Morning Roundup: The thrill of victory edition

Good morning, Houston. 'Stros win! 'Stros win! Whooooooo!

Ahem. Yes, well, as you probably know by now, the Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-2 last night to end their 10-game losing streak. The game marked the highest run total for the 'Stros in three weeks, and the team's 16 hits matched their season high — not bad. "It was a fun night for everybody," Woody Williams told the AP. "I know it's one win, it's not 15 in a row. But it sure seems like that."

>> Good news at the beach: We talked yesterday about how recent rains have washed fecal bacteria into the Gulf of Mexico, contaminating the water near some Galveston beaches. The good news today: The bacteria levels have returned to normal, meaning you can once again enjoy the crystal-clear blue water and pristine white sand of Galveston without concern. The high bacteria counts were only a concern Wednesday, but they weren't enough to lead officials to close the beaches — and even though the counts are back to normal, that doesn't mean the water is totally bacteria-free. "You have living organisms in the water, so there is always going to be some level of bacteria," Galveston County Health Department spokesman Brian Rutherford said.

>> A fleet of jalopies?: Here's another one of those things we never really think about: the ins and outs of replacing police cars. But HPD is giving it some serious thought — especially considering that 51 percent of the department's 1,573 marked cruisers are past the four year or 100,000 mile replacement target. That means crews at HPD repair shops are working overtime to keep the cars on the road, and a lack of money for new cars means the department can't replace all the vehicles it needs to. On average, 262 marked cars are taken out of service each year; this year's budget only allows for the purchase of 190 replacements. "If we continue at our replacing rate probably getting only half of the cars we ask for each year by the year 2012 we're only going to have a little over 1,000 vehicles to be eligible to put on the street," HPD Chief Harold Hurtt said. So Hurtt on Thursday asked City Council for more money to replace worn cruisers, calling the funding necessary for public safety. "We're talking about officers’ safety and also safety of the general public," he said.

>> John McGovern dead at 85: Dr. John P. "Jack" McGovern, considered one of the most important people at the Texas Medical Center, died Thursday of pneumonia. McGovern, who made a name for the treatment of allergies and asthma, later became a philanthropist whose generosity led to many projects in Houston — among them the McGovern Hall of the Americas at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the John P. McGovern Children's Zoo, the John P. McGovern Building of the Museum of Health and Medical Science and many endowed professorships, awards and honorary degrees at universities nationwide. "He was always very humble, quiet," Medical Center President Richard Wainerdi said. "Yet, on the other hand, he was full of wit and wisdom. He was probably one of the most loved and kindest people." McGovern once said that he learned how to give by watching his grandmother feed the hungry from her Washington, D.C., home during the Depression. "I learned from watching my grandmother that giving and receiving is the same thing," he said. "I could see in her eyes that it made her feel good. ... I think everybody's got an empty spot inside, and I call it the God-sized hole that we have to fill. And you can't do that with Caesar's world stuff — money, property, prestige. That doesn't fill that hole. Love does."

>> This weekend's weather: Looks like Saturday will be the best chance for nice weather over the weekend — today and Sunday we'll have a 20 percent chance of rain (although you never know how that'll turn out: There was a similar rain chance yesterday, and it ended up being a beautiful day). Expect highs in the upper 80s, lows around 70 and a south breeze.

Speaking of breezy, how about these headlines?