Coronavirus
Mayor Sylvester Turner visited two school campuses Saturday afternoon to help educators and health leaders welcome families to Super Saturday Vaccination Day. The initiative is a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Education, the Houston Health Department, Harris County Public Health, and Houston-area school districts to vaccinate teachers, support staff, parents, and children ages 12 and above before school begins. The mayor toured Deady Middle School and Kashmere High School, where dozens of family members lined up for the COVID-19 vaccine. “Super Saturday Vaccination Day is about our kids, our community, and keeping people safe,” said Mayor Turner. “At the same time, we want to encourage people to wear masks indoors. It is important because hospitals are running out of space and there is a shortage of nurses as the Delta variant spreads and impacts young people and people of color.” Currently, 54.3 percent of Houstonians age 12 and above have been fully vaccinated. According to the Houston Health Department, 25 percent of African Americans and 33 percent of Hispanics are vaccinated. “The vaccine is safe,” said Houston Health Director Stephen Williams.” It is time for all of us to take responsibility. Getting the shot and wearing a mask while you are indoors is not a lot to ask to save lives.” “Super Saturday Vaccination Days” will take place every Saturday in August at different school campuses throughout the Houston region. Click here for a full list of the participating schools and more information.
Singer Trey Songz is in trouble with the law, facing numerous charges after allegedly assaulting a police officer during a football game. According to reports, Songz was at the Kansas City Chiefs game when he got into an argument with other game fans, who were allegedly complaining that the singer and his friends/ entourage were not wearing masks. Video obtained by TMZ shows security coming to the stands several times to talk to the parties. At one point, a Kansas City police officer showed up. That’s when things got real. A verbal exchange between Songz and the officer turned physical, with video showing Songz holding the officer in a headlock for a period of time. Songz claims the officer swung first, but the officer claims Songz threw the first punch. Songz was taken into custody and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest, but is maintaining his innocence, saying he was only reacting in self-defense. Check out the video below and tell us what you think.
Leading by example to encourage Houstonians to protect their health during the global pandemic, Mayor Sylvester Turner rolled up his sleeve to get a Moderna COVID-19 vaccination Monday afternoon. The mayor was joined by a diverse group of community members, health care personnel, and essential frontline workers. The doses were given by trained Houston Health Department staff to the mayor and others who are at least 65 and older, or age 18 and older with at least one chronic medical condition putting them at increased risk of severe illness and death. “I want everyone to know, especially people of color in this diverse community, that this is not the Tuskegee Project,” said Mayor Turner. “This is not the time for people of color to stay away from the vaccine.” Police Chief Art Acevedo, Fire Chief Sam Pena, Council Members Amy Peck, Michael Kubosh, Letitia Plummer, David Robinson and Judge R.K. Sandhill, Mary Ramos, William A. Lawson, Susannah Wong, Zhengyi Wu, and several frontline city workers also received the vaccine. Ramos said she wanted to publicly get the vaccine to send a message to the Hispanic community. “I am asking all my people to take the vaccine. I just took it, and it does not hurt,” said Ramos. “You have a better chance of surviving this pandemic if you take the vaccine. If you care about your family, do it,” Darryl Flood, a Houston Public Works maintenance employee, also got the vaccine Monday. “I feel good, and I encourage everyone eligible to get vaccinated.” Also on Monday, the Houston Health Department launched an online registration portal allowing Houstonians at the highest risk of coronavirus disease to schedule appointments to receive free COVID-19 vaccinations. While appointments are full for the rest of the month, Mayor Turner said he soon plans to announce a vaccination mega-site. A larger site would allow the health department to increase the number of daily vaccinations. “We know there are people reluctant to get the vaccine in certain communities,” said Mayor Turner. “But there is a lot of demand. Our goal is to open more sites as we get increased vaccine supply.”
Singer Trey Songz has joined the many Americans who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The R&B singer posted a video, confirming his diagnosis to his 12.2 million followers on Instagram. View this post on Instagram Down but not out! Stay safe y’all! Wear your mask. Wash your hands. 🙏🏾 A post shared by treysongz (@treysongz) on Oct 5, 2020 at 5:04pm PDT “Here with a very important message to let you know that I tested positive for COVID-19,” he said in the video. “I’ve taken many tests as I’ve been out protesting, food drives, of course I have a very young son at home, so I get tested periodically and this time unfortunately it came back positive.” The “Mr. Steal Your Girl” singer says he is taking everything very seriously and will be self-quarantining. “I will be taking it seriously, I will be self-quarantining,” Songz said. “I will be in my house until I see a negative sign.” Songz is among the many celebrities who have contracted the virus, including actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, Dewayne “The Rock Johnson” and most recently, President Donald Trump and his wife Melania.
HOUSTON – He’s a chart-topping rapper, an author providing sound financial advice and is even in the construction industry — now, the “BOSS” Slim Thug is taking a near-tragedy and turning it into a lucrative business. Slim, whose “government name” is Stayve Jerome Thomas, has launched a Personal Protection Equipment line after surviving a bout with COVID-19. The mogul has teamed up with Jimmy Choung, owner of Uptown Beauty, and Adam Beason, CEO of Rubix Entertainment Group, to launch “SlimHTX.” “I’m excited to launch my PPE Products as this is a time where safety should be our priority, but we can also make it look like a boss”, the entrepreneur said. “We need to make wearing masks cool. The most important thing right now is staying safe. This virus is serious and people need to be cautious.” The FDA-approved products will include stylish masks, disposable masks, face shields, hand sanitizer, and personalized N95 masks. Prices range from $2.99 to $6.99 per mask, face shields, on average, are $3.99 each, and a bottle of hand sanitizer is $6.99. With over 21 years in the music industry, the Houston native has never been shy about building his many brands. In addition to BossLife, he has BossLife clothing, BossLife Beer, BossLife Construction, BossLife Worldwide, and the BossLife Foundation where they do philanthropy yearly. In March, the 39-year-old tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, he’s been on a mission to educate and protect the community. Slim has donated 1,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to the Houston Police Department and Metro bus drivers, and is also participating in Mayor Sylvester Turner’s “Mask Up” campaign. For more information, visit www.slimhtx.org.
HOUSTON — Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Monday that he has directed the Houston Police Department to issue warnings and citations to anyone not wearing a face mask or face covering required by the state’s mandatory mask order. Police will not ticket those who are not wearing a mask if they meet the exemption criteria. The citation carries a $250 fine. “We know that wearing a mask or face-covering in public is one of the most effective methods to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Mayor Turner said. “Lives are at stake, so I am taking this step to save lives and slow the virus from spreading in August.” Houston police will not respond to 9-1-1 calls about people not wearing masks. The mayor’s announcement happened on the same day the Houston Health Department reported 1,104 new cases of COVID-19, bringing Houston’s total to 50,896. There are six newly-reported deaths, bringing the city’s total to 478. “For months, we have focused on education and not citations. But now, I am instructing the Houston Police Department to issue necessary warnings and citations to anyone not wearing a mask in public if they do not meet the criteria for an exemption,” Mayor Turner said.
HOUSTON — Social distancing at a strip club? Yes, you are reading the sentence correctly. The owner of Club Onyx located off Houston’s popular Richmond strip says that his club is more than a place for patrons to look at girls wag their tails, it is a place where diners can also grab a savory meal because, according to Houston Health Department records, it is a full-service restaurant – therefore LEGALLY able to keep its doors open during the pandemic. (Obviously pay no attention to the “sexually oriented business” label attached to its liquor license.) Eric Langan, the club’s owner, opened doors at midnight Friday, complete with social distancing measures in place, as directed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, allowing qualifying businesses to reopen at 25 percent capacity, including restaurants, retailers and shopping malls. A post on the club’s Facebook page read, “Seating will be limited as we will be following state guidelines and health recommendations of social distancing. We will have sanitary stations set up with hand sanitizer and all staff will be practicing the strictest sanitary guidelines. Please make reservations online ASAP and no parties over 6 people can be booked.” Police raided the club within an hour after opening, and Langan, not going down without a fight, filed a federal lawsuit May 2 claiming his civil rights were being violated. On the club’s website, which touts it as the nation’s #1 hip hop strip club, they mention their “full menu with our signature Onyx wings!” (The food does get rave reviews, we have to say.) Food = restaurant = a right to fight, apparently in Langan’s eyes. Judge Vanessa Gilmore agreed, for the moment, and granted a temporary restraining order allowing the club to remain open and blocking cops from making any arrests. So round one for Club Onyx! But are we REALLY doing all this during a global pandemic? #TakeTheWheel Here’s a little fact about what Onyx used to be — it is the site of the original world famous Rick’s Cabaret, which was also owned by Langan. Rick’s had a predominantly white clientele (and white dancers) two decades ago, before the Richmond strip became too “urban” and Langan decided to change the “lineup” and moved Rick’s to another location closer to Houston’s international airport, including opening others in Minnesota, New Orleans, New York City and more. And as for the “original” Bering Drive business, well, it is the “full-service restaurant” complete with African American G-string clad women you see today.
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