On Thursday's show: Budget season continues here in Houston. The City Council is contemplating spending $7 billion next fiscal year -- $3 billion of it from coming from the city’s general fund. Council has about a month left to approve a budget, but a key part of it was just locked in, as council members approved a new contract agreement with the union representing Houston police officers. News 88.7’s Dominic Anthony Walsh joins us with details.

Also this hour: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo joins us to discuss how the county is handling its own budget concerns and other developments affecting the county.

Then, in this month's installment of The Bigger Picture, we talk about our collective obsession with death and the macabre with the release of Final Destination: Bloodlines, the latest in that series of horror movies.

And Lyle Lovett is performing a free concert in Tomball later this month. We revisit our 2023 conversation with the Houston native, who follows that performance with a long summer tour across the country.