Unconventional Journalist

Former employees from the Houston Humane Society's wildlife program interviewed with me to talk about alleged animal neglect, alleged labor mistreatment, and why they are speaking up despite having cease and desist orders.

Anke - Wildlife Admissions Specialist
Ari - Wildlife Educator
Mary - Wildlife Director
Misty - Outdoor facility Rehabilitation Coordinator 

To support Reform For Animals follow them on

• Instagram: @ReformForAnimals
• Facebook: Reform For Animals
• 
  

Finally, join Reform for Animals on May 24th from approximately 11 am - 2 pm to protest alleged worker and animal mistreatment outside of Houston Humane Society on the public easement (sidewalks). Follow them for more info/safety information.

Comment from the Houston Humane Society

Meanwhile, the “false perception” allegation about the HHS wildlife program is simply not true. We appreciate the opportunity to clear that up. We wanted to share this from Houston Humane Society website, where we explain our current status:  https://www.houstonhumane.org/wildlife/about-us. In addition, when anyone calls the Houston Humane Society with injured wildlife, we immediately refer them to an appropriate rehabilitation center. We have taken all appropriate steps in this regard.

Let me also assure you of the following:
Houston Humane Society is as committed as ever to the health and wellbeing of our community’s wildlife and recognizes their importance to our ecosystem and quality of life. Earlier this year, our board of directors determined that our wildlife services needed a re-set of its strategic direction, and we empathize with those affected by this change, which included a staff reduction. Coinciding with the change, we have suspended rehabilitation services in the near term and are referring animals in need to other rehabilitation centers for care.

Our current wildlife team is working with leadership to determine the future direction of our wildlife program and services. The Houston Humane Society is committed to a future where we have a strong and vibrant wildlife program. We look forward to sharing our plans with the community once we have completed the planning process.

In regard to your other employment-related questions, please know that we respect the privacy of all current and former employees, and as a matter of policy, we do not comment on personnel decisions.

[Regarding the cease and desist orders] 

The Houston Humane Society has been a trusted member of the Greater Houston community for more than 60 years, supporting the humane treatment of animals through a wide range of services and programs. While we fully support someone’s right to express their opinion, we have a responsibility to protect our organization’s reputation from misinformation and false claims.

SpaceX is out here trying to control a beach in the Rio Grande Valley that residents and tribal members have had access to for generations.

Texas House Representative committee voted against House Bill 4660/SB2188 that would have unfairly granted SpaceX’s Starbase town primary control over Boca Chica Beach — organizers celebrated the win — but SpaceX lobbyists have brought the bill back for a vote.

The residents of the Rio Grande Valley, the Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (@estok_gna_somisek), and local organizations, including the South Texas Environmental Justice Network and Border Workers United (@sotxejn), are fighting to preserve access to Boca Chica Beach for future generations. Learn more and how to help at bit.ly/stopspacexhousebills

The systemic nature of affordable housing is such that developers get tax breaks and little to no accountability for when their tenants live in terrible housing conditions. Even submitting a complaint to hold landlords accountable for unlivable housing conditions is completely opaque and difficult to navigate.

The first part of this series kicked off with Faye, a tenant navigating housing after Hurricane Beryl her role in the tenant movement, ⁠listen here⁠.

Then Julia, southeast regional director at Texas Housers, educated us on what happens to renters after a climate disaster, ⁠listen here⁠.

To wrap it up, Sidney, a research analyst with Texas Housers, educates us on the systemic nature of affordable housing and how the accountability process is not accessible to tenants or the working class.

Out of the interview came these resources if you need them:

• The state housing agency's ⁠Vacancy Clearinghouse⁠ can be used to search for tax credit properties or identify if your property is a tax credit property
• The Harris County Appraisal District's parcel viewer can be used to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠find your property and the name of the owner⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (you can also see if your property has a tax exemption — the "Valuation" section will show $0)
• The ⁠complaint process⁠ for the state housing agency (TDHCA) for properties funded with tax credits (LIHTC)
• You can find additional information about ⁠upcoming state housing agency events ⁠and ⁠additional details on board meetings ⁠

To date, Houston is made up of 58% renters and Harris County is made up of 45% renters.

Julia Orduña, the southeast Texas regional director at Texas Housers, joins me to talk about current policy education and how we can organize for protections.

Key acronyms:

• HUD — Housing and Urban Development
• HHA — Houston Housing Authority
• LIHTC — Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
• TDHCA - Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

After you find out who your landlord is and which government agency gives funds to the landlords, you can submit a complaint. To submit a complaint about your apartment to TDHC, visit these links:

1. https://www.tdhca.texas.gov/tdhca-complaint-process 
2. https://public.tdhca.state.tx.us/pub/t_complaint.complaint_add1

Texas Housers is a statewide nonprofit that focuses on housing and neighborhood issues. These issues impact low-income homeowners and renters' ability to access a safe, decent, and dignified home in the neighborhood of their choosing. As regional director, Julia focuses on housing affordability, lack of access to safe and dignified housing, and climate impacts in Houston and the surrounding areas. Her work in the organization shines a light on current issues pertaining to disaster recovery and how to address the housing need in a more efficient and equitable manner.

Join the tenant movement with Houston Tenants Union.

Listen to Part I of this series where Faye, a former resident of Uvalde Ranch Apartments, speaks to her experience of navigating housing after a climate disaster: Climate Intersection: Navigating Housing After Hurricane Beryl

Faye, former resident of Uvalde Ranch Apartments, and organizer with Sunrise Movement Houston, joins me to discuss tenant rights and navigating housing after Hurricane Beryl. She has worked with three different Housing Authorities, and it has taken months to figure out how to hold the apartments accountable. Now, Faye is organizing to break the cycle of harm.

Listen to Part II of this conversation, specifically on policy education: What Happens to Renters After Climate Disaster?

Correction: The Rosenberg school is not named after a Black historical leader in Galveston! 100% my mistake. I got ahead of myself on that one and didn't fact-check.

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There's a movement to turn a closed down school, LA Morgan, into a Juneteenth museum and a community center in Galveston. Community members Pastor Tim, Coach Wells, and Shon give comments after Galveston City Council voted yes on a resolution to support the community.

The community is at the very beginning of the movement and needs all the support they can get as Galveston continues to gentrify.

The resolution from city council is not financially binding and is only a public show of support. The resolution itself lists options for Juneteenth museum, community center, or alternative plans. While there are talks about turning LA Morgan into workforce housing, the community itself seems to largely favor having a Juneteenth museum and community center instead to further the Black community, culture, and history on the island.

Henry & Rodrigo from La Raza Unida Party join me to discuss the movement to establish a party chapter in Houston. We also discuss the party's history and origin, and why it's important to have multiple local parties represented in our local politics.

Follow La Raza Unida Party — Houston on Instagram

Sign up for membership here to get information about upcoming meetings.

The West continues to attempt to erase the Karankawa's culture from history, but the original people of this land are still here.

Chiara is an Indigenous Resistance artist, educator, and language keeper for the Karankawa Hawk Clan. In this interview, we discuss how museums are part of the white institution and are extractive in their work, and why the tribe decided to allow the Heritage Society to do an exhibit about their people.

In an upcoming talk at the Heritage Society, she will be discussing her role as a language keeper and her and her people’s efforts to revitalize their language and their culture.

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Houston Chapter is hosting an organizing fair at Axelrad on Feb. 8, 2025. Who's doing what?!

Dan (@danderozier) and Jose (@boriken89) join me to talk about this fair, and also local political organizing in general.

Here's who will be there!

Al Awda Houston

CLASS Bookstore

Community Voices for Public Education

Food Not Bombs

Healthcare Workers for Palestine

Houston Jews for Palestine

Jewish Voice for Peace

Kitchen Table Puppets + Press

Palestine Solidarity Working Group

Palestinian Youth Movement

Party for Socialism and Liberation

Rice YDSA

Space City Anarchist Organization

Starbucks Workers United

Stop I-45

Sunrise Movement

UH YDSA

West Street Recovery

Woori Juntos

Zine Fest Houston

Behind the threats to freedom of speech is a whole lot of bigotry to oppress and divide us, while also ramping up surveillaince.

Lucas Logan, Associate Prof at UHD in Communication, PhD in Telecom & Media Studies from A&M, joins me to talk about the intersections of the Pornhub ban in Texas that's currently in the courts, TikTok, and overall data rights.

Related interviews:

History of Project 2025

Learning About Data Infrastructure w/ Katya