Here are things to know for Tuesday, Jan. 11:
1. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raises COVID-19 threat level to red
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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced on Monday that she raised the county’s COVID-19 threat level to red, the highest level.
The county judge cited a rising number hospitalizations, with the 14-day average for positive ICU cases reached 18.1% and the positivity rate is at 35%.
Level 1 indicates a severe and uncontrolled threat to COVID-19 and urges residents to stay home except for essential needs such as going to the grocery store to buy food or medicine, according to Harris County Public Health.
2. Man remembered as leader in deaf community killed while on daily walk in Fallbrook neighborhood
Houston’s deaf community is mourning the loss of one of its biggest and most influential advocates.
Robert Yost, 75, died on Jan. 5 while out on his daily walk in his Fallbrook subdivision.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating reports that he may have been the victim of a hit-and-run crash.
“I was told he was struck by a gray truck. There’s a video of the gray truck, but there is no video of the actual contact. But right afterward, neighbors came out and said they heard the truck speeding away,” said Roberts so, Chris.
3. Conroe church searching for answers after nearly 2 dozen bullet holes discovered in church
Conroe Police Department is investigating after several bullet holes were found on the backside of the Hopewell Community Chuch this past weekend.
According to investigators, police responded to reports of a shooting after a church representative found bullet holes on the backside of the church building.
Conroe police said they believe the church wasn’t the initial target, but believe the shots came from a neighboring property on Jan. 7 and 8.
4. Jazmine Barnes’ shooting death among high-profile Harris County trials expected in 2022
Some of the Houston-area’s most notorious crimes will be the focus of major trials this year – including the senseless shooting death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes and the horrific drowning deaths of siblings Oralyn and Kayana Thomas, whose bodies were found in a crawlspace underneath their neighbor’s home.
Jury selection in these and other high-profile criminal cases is slated to begin this year. Bear in mind, the trial dates and court appearances listed below are subject to change. Harris County’s justice system is grappling with tens of thousands of backlogged criminal court cases, including 24,189 felony cases and 19,103 misdemeanor cases which have accumulated since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Note that the figures don’t include the cases pending before Jan 2020. Prior to the pandemic, in the summer of 2017, Hurricane Harvey wrought severe damage on the Harris County Criminal Justice Center and the county’s jury assembly building, halting court proceedings and jury trials for months.
5. Rice and 15 other universities accused of conspiring to limit financial aid
A federal lawsuit filed in Illinois over the weekend accuses 16 private universities — including Rice University in Houston — of using a shared formula to calculate the financial needs of student applicants in a way that unfairly limits aid to students who need it.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs are five former students from some of those schools who say the universities are violating antitrust laws, which prohibit competitors from conspiring to set prices.
A Rice University spokesperson declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.
The suit claims that by limiting financial aid, this group of schools engaged in price-fixing, reducing competition and inflating the cost of attendance for those who receive financial aid. The plaintiffs calculated that the scheme affects more than 170,000 financial aid recipients at a cost running into the hundreds of millions of dollars.