Good morning, Houston. Let's take a trip to the United Kingdom for a bit to learn how they celebrate Orangemen's Day. July 12 means "Orange marches" in this area to commemorate Prince William of Orange's victory over King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 (remember your world history?). This day has sometimes been the cause of sectarian clashes between Protestants and Catholics, although most of the parades are very peaceful, including the most notable one in Liverpool. We hope you manage to avoid sectarian violence and have a happy Thursday.
>>Always look on the bright side: Activists in Sunnyside, a southeast Houston neighborhood, have been lobbying hard for more streetlights. More light is one of the easiest and most effective crime-fighting tools. When it gets dark, it gets dangerous, so Sunnyside residents have been asking City Hall for more streetlights for years. Those activists are about to get their wish. CenterPoint began installing 150 new streetlights in the neighborhood yesterday. The city's standard is one streetlight every 200 feet, and Sunnyside is being brought up to this standard. CenterPoint is paying for the light poles, and the city will fork over another $20,000 a year to pay for the electricity.
>>Three firefighters injured: More news from southeast Houston: three firefighters were battling a house fire at 5107 Lyndhurst early this morning when the fire flared up and they ended up with first- and second-degree burns. The three who were injured were among the first to arrive and were inside the house when this happened. Assistant District Chief Tommy Dowdy said that "at a certain point the fire will get hot enough that everything in the house will just light off," and this is what they believe happened. The three suffered burns and blisters and were taken to Memorial Hermann in the Med Center. Dowdy said they would all be all rights.
>> Today's weather: More of the same: mostly sunny with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. The chance of precipitation is only about 20%, and even though it's hot, it still doesn't quite feel like mid-July. All this sun is starting to make us miss the rain.. not.
Extra, extra, get your headlines here...
- Former First Lady "Lady Bird" Johnson passed away yesterday at the age of 94.
- Deputies are still searching for a suspect in an Aldine Westfield murder.
- HPD recovered the body of a man who drowned when he jumped into Buffalo Bayou to end a police chase.
- A father has been accused of killing his infant son with cocaine after the child died at Ben Taub in December.
- An apparently noisy toddler and mother were kicked off a plane in Houston after complaints from another passenger.
- Dallas is in the running to host a Republican presidential debate in the fall.
- A home in northeast Harris County was burglarized Monday, with thieves making off with $500,000 worth of jewelry and cash.
- Harris County may be sending 400 inmates to a private facility in northeast Louisiana to deal with a surge in prisoners.
- The GHCVB is trying to market Houston by using famous Houstonians like Chloe Dao and Craig Biggio to help them out.
- KPRC interviews the makers of the now infamous "Ecstasy Drug" video.
- Ashley Benton's attorney has rejected a plea deal from prosecutors.
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