On Thursday's show: A group of Harris County Democratic Party officials are criticizing Houston Mayor John Whitmire over his participation in a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican. In a recent City Council meeting, the mayor also inflated the number of accused murderers on Houston streets as lawmakers consider bond reform. And Houston Public Works expects to raise water bills to fund a $4.2 billion overhaul of the East Water Purification Plant. Reporter Dominic Anthony Walsh updates us on those developments in city government.

Also this hour: Independent bookstores across the city are taking part in the second annual Houston Bookstore Crawl. (It’s like a pub crawl, but with far better results for your brain cells!) We learn why indie bookstores are thriving right now.

Then, this month’s edition of The Bigger Picture draws from the new film Sinners to explore the history of blues and dance halls in Houston.

And James Baker turns 95 on Monday. We revisit a 2015 conversation about the Houston native's career in politics.