In every major city, wherever there is an empty wall space, one might find the not so special artwork of graffiti casting a blight on the surface. While some may think of it as wasted artistic talent, this type of nuisance and eyesore can pose a threat to public safety, or even subject an area [...]
Walking into the Alief ISD administrative building, phone in one hand to discuss her latest donation delivery and dragging behind her a cart of food items for a family in need, she greets a new business representative who is eager to provide mentors for students. Delores “Dee” Jones, business and community coordinator for the school [...]
It has been 45 years since helicopters descended on the U.S. embassy in Saigon to evacuate stranded Americans and Vietnamese people as the city fell to the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong in April 1975. When the dust of war settled, more than 2 million lives had been lost, including over 280,000 [...]
The food court at Hong Kong City Mall is truly a foodie’s destination due to the heavenly aromas coming from the expanded line-up of kiosk-style restaurants. I spent a recent Saturday touring the assortment of great recipes and flavors. First stop was Nick’s Crawfish, owned by Nick Nguyen. His special recipes include Cajun flavors mixed [...]
The opening and closing of the refrigerator door in our home is something many of us take for granted. We are hungry or thirsty and we make our way to our refrigerator, stocked with food and beverages, but what about those who are hungry and have no food stocked in their home refrigerator? How about [...]
William Rivas recalled his first meeting with members of the Westside Explorer Program five years ago. Looking around the room, the then-14-year-old Elsik High School student nervously noticed guys who were four or five years older, taller, seemingly so self-assured, and the room swelled with their camaraderie. The young men now have all aged out [...]
Like many boys his age, Nathan loves sports, especially basketball. And he, like other school-age children, has found himself struggling with a new learning environment due to the pandemic. Recently Nathan found a reason to celebrate. He was told that as a freshman, he had made his high school varsity basketball team. One of the [...]
“Mamma Mia!” is an Italian expression that basically means “wow.” And while you are unlikely to hear Italian spoken along the Bellaire Boulevard corridor of Asian businesses, it has a ‘Mama Mia” — with one less “m” — that offers its own kind of wow. Sugar is usually in boba tea, bubble tea and milk [...]
The Bicentennial year of 1976 brought about increased interest in history from the national all the way down to the hyperlocal, and perhaps it was that spirit that motivated a group of Hastings High School students to make this film on the story of Alief’s past. Along the way, they captured a present that now [...]
The recent grand opening of Maika’i Hawaiian BBQ House in Chinatown brings the total to three Houston-area locations for this outpost of cuisine from the former Sandwich Islands, with others in Katy and the Jersey Village area. In a way, barbecue is a bit of a feint. Just as most Louisiana-themed restaurants beyond that state’s [...]
