legal leaders to Houston September 17–20, with Houston Style Magazine proudly serving as a media sponsor. By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
H
ouston's September docket is about to get crowded—in the best possible way. From September 17–20, 2026, federal judges, attorneys, law students, educators, corporate legal leaders and aspiring young advocates from across America will gather in Houston for Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization’s 13th National Conference, “Pursuing a More Perfect Union.” And Houston Style Magazine is proud to serve as a media sponsor, helping amplify an event that places opportunity, justice and the future of American democracy squarely in the spotlight. Held every four years, the JTBAPO National Conference is designed to connect generations of legal talent while expanding pathways into a profession that has tremendous influence over civil rights, constitutional freedoms, businesses, families and communities. Official conference information confirms programming from September 17 through September 20, with activities centered in downtown Houston. That makes the conference more than another gathering of people carrying briefcases and quoting precedent. It is democracy doing some serious recruiting. For more than three decades, Just the Beginning has worked to encourage students from historically underrepresented
Judge Alfred Bennett
Judge Vanessa Gilmore
communities to pursue careers and leadership opportunities in law. Its approach combines education, exposure and connection— the idea being that young people are more likely to imagine themselves becoming attorneys, judges and policymakers when they can actually meet the people already doing the work. JTB’s programs reach students from middle school through law school and emphasize leadership skills, mentorship and real-world legal experiences. During the Houston conference,
students will participate in immersive legal programming while attorneys and judges take part in Continuing Legal Education programs, judicial conversations, networking and mentoring opportunities. The official
registration program includes CLE panels, student enrichment activities, judicial meetings, a luncheon honoring a legendary Texas jurist and an awards celebration recognizing trailblazers and scholarship recipients. One of the weekend’s most meaningful moments will honor the late Judge Reynaldo Guerra Garza, whose career permanently widened the doorway to America’s federal judiciary. Born in Brownsville, Texas, Garza was nominated by President John F. Kennedy to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in 1961 and confirmed by the Senate that April. He became the nation’s first Mexican American federal district judge, later serving as Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas from 1974 to 1979 before President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Read More At:
www.StyleMagazine.com
Women’s Leadership Luncheon WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH San Jacinto College - LyondellBasell CPET 11:00AM - 1:00PM (DOORS OPEN AT 10)
Pasadena, TX 77507
OPPORTUNITY TO
HAHMP
SYLVAN RODRIGUEZ SCHOLARSHIP GALA SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10TH 6:00 PM C. BALDWIN HOTEL
AND REGISTER
PAT MANN PHILLIPS
PAST CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD 20% OF SALES AT EVENT GO TO HIGHLIGHTED CHARITY
THANK YOU SPONSORS AS OF 8.17.2026 EVENT
PRESENTING
Raul Peimbert Senior News Anchor Noticias Univision 45-Houston 2026 Lifetime Achievement
VALET
ATTENDEE GIFT
HOST
MEDIA
PRINTING
HAHMP.ORG www.StyleMagazine.com
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
9
HOUSTON: TEXANS UNVEIL A UNIFORM AS BOLD, FRESH AND H-TOWN AS THE CITY ITSELF By Reginald Dominique for www.StyleMagazine.com
H
ouston, we have a new look — and Houston Style Magazine is officially stoked. The Houston Texans unveiled their new HOUSTON/US alternate uniform Tuesday, August 25, giving H-Town a football fit that feels less like somebody designed a jersey and more like somebody drove down Westheimer, cruised through Third Ward, looked up at the city’s street signs and said, “Put all of that on the uniform.” Created through the Nike x NFL Rivalries program, HOUSTON/US arrives drenched in Liberty White, H-Town Blue and Battle Red, celebrating Houston culture through details inspired by the city’s historic blue-andwhite street tiles, customized automobiles and the celebrated “Be Someone” bridge imagery. The Rivalries initiative allows participating NFL clubs to develop community-rooted alternate uniforms designed around their local identity. And this one is unapologetically Houston. Start with the Texans’ first-ever Liberty White helmet, a nod to the white helmet prototype late franchise founder Robert C. McNair displayed in 1999 before Houston ultimately adopted Deep Steel Blue. Then give it a candy-paint-inspired finish, Houston street-tile graphics reading “H-Town” and “Texans,” plus a chrome H-Town Blue facemask that looks like it could have rolled straight out of a Houston custom-car showcase. The jersey numbers borrow their
10
block styling from the “Be Someone” bridge, while player nameplates echo Houston’s iconic tiled street signs. The Bullhead logo also moves over the heart for the first time in franchise history. Even the inside collar carries the concept
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
home: HOUSTON/US, emphasizing that this uniform is supposed to represent the millions of people who make Greater Houston one of America’s most diverse metropolitan communities. Texans Chair and CEO Cal McNair
said the organization wanted something meaningful and uniquely Houston as the franchise celebrates its 25th season. Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Doug Vosik called the design the team’s most Houston-centered uniform yet. Judging by the details, that might be an understatement. The NFL’s national Rivalries campaign adds even more hometown horsepower, featuring Texans star Nico Collins alongside Houston cultural heavyweights Bun B and Slim Thug — because apparently this uniform needed just a little more H-Town credibility. Now comes the real show. The Texans will debut HOUSTON/US under the lights at Reliant Stadium on Thursday, November 19, at 7:15 p.m. CT, hosting AFC South rival Indianapolis in Week 11 on Thursday Night Football. Fans are being encouraged to wear H-Town Blue. Rivalries merchandise goes on sale September 1, with a Texans Mobile Team Shop appearance at City Centre September 5. Houston has always understood that style is storytelling. Now our hometown football team is wearing the story. By the H. For the H. For US.
www.StyleMagazine.com
www.StyleMagazine.com
2026
SEE MORE +
Junior League Of Houston www.GHWCC.org
HGHWCC HARRIS COUNTY JUDGE – Candidate Forum H Dr. Letitia Plummer & Orlando Sanchez - Candidates For Harris County Judge
H Suzan Deison – CEO/President H Martha Castex-Tatum – Remarks H Dr. Jacquie Baly, Nancy Sims & Grant Trammell – Facilitators H August 24, 2026 H
Suzan Deison – CEO/President/Founder
Amber Burton - CAO - HAR
Photos By Linda Toyota
Martha Castex-Tatum - Mayor Pro Tem
Francis Page, Jr. & Susan Deison
Plummer & Sanchez Present Clear Choices at GHWCC Forum
D
By Francis Page, Jr.
emocracy had a front-row seat as the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC) convened Harris County Judge candidates Dr. Letitia Plummer and Orlando Sanchez for a substantive post-primary forum before Houston-area business, civic and community leaders. The event carried added significance with remarks from Houston City Council Member Martha Castex-Tatum, helping set a tone of civic responsibility, leadership and voter participation. Dr. Plummer, the Democratic nominee, highlighted her experience as a
dentist, mother, small-business owner and former Houston City Council Member At-Large, while emphasizing responsive government, neighborhood investment and public safety. Orlando Sanchez, the Republican nominee and former Harris County Treasurer, presented his own Houston story—rooted in his Cuban immigrant upbringing, Bellaire High School and University of Houston education, and decades of public-service experience. Guiding the conversation were respected Houston voices Dr. Jacquie Baly, Nancy Sims and Grant Trammell, whose
www.StyleMagazine.com
facilitation helped keep the focus on issues rather than political theater. Under the leadership of GHWCC Founder, President and CEO Suzan Deison, the forum once again demonstrated why informed civic engagement matters. The biggest winner? Harris County voters—because democracy is strongest when candidates answer questions, communities listen, and citizens ultimately make the choice. More Info. on the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, go to:
www.GHWCC.org
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
11
12
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
www.StyleMagazine.com
Houston City College Celebrates Helen Callier and 10 Years of Permit Us Now Success S
ome business plans stay in binders. Others become businesses. And every once in a while, one grows into a company helping keep some of Texas’ biggest construction projects moving. That is the entrepreneurial story of Helen Callier, President and Founder of Permit Us Now, who is celebrating 10 years of building a company that specializes in building permit management and regulatory approvals for commercial and government clients. Callier’s journey has deep roots at Houston City College, where she participated in the HCC Business Plan Competition in 2016 after graduating from Cohort 9 of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Already an entrepreneur through Bradlink, LLC, Callier entered the competition with another idea demanding her attention: build a strategic growth plan for a new company called Permit Us Now. The objective, she has said, was bigger than winning prize money. She wanted the training, advising, accountability and structure necessary to turn an idea into an enterprise. By summer 2016, Permit Us Now was open for business. Then came Houston’s Super Bowl moment. Permit Us Now played a permitting role connected to Super Bowl LI, eventually earning recognition among small businesses highlighted in the commemorative NFL Super Bowl program and Texas
By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
Monthly. That visibility helped put the company on H-E-B’s radar, leading to work on H-E-B Curbside locations during 2017 and 2018 and a client relationship that has now stretched roughly a decade. Not bad for something that began with a business plan. From Houston Startup to Texas-Sized Projects Today, Permit Us Now’s résumé reads increasingly like a roll call of major Texas institutions. Through spring 2026, the company reported continued permitting work for H-E-B projects throughout Texas, United Airlines operations and
concession projects at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and projects for BRIZO Construction across Greater Houston, San Antonio and Florida. Us Now is also providing permitting and regulatory-agency coordination for the $2.1 billion-plus Harris Health John M. O’Quinn Hospital expansion, encompassing its central utility plant, parking garage and heliport. The company continues work associated with the $2.44 billion Austin ISD 2022 Bond Program as well. And Callier has not forgotten the institution that helped sharpen the blueprint. Since 2023, Permit Us Now has permitted more than 20 Houston City College System bond projects, with projects continuing during 2026. The company is also expanding staff and using an AI platform to address opportunities across Houston, Austin, San Antonio and North Texas. Coming Back to Lift the Next Entrepreneur Perhaps the most Houston part of Callier’s story is that success did not lead her away from HCC — it brought her back.
www.StyleMagazine.com
Since 2017, Callier has repeatedly supported the HCC Business Plan Competition Alumni Circle, serving as a sponsor, speaker, judge, advocate and ambassador, while raising her support in recent years to the Bronze level. That matters because HCC’s entrepreneurial mission extends well beyond classroom theory. Houston City College says its entrepreneurial initiatives are designed to strengthen the local economy, create jobs and help grow small businesses, including minority-, micro-, veteran-, LGBT- and women-owned enterprises. Its current Business Plan Competition provides entrepreneurs with training, one-on-one advising and opportunities for seed funding. Callier now marks 20 years with Bradlink, LLC and 10 years with Permit Us Now — proof that entrepreneurial success is rarely an overnight story.
Read More At:
www.Stylemagazine.com
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
13
Texas Southern University Names Corey Lowery Men’s Basketball Head Coach By Reginald Dominique for www.StyleMagazine.com
T
exas Southern University basketball has never been shy about big expectations. At a program where championships, postseason pressure and March Madness have become part of the vocabulary, the Tigers have now handed the whistle to a coach whose résumé suggests he knows exactly what winning sounds like. Texas Southern University announced Corey Lowery as its new head men’s basketball coach, bringing to Houston a veteran leader with 27 years of coaching experience, 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach and a 266-73 collegiate head-coaching record. The appointment opens a new chapter for one of the nation’s most recognizable HBCU basketball programs — and it comes as Texas Southern approaches its centennial celebration in 2027. “Coach Lowery has won at every level and every stop of his career,” TSU President J.W. Crawford III said in announcing the hire. “Beyond constructing winning rosters and producing on the court, he is a maker of men off the court.” That last part may prove every bit as important as the win column. Lowery arrives from Seton Hall University, where he spent four seasons as an assistant under Shaheen Holloway. During his tenure, the Pirates’ staff produced 42 victories in its first two seasons — a Seton Hall record for a new staff — before capturing the 2024 NIT National Championship. But Lowery’s résumé stretches well beyond the Big East. At Lincoln University, one of America’s
14
Corey Lowery historic HBCUs, Lowery transformed expectations. In his first full season, Lincoln finished second in the CIAA Northern Division after being projected 10th in the preseason. The turnaround earned Lowery CIAA Coach of the Year, while Zahrion Blue was named CIAA Player of the Year. Lowery was also selected to coach in the inaugural HBCU All-Star Game.
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
Before Lincoln came an impressive junior-college run. At Essex County College, his Wolverines captured six consecutive regular-season conference championships, five straight region championships and made five consecutive NJCAA Division II Tournament appearances. His 2014 squad reached the national championship game, while Essex advanced to the Final Four in 2014 and 2016. At Middlesex County College, Lowery also produced three straight conference championships and a 2008 Elite Eight appearance. In other words, Coach Lowery apparently does not collect frequent-flyer miles without collecting a few trophies along the way. Now he inherits a Texas Southern program where the standard is already sky-high. The Tigers own 14 SWAC regular-season championships, 11 SWAC Tournament titles, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1977 NAIA National Championship. In 2023, TSU became the first No. 8 seed to win the SWAC Tournament, completing a remarkable postseason run by defeating the tournament’s No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 seeds. That championship DNA is precisely what Lowery says attracted him to Houston. “It is an absolute honor and privilege to be named the Head Men’s Basketball coach at Texas Southern University,” Lowery said. “Texas Southern is rooted in a proud tradition of winning championships… I will work tirelessly to serve and uphold the standard of excellence that already exists at Texas Southern University.”
www.StyleMagazine.com
ball.
And that standard extends beyond basket-
For generations, Texas Southern University has represented Houston, HBCU excellence and opportunity, producing leaders while carrying the maroon and gray onto national stages. For Lowery, this is more than another coaching assignment. It is an opportunity to guide young men, build champions and take command of a program accustomed to hearing its name called when March arrives. The next century of Texas Southern basketball is approaching. Coach Corey Lowery now has the ball. More information on TSU Sports, go to: https://tsusports.com/
www.StyleMagazine.com
2026 HCC SOUTHWEST–TESLA SOUTHWEST– MANUFACTURING TRAINING COMPLETION
T
uesday August 18, 2026, was more than certificate day at Houston City College’s Stafford Campus Workforce Center. It was another green light for Greater Houston’s fast-moving manufacturing future, as nearly 50 Tesla employees completed specialized workforce training through the expanding HCC–Tesla partnership. The milestone put people—not machines— at the center of advanced manufacturing. Inside HCC Southwest’s Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, Tesla employees have been sharpening hands-on skills designed to translate directly into high-demand work at Tesla’s Megafactory Texas in Brookshire. In an industry filled with robotics, automation and sophisticated energy technology, the partnership carries a refreshingly human message: before a world-class factory can run, a world-class workforce must be ready to run it. And HCC has been preparing Houstonians for that moment for years. HCC Southwest traces its Stafford presence to 1998, and the campus has steadily evolved into a workforce and technology hub serving one of America’s most diverse metropolitan regions. Today, Stafford’s Workforce Building supports advanced manufacturing and other career-focused programs designed around practical skills and modern industry needs. That history makes the Tesla partnership feel less like a sudden spark and more like the next powerful connection in a circuit HCC has been building for decades.
By Franics Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
The collaboration accelerated in May 2026, when Houston City College and Tesla signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Stafford and celebrated an inaugural cohort of 12 program completers. HCC said the partnership incorporates curriculum development, shared resources and direct training opportunities, with participants demonstrating skills in industrial maintenance, advanced manufacturing, troubleshooting and workplace safety. The partners also announced plans to substantially expand participation during 2026. Three months later, nearly 50 additional Tesla employees crossing the training finish line offers an encouraging snapshot of that promise becoming practice.
The timing could hardly be better for Greater Houston. Tesla is developing its Megafactory in Brookshire, west of Houston, as a major energy-storage manufacturing operation. Tesla has said the new facility will produce Megapack 3 for its next-generation Megablock energy-storage system, with production planned for 2026. Current Tesla career listings in Brookshire include manufacturing, production, fabrication, maintenance, engineering and operations positions. That is where Houston City College’s workforce model shines. Instead of asking industry what it needed yesterday, HCC is helping prepare workers for what employers need next. HCC Chancellor Dr. Margaret Ford Fisher
www.StyleMagazine.com
has described the partnership as part of the College’s commitment to building strong industry connections and meaningful career opportunities. HCC Board Chair Eva Loredo has similarly characterized the collaboration as the future of workforce education— connecting classroom instruction, hands-on experience and pathways into high-demand careers. For the nearly 50 employees honored August 18, those big-picture ideas now have names, faces, certificates and new skills attached to them. Houston has always been a city that knows how to build—energy systems, medical breakthroughs, space exploration, neighborhoods, businesses and bold second acts. Advanced manufacturing is simply adding another chapter, and Houston City College is making sure local talent has a seat at the workbench. The Tesla partnership also demonstrates a larger truth about community colleges in the 21st-century economy: workforce education is no longer a side door into opportunity. Increasingly, it is the front entrance. So, congratulations to the latest HCC–Tesla completers. The machines may be smart, the factory may be ‘mega’ and the technology may be futuristic—but Houston’s greatest competitive advantage still begins with skilled people ready to get to work. Learn more about Houston City College (HCC): https://www.hccs.edu/ Explore Tesla careers and opportunities: https://www.tesla.com/careers
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
15
SCORE TIME BACK
Get delivery in as little as an hour.* *Subject to availability. Restrictions and fees apply. Delivery time not guaranteed. See app or heb.com.
©2026 HEB, 26-485814
16
August 27, 2026 – September 02, 2026
www.StyleMagazine.com