East End Fire
My admiration for Savannah Guthrie skyrocketed this morning. See this news that broke yesterday:
A ransom note sent to an Arizona media outlet shortly after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie said the 84-year-old had died, NBC News and other organizations have reported.
Several media outlets reported receiving ransom notes tied to the case in the days after Guthrie, the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home in the foothills outside Tucson.
I was wondering if “Today” would cover the story this morning, and if they did, would they have Savannah leave the set. “Today” started off the second hour with co-host Craig Melvin introducing the Nancy Guthrie story and Liz Kreutz handling the reporting. At the conclusion of the story, on the set was Savannah, along with Craig, Al Roker, Jenna Bush Hager, and Carson Daly. Savannah explained why she was there and how she was still dealing with this travesty. Wow. Courage, perseverance, and strength were on full display. Wow.
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I spent my late afternoon yesterday watching the coverage on the flatscreen of the East End huge fire at a recycling facility. See the featured photo. It turns out that the company involved is a bad actor so to speak. See this from KPRC TV Channel 2 News:
HOUSTON – A massive fire tore through a large pile of trash — mostly tires — at Mammoth Metal Recycling in Houston’s East End, sending a plume of smoke visible for miles across the city.
Before the fire broke out Monday, a Houston Fire Department source told KPRC 2 News the company had been cited twice in the last month for illegal burning.
It’s unclear how many citations, if any, may have been received before that.
The citations, however, were just the beginning of the company’s legal troubles.
Less than two years ago, the City of Houston sued Mammoth Metal Recycling for more than $70,000 in back taxes, according to Harris County District Clerk records.
Records show the city won through a default judgment last year, and a judge ordered the property sold.
The current status of the property is unclear.
KPRC 2 News reached out to Mayor John Whitmire’s Office and the Harris County Attorney’s Office on Monday evening for additional information.
Company leaders have also faced criminal trouble. A federal grand jury indicted them in 2023 for an alleged $53 million fraud scheme involving COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program dollars, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal court records show the owner of the Mammoth Group pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in 2024.
I know the area well. The facility is about four blocks from Mason Park and Brays Bayou, next to a neighborhood. Fire crew were still there this morning as it smolders. Hopefully, they will finally get around to shutting this bad actor down.
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There is an Op-Ed that was just posted in the Chron today and here is how it starts:
There’s no doubt that the race between scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton and state Rep. James Talarico offers Texas Democrats their best chance in decades to flip a Senate seat — but the Democratic Party faces a quiet crisis of Black disillusionment and disengagement that threatens electoral victories here and across the country.
As the home of the nation’s largest Black electorate, Texas is the perfect place to address this growing tension. From the shores of Galveston, where Juneteenth was born, to towering figures like U.S. Reps. Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland and Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas has long been at the heart of the Black movement toward a more perfect union.
For decades, Black voters have been the unshakeable foundation of the Democratic coalition. But dangerous cracks have begun to form.
Here is the entire read: 5 ways state Rep. James Talarico can shore up Texas’ Black vote.
Folks know by now that Commentary is a person of color. I am a Latino. I have been working in Texas Democratic Party electoral politics for as long as anyone. I have been heavily involved in winning statewide Democratic campaigns in 1976 and 1982. It looks like we have a shot at getting back to winning in 2026. It should not be that difficult for the State Rep. James Talarico campaign, the African American Democratic Party leadership in Texas, and the Texas Democratic Party to get on the same page. If we are still having this discussion heading into the fall, I am going to blame all parties. Get it together, please. Don’t blow it. There is too much on the line.
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We lost last night and are now 3 ½ games back.