Texas GOP Convention, Black Expo, and Chef Justin Yu: Thursday’s Show (May 12, 2016)

The Texas GOP Convention kicks off in Dallas today (May 12, 2016). That’s where the state party chairman and delegates to the Republican National Convention are chosen. As Donald Trump is now the presumptive GOP nominee for president, bids to represent Texas at the national convention may be a bit less competitive. But it’s also where the state Republican party platform is set, and since the GOP controls both houses of the legislature, that platform could well establish what bills find their way to Gov. Abbott’s desk next spring.

On this edition of Houston Matters, we talk with News 88.7 FM's politics and government reporter Andrew Schneider from the convention.

Also this hour:

Texas Black Expo

The annual Texas Black Expo trade show and festival is this week (May 12-15, 2016) at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Maggie Martin talks with Texas Black Expo CEO Jerome Love and Sharon Murphy, a partner at McConnell Jones Lanier and Murphy, and an honoree at the event.

Houston Researchers Participate in Massive Autism Study

Two Houston researchers are involved in one of the largest autism studies ever undertaken in the United States. Dr. Robin Kochel is an associate director for research at Texas Children's Hospital’s Autism Center. And Dr. Ruth Ann Luna is the director of medical metagenomics at Texas Children's Microbiome Center. They took part in an initiative to collect DNA samples from 50,000 people who are autistic, or are closely related to someone with autism. As they tell Paige Phelps, this massive collection is designed to help accelerate our understanding of this medical condition and develop targeted treatments.

James Beard Award-Winning Chef Justin Yu

For the third time, a Houston chef has won the James Beard “Best Chef Southwest” Award. Established in 1990, James Beard awards are generally considered the culinary equivalent of the Oscars. Justin Yu of Oxheart, a three time finalist, won earlier this month. (Chris Shepherd of Underbelly won in 2014 and chef Robert Del Grande won in 1992). We talk with Justin Yu about winning the award, about his culinary chops and what he tries to bring to the food he prepares.

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