Final Four, Port of Houston, and Spelling Bee: Friday’s Show (April 1, 2016)

The NCAA men’s college basketball Final Four tournament takes place this weekend here in Houston. It’s, in many ways, a sort of dress rehearsal for next year’s Super Bowl. On this edition of Houston Matters, we talk with News 88.7’s Gail Delaughter about the final preparations for — and potential impact of — this weekend’s national championship.

(Above: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner describes Final Four preparations. Photo: Gail Delaughter, Houston Public Media.)

Also this hour: It’s not clear who first called Houston “the town that built the port that built the city,” but the quote aptly describes how the city and the Port of Houston are intertwined. Edel Howlin takes a field trip to the port to learn more.

Then: A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good, some of it bad, some of it downright ugly. We turn each Friday to a “non-expert” panel to discuss The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of it all. Today: Tamara Tabo, Charles Kuffner, and Mary Flood consider the decision by the Harris County Sheriff’s office to re-open jails around Greater Houston, and more legal woes for the man who tried to trap Planned Parenthood, only to, in essence, capture himself.

Plus: Saturday at 2 p.m., Houston Public Media TV 8 presents this year’s regional spelling bee. The state’s top 12-14 year old spellers will compete to represent the region in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee. We talk with the folks behind the bee and then present the first annual Houston Matters Spelling Bee, pitting a former national finalist against a woefully unprepared challenger.

Houston Matters offers a free daily, downloadable podcast here, on iTunes, Stitcher and various other podcasting apps.