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CenterpointDid a relationship that began a decade ago between a chief executive of a Fortune 500 company and a recent college graduate lead to a controversial $818 million deal that Houston-area residents could be paying off for years? That’s a question elected officials and energy regulators may grapple with as new revelations arise about the contract that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick recently described as “potential fraud.”The deal under scrutiny was struck in 2021 between CenterPoint, the electric utility to which state officials granted a monopoly to serve Greater Houston, and Life Cycle Power, a small start-up based in the northwest Houston suburb of Jersey Village. CenterPoint told regulators it needed to lease twenty tractor-trailer–mounted mobile power generators from Life Cycle to help keep the lights…

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Inside the Harris County Democratic Party Civil WarHe anxiously picked at a bowl of chips and salsa while watching two friends lose their elections. Art Pronin, a longtime activist and president of the Meyerland Area Democrats Club in southwest Houston, who sports well-kempt sideburns and a faintly nervous smile, had only reluctantly attended a watch party for the 2024 Texas primary. He had developed what he calls a “phobia” of such events in 2016, when he stayed up late with a group of activists only to be poleaxed by Hillary Clinton’s surprise loss to Donald Trump. This March, he had braved the trip to a Day of the Dead-themed bar in Houston at the invitation of Friend One, Todd Litton, an attorney seeking the Democratic nomination for a seat in the state…

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Beyonce Simone Biles Olympics tributeIf you’ve been lucky enough to catch the Paris Olympics live streams, you’ve had a fun week. The women’s gymnastics all-around competition kicked off around lunchtime on Thursday, and as expected, Spring’s own Simone Biles walked away with the gold. In doing so, she became the most decorated American gymnast in Olympics history and the first two-time all-around winner since 1968. (Biles won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, though she bowed out of the competition in Tokyo in 2021.) It was a can’t-miss event, as evidenced by the number of celebrities in attendance at Paris’s Bercy Arena that day. NBC couldn’t keep the cameras off them, constantly panning to reactions from the likes of Steph Curry and Seth Rogen.  As I watched, I wondered, as I…

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Pecos cantaloupes Mandujano BrothersAs far back as I can remember, Pecos cantaloupe was a family affair.Growing up, my siblings and I spent part of the summer with our grandparents in El Paso. The halcyon desert days would end when we piled in the car for the ten-hour drive home to Fort Worth. As we made our way eastward, we’d detour off the interstate in Pecos, my grandfather’s hometown. After driving around streets as bare as the surrounding Permian Basin, we’d manage to find a grower selling cantaloupe out of the bed of his truck. For a few minutes, my grandfather would get out of the car, talk to the grower, and deposit a box of the region’s fruit in the trunk. When we got home, my siblings and…

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Get in-depth coverage of news, reviews and conversations about Texas barbecue. It's basically Christmas every day for barbecue-lovers.

'Amor Eterno': History of a Mournful Mariachi BalladUnder a soaring canopy of old pecan trees, Anthony Medrano gave the signal, igniting the mariachi ensemble to perform a searing rendition of a song that many recognize by its first few notes.Violins led the way, though their warm tones were quickly echoed by the brassy hum from a set of trumpets, the steady plunk of guitarróns, and crisp guitar strums. It was June 2022, and an audience of mourners had gathered in Uvalde’s town square. Medrano, a longtime violinist, had traveled there from San Antonio with nearly fifty fellow mariachis who had answered the call to console the shattered community with music after the shooting at Robb Elementary that ended the lives of nineteen students and two teachers. “Amor Eterno,” a heartbreaking ballad and perhaps the most famous song by Mexican icon…

The post How a Mariachi Ballad Became a Soothing Touchstone for Texans Grieving After Gun Violence appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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Ten Folksy Ways to Say it's Hotter Than Hell in TexasIn Talking Texan, we explore the diverse dialects, interesting idioms, and unique linguistics of the Lone Star State. One aspect of life in the Lone Star State that Texans tend to talk about a lot—’til our tongues are plumb tuckered, you might even say—is the weather. If matters of a meteorological nature were removed as a possible topic of conversation here, the silence would likely be deafening. Small-town hardware stores would suddenly run eerily silent. Hayseeds and old-timers hanging around the feed and seed would be left just standing there scratching their chins, slack-jawed. Crickets! Because whether it happens to be excessively wet, excessively dry, excessively cold, or just really, really hot, Texans will, as sure as sunup, have something to say about it.   Read…

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TM BBQ Club “Pit Perks” are exclusive perks and discounts that Texas Monthly’s network of barbecue joints generously offer to members like you each month. Proof of membership is required to redeem. AUGUST PERKS BrisketU | Get $15 off any BrisketU Class with code TXMNEWS24scTW Juan and Allie’s BBQ | 20% discount on order*; Address: 114 Texas Spur 511 Sunset Texas 76270 Eaker Barbecue | 10% off all merch and free sticker* Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que & Home Cooking | See Calendar for specials! We are celebrating 48 years of business this August. The week of August 26th we will feature discounted specials as a small “thank you” for the continued support from our loyal customers. In addition to the daily specials, we will offer a chance to win Smokey John’s for…

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Get in-depth coverage of news, reviews and conversations about Texas barbecue. It's basically Christmas every day for barbecue-lovers.

Thomas Walkup Paris OlympicsWhen Thomas Walkup’s European teammates find out he’s from Texas, they have one of two reactions. If they speak English well, they barrage him with questions: Did you grow up on a farm? Did you ride a horse to school? Do people really wear cowboy boots?If they don’t speak much English, they simply shape their hands into finger guns and fire. “I disappoint them when I tell them it’s actually pretty normal in Texas,” Walkup said. “Everyone is really nice. People are super welcoming. It’s not the Wild West anymore.”Walkup understands what it’s like to have a skewed perception of other places. Before he began his basketball career in Europe, he’d left the United States only once—to visit an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic.…

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Golden Hour BarbecueA year ago, Flor and Fletcher Sheridan looked down at a historic building for sale in downtown Alliance, Nebraska, from atop the Ferris wheel set up for the community’s annual Heritage Days. The small town in the picturesque Sand Hill region of western Nebraska is Flor’s hometown. The couple lived in Houston at the time, and hadn’t seriously considered leaving until they saw how little it would cost to buy their own barbecue joint in Alliance. The deal on the 110-year-old building was too good to pass up, so they sold their house in Houston, became Nebraskans again last September, and opened the doors to Golden Hour Barbecue in March.Coincidentally, I visited Alliance during this year’s Heritage Days, but I was there for barbecue rather…

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Team USA Skeet ShootingVincent Hancock was twelve years old when he first stepped foot on an Olympic shooting range. He’d grown up watching his brother and dad compete locally and started hitting targets himself when he was ten. Still, the Georgia native didn’t know skeet shooting was an Olympic sport until someone invited them to the range where the shooting competition was held at the 1996 Atlanta Games and said the Olympics happened there five years before.Hancock wasn’t even old enough to participate in 4-H competitions, but he could practice in the place built specifically for the Olympics. He pointed a shotgun toward the sky in front of him, pulled the trigger, and hit a flying piece of clay. The next day, he returned to shoot again, but…

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