On Friday's Houston Matters: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is raising the county’s COVID threat level from yellow to orange in response to the recent rise of the Delta variant, driving up the positivity rate and increasing hospitalizations. Among the hospitals seeing more COVID patients is Memorial Hermann. We get a first-hand account from the hospital system's chief physician, Dr. James McCarthy.

Also this hour: We clear up some misconceptions about the life and legacy of pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte, who worked along the Gulf Coast in the early 1800s, by talking with Ashley Oliphant, co-author of Jean Laffite Revealed: Unraveling One of America’s Longest-Running Mysteries.

Then, from a chemical spill at Splashtown, to a suggestively-shaped rocket ship, we break down The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week's news.

And we visit Armand Bayou Nature Center in the Clear Lake area.