🌱 The Act on Safety for Women and Children + Rodeo food must

Wake up, Space City! It’s me, Chris, your humble servant to the Houston Daily – getting right back to you with the plug on what’s going on. Including news about:

• A fraudulent construction company that has made millions in business with the city.
• A potential ban on abortion-related information.
• What to eat at the Houston Rodeo.

But first, today’s weather:

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Patchy morning fog. High: 85 Low: 69.

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Here are the top stories in Houston today:

1. Sugar Land business owner Sudhakar Kalaga, 56, of KIT Professionals pleaded guilty to defrauding a private company yesterday. Kalaga got away with submitting fake bids under fake company names to make his own company’s bids more attractive. Kalaga immediately resigned as president of the company when he was charged with the crime. However, KIT Professionals have also won over $55 million in Houston government contracts since 2008. In addition, Kalaga has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Houston officials since 2007. City Attorney Arturo Michel said the city of Houston is working to identify its KIT contracts for to remove them from work in progress. Kalaga now owes $250,000 in fines and will face a maximum sentence of up to 5 years in prison. (Houston Chronicle)
2. Representative Steve Toth of Conroe filed a bill called the “Women and Child Safety Act” that seeks to have internet service providers (ISPs) ban all abortion-related information across Texas. Without words, the bill reads that Internet service providers must “make every reasonable and technologically feasible effort to block Internet access to information or material intended to aid or facilitate efforts to obtain an elective abortion or an abortion-inducing drug.” Furthermore, the bill will open the way for lawsuits to be brought against those who maintain websites that provide this information. Seth Chandler, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center, believes that the bill will face strong backlash. However, he also claims that the bill takes “maximum advantage of recent Supreme Court decisions” and will require opponents to be well-versed in legal issues to stop it. (KPRC Click2Houston)
3. Don’t know what to eat at the Houston Rodeo? Take a look at the 2023 Gold Buckle Foodie Award winners to make your decision as easy as pie. The Rodeo has named Gold Buckle winners for the past 15 years to honor current food vendors and highlight the best dishes available that year. That said, the award comes with six categories, so we hope you come hungry. In 1st place for fried food was The Original Mineapple Pie’s Deep Fried Cookie Dough, 1st place for food on a stick was Pickle Pizza on a Stick from Swain’s Pizza on a Stick, and 1st place for classic fair food was OG Trill Burger from Trill Burgers. Additionally, Deep Fried BLT from Texas Sized Pizza/Burger & Chili Shack won Most Creative Food, Brad’s BBQ Sundae from Saltgrass Steakhouse won Best New Flavor, and Deep Fried Bread Pudding from Cajun Cowboy won Best Dessert. Good luck eating it all at once! (KHOU.com)
4. Business owners in the Heights off 11th street complain that new pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly road facilities are losing customers. Dany Ou of Bakery Donut Fresh Bake Daily says she’s noticed fewer customers since about a month ago. She has been selling donuts and kolaches from the bakery for 26 years, but the new construction makes it difficult to drive to her shop. Ou says: “I lose everyday because of the left lane for the customer who doesn’t know us. At least 20-25% every day.” The left lane she is referring to is the inability of drivers heading east down 11th to turn left into her parking lot. This new development is a direct result of a median constructed at the intersection. However, representatives of the Houston Transportation Planner claim that the intersection was a hotspot for crashes. They also say the city is monitoring traffic data and changes in sales tax revenue to determine if anything else needs to be done. (KPRC Click2Houston)
5. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are absolutely everywhere at the Houston Rodeo this year, but Rodeo organizers say the Flamin’ Hot craze has been a growing trend for a while. Dominic Palmieri of Ray Cammack Shows (RCS), the company RodeoHouston has contracted to produce the carnival, said the snack was such a popular addition to rodeo foods in past years that he bought every bag he could find in grocery stores. Today, his company receives industrial-sized bags from Frito-Lay to ensure they have enough Cheetos to glaze every food item they can think of. Some of the Hot Cheetos items present this year include a Hot Cheetos float, Hot Cheeto Cheese Pickles, Big Daddy Cheeto Cheese Corn Dog and the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto Corn on the Cob that started the whole trend. Just remember that they are dangerously cheesy. (Chronic)

Headlines you need to see:

• Texas leads nation for best gas prices after oil spike in 2022 (Chron)
• Ron DeSantis proclaims Texas, Florida partners against ‘woke’ left in Houston speech (Victoria Advocate)
• Man calls his mother instead of 911 for help after being shot twice on Watonga Boulevard in northwest Houston (KTRK-TV)
• One of two executions scheduled in Texas this week involves man convicted of four Harris County murders (Houston Public Media)
• ‘American Idol’ judge Lionel Richie stops in Houston with Earth, Wind and Fire at Toyota Center (KTRK-TV)

Today in Houston:

• Dungeons & Dragons with Circle of Barhaven at Rudyards (6:30 p.m.)
• Movie: Steven Spielberg’s “The Last Days” at the Holocaust Museum of Houston (6:30 p.m.)
• Houston Rockets vs. Brooklyn Nets at Toyota Center (7 p.m.)
• Concert: Silversun Pickups at House of Blues (8 p.m.)
• Concert: New Kids on the Block at the Houston Rodeo (9 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Houston is inheriting a brand new public library with a larger-than-life mascot. Rexy, a 22-foot-tall, 42-foot-long T-Rex model will welcome guests to the new knowledge center. (KHOU 11 News via Facebook)
• Chris Rock performed his first stand-up special since last year’s electrifying Oscars. Rock commented on newly awakened culture, how easily people take offense these days, and how he took Will Smith’s punch as Manny Pacquiao. (KHOU 11 News via Facebook)
• A woman volunteering at a reptile farm in New Braunfels stole an alligator egg and raised the hatchling until it was almost as big as her. Texas Parks & Wildlife picked up the street from her yard earlier this week, gave her a citation and reminded everyone that “Alligators do not make good pets.” (KHOU 11 News via Facebook)

Featured Kitty:

Dot is a 2 year old domestic shorthair available for adoption at the SPCA.

I can’t imagine how she got that name.

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Now you’re in the loop and ready to head out the door this Tuesday. Take it tomorrow.