🔎 The investigation dogging Lina Hidalgo: Harris County’s county judge is one of the shiniest Democratic politicians in Texas, but her reputation seems likely to come under fire. In November, Harris County’s district attorney issued subpoenas related to Hidalgo’s role in awarding an $11 million contract to a company that Republicans allege would have helped her political future. (Texas Monthly)

💰 The Lakewood plumber gets $20K: Last month, when Justin Cauley removed tile to fix a loose toilet at Lakewood Church, envelopes full of cash and checks fell out – apparently related to a 2014 incident when $600,000 in cash, checks and credit-card donations was stolen from the megachurch’s safe. The honest plumber reported it to his supervisor. At first, Crime Stoppers of Houston said that the $25K reward it had offered was no longer available, but now it’s figured out a way to give Cauley $20K. (Houston Chronicle) 

💩 Omicron in the poop: The omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus was found in wastewater samples from eight of Houston’s 39 treatment plants on Nov. 29 and 30 – indicating that the variant is more widely spread here than previously realized. (Houston Health Department)

As the Taliban moved in last summer, Tahmina Ghoori and her family fled Afghanistan and picked Houston, “a city of possibilities,” as their new home. In today’s episode, she and Jida Nabulsi, CEO of Amaanah Refugee Services, help us understand what it’s like for the hundreds of Afghan families resettling here.

Once you learn to recognize Chinese tallow trees (Triadica sebifera), they piss you off. Hideously invasive in east Texas, they’ve swallowed large tracts of neglected land between Houston and Galveston, creating one-species forests that don’t support birds, butterflies or other wildlife. 

This time of year, their leaves turn red and gold. They’re gorgeous. Don’t trust them.

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Sorry: I don’t have rhymes for “talent acquisition manager,” “growth marketing manager” or “newsletter editor-in-chief” — or, for that matter, for any of the jobs in the cities where we’ll launch next. But please, if you know anyone who’d be good, check us out.