Politics

Senate unanimously passes a bill defining fentanyl poisoning as murder

Posted on · Houston Senator Joan Huffman authored Senate Bill 645, which would make the manufacture and delivery of less than 1 gram of fentanyl a third degree felony. The crime would rise to a second degree felony if a person dies from an overdose.

Harris and Stephanie

Houston Matters

Everything Is Horrible And Wonderful: A Sister Looks For Answers In Her Brother’s Death

Posted on · After her brother died of a heroin overdose, Stephanie Wittels Wachs wrote her memoir, Everything Is Horrible and Wonderful, about -- and to -- her late brother, Harris, who was an accomplished comedy writer and producer.

Houston Matters

Full Show: Carranza Leaving HISD, And Primary Election Day (March 6, 2018)

Posted on · On Tuesday's Houston Matters: Superintendent Richard Carranza is leaving HISD. We recap what's at stake on Primary Election Day. We discuss school safety in Greater Houston. And Stephanie Wittels Wachs talks about her new memoir.

Houston Matters

Full Show: Opioid Crisis, Gardening Advice, And A Houston Ghost Town (Oct. 26 2017)

Posted on · On Thursday's Houston Matters: We learn what a new crisis declaration could mean for the fight against opioids in Houston. Horticulturist Linda Gay answers your gardening questions. And we learn about a ghost town of sorts in Greater Houston called Moonshine Hill.

Full Show

Improving Houston’s Suburbs, and Grieving Substance Abuse: Houston Matters Weekend (January 21, 2017)

Posted on · What makes a great suburb? A report from Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research examines ways Houston suburbs can improve. The study is based on five case studies of Houston suburbs, including Sugar Land and The Woodlands. On this edition of Houston Matters Weekend, Kyle Shelton, the man behind the research, joins us to […]

Houston Matters

Mother of Comedian Harris Wittels on Dealing With a Child’s Drug Overdose

Posted on · Harris Wittels‘Â success was fast, and it was early. He attended Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. And, At age 22, comedian Sarah Silverman discovered him at a stand-up club and had him write for her show on Comedy Central. His last project was writing for and co-producing the Netflix series Master […]

Full Show

Houston Matters Weekend: October 15, 2016

Posted on · Almost like a drumbeat, Houstonians know – and love to repeat – the notion that we are the "most diverse city in America." And Dr. Stephen Klineberg, co-founder of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, says that's correct. And that might be enough to give Houstonians with civic pride a case of […]

Houston Matters

What Are Synthetic Drugs and What’s Being Done to Prevent Their Use?

Posted on · Tomorrow (6/19/15), a district court hearing will address a temporary restraining order obtained late last week by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan, to stop four Houston-area stores from distributing products containing synthetic marijuana. The category of “synthetic drugs” can cover a wide range of chemical compounds that have varying […]

Houston Matters

Stage Production Aims to Help Those Struggling With Alcoholism

Posted on · There have been countless plays written about the descent of someone into alcohol or drugs. When Stanley yells "Stella" in A Streetcar Named Desire he’s drunk. The dialogue in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf wouldn't be as searing without the mask of liquor. But what about a play about getting sober? And what if it […]

Full Show

Offshore Technology Conference, Prescription Drug Abuse, and Sports Monday: Houston Matters for Monday, May 5, 2014

Posted on · More than 90,000 people from more than 120 countries are expected to attend the 45th Offshore Technology Conference this week. Oil and gas industry executives, scientists and engineers will have access to the latest technical information and equipment. It's also an opportunity for local students and professionals to network. On this edition of Houston Matters, […]