Morning Roundup: Take the Money and Run Edition

Houstonist defends our fair city to naysayers all the time. They say, "Houston sucks. I was stuck at the airport and then at my relatives' place in Pearland." "That's Pearland, jackass. Not Houston," we reply. "You should hang out with us instead. We'll show you our Houston." The Greater Houston Convention & Visitor's Bureau has formalized this approach in the form of the "My Houston" publicity campaign that will involve local celebrities (HELLO! Where's our invite?) telling the world about how great their Houston is. Season Two Project Runway winner Chloe Dao is onboard. That's fierce. Thanks, Miya Shay, for feeding this story to our RSS reader. You show us your Houston. We'll show you ours.

>> HPD Officers Accused of Bogus Katrina Program: Two Houston Police officers have been indicted for stealing $166,000 in funds earmarked for hurricane victims from the Urban League of Houston. Veteran officer Tracie Bell and rookie officer Kirshonda Richardson face second degree felony charges for theft. The short story is that the pair were supposed to have held a two week basketball camp for evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The reality is that the camp lasted two days and had 10 attendees instead of the planned duration with over 300 attendees according to the story on Chron.com. The pair face up to 20 years in the clink if convicted. Looks like HPD may need to step up their recruiting drive.

>> 50 federal inmates injured in downtown Houston riot: Speaking of the slammer...federal prisoners rioted yesterday on the sixth floor of the Federal Detention Center according to ABC13. Guards used a flash bang device, you've seen them in the movies, to break up for the ruckus that involved up to 80 inmates. An estimate puts the number of injured inmates at 50 with at least one inmate taken to the hospital. No guards were injured during the making of this film quelling of this riot. Wonder if The Blues Brothers were playing in the background?

>> Harris County Dems have yet to start caucus tally: Obama won the Mississippi primary last night, but Harris County still hasn't tabulated the votes from last week's caucuses. Only 800 of the 874 precincts have sent in their caucus results. Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Gerry Birnberg said, "We think there are some precincts with no Democrats, so they didn't have a caucus, and some may have (incorrectly) mailed theirs to the state Democratic Party," reports The Chronicle's Carolyn Fiebel. Further, the some voters seemed to have been confused by the two vote process - one in the primary, one in the caucus - and cast two ballots during the primary. Those folks could face a third-degree felony charge. Yikes.

>> Today's weather: Houston, today offers smooth sailing across protected waters, after the morning fog lifts, with winds out of the southwest today moving around 5 knots. Today will be warmer than yesterday, but a high of 73 degrees equals cold toes if you dip them in the drink. The low should be in the mid 50s.

>> In brief: Streak Gives T-Mac Hope ... Convenience Store Cameras Instead of Cops? ... Political Aide Lacks Ethics ... Convicts Says Death Penalty Isn't a Big Deal

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Photo by Flickr user takingthemoney.