H-Town and ICE

The featured photo says it all. Here is from the Chron front page:

Houston City Council amended its recently approved policy limiting police officers’ interactions with federal immigration agents after Gov. Greg Abbott’s office threatened $114 million in city grants, despite some council members saying the changes will dilute the policy’s effectiveness.

The 13-4 vote came amid a chaotic two weeks at City Hall that tested Mayor John Whitmire’s relationships with state leaders, drove dozens of residents to protest or address the council, saw Attorney General Ken Paxton sue the city – and which appeared to leave in doubt key questions about how exactly Houston police will implement the amended policy.

Here is the headline of the latest Chron E-Board take:

Whitmire promised to protect Houston from political turmoil. He failed. | Editorial

Maybe the actual vote was 13-5 if you throw in the E-Board as one of the five, just saying. I will skip any comment on the E-Board take. There is no point.

Meanwhile, the Noah fella tweeted this after the vote:

I still can’t believe both Hispanic district council members, both of whom are running for re-election next year, voted for the Abbott Amendment even though their votes were dispensable. Like what are we doing here people

Noah is talking about Council Member Mario Castillo who represents District H and Council Member Joaquin Martinez who represents District I. Commentary knows both council districts well. Both districts have vulnerable population groups. Council members Castillo and Martinez voted for the best interest of their districts.

I watched the Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning city council meeting sessions. I came away impressed by Council Members Abbie Kamin and Alejandra Salinas.

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Evan Mintz, who heads the Chron E-Board tweeted this yesterday:

I’m working every day to try to get conservative voices in the opinion section.

I don’t have problem with that as long as their voices are honest and don’t spew lies.

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There are bright spots for the Astros in 2026. It has been fun watching Yordan Alvarez batting. We won yesterday, have today off, and host the Yankees this weekend.