Inside Today: City water and wastewater rates are increasing • Page 4A
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INSIDE.
Good plan. More details have been released about a park planned for Sunset Heights.
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Leader love. Houston artists express their love for The Leader and how it’s influenced them.
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Closing time. Cafeza, a cafe and live music venue, announced it is closing at the end of July.
Residents want heavy trash hauled By Betsy Denson
betsy@theleadernews.com
Shady Acres resident Katy Thrower considers herself a patient person. And after the winter storm in February, she knew City of Houston services would take a while to get back up to speed. But it is now mid-June and Thrower’s heavy trash is still on the curb. “We were scheduled for the third Wednesday of every even month, which would have been April 21, but they didn’t show,” Thrower said. “They did come the 30th and
when they moved a rocking chair from someone else’s pile to mine we thought they were consolidating it. They picked up everyone else’s stuff up but left ours alone. I couldn’t understand it.” Thrower said at first, she thought they may have bypassed her house due to the tree waste they had out, but two of her neighbors on the street had tree waste that was picked up along with the rest of the street’s heavy trash. “I called 311 to file a report and they told me it would be addressed within 12 days,” she said. “Then my ticket was closed but the trash was
See Trash P. 5A
Music Makers
Contributed photo Shady Acres resident Katy Thrower is waiting for the city to pick up her heavy trash.
Arrest made in Easter Sunday murder in area By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Father’s Day was a somber occasion for the family of Miguel Vasquez, the 37-year-old Houston man who was shot to death in front of his young daughter as they were walking out of the local Dave & Buster’s on Easter Sunday. But they got a small semblance of justice a few days earlier, when the man suspected of shooting Vasquez was arrested and charged with Vasquez capital murder. N i c h o las Dwayne Thomas, 23, is accused of killing Vasquez during an attempted robPhoto by Adam Zuvanich bery in the Kristen Hart, left, and Linda Schaible of Amelia Earhart Returns perform Monday at Harold’s Restaurant, Bar & Rooftop Terrace, parking lot of Thomas which served as one of Houston’s 20 host venues for Make Music Day. the Marq-E development at 7620 Katy Fwy. on the night of April 4. Vasquez’s sister, Angeles Alcantara, said she and about 20 relatives were in By Adam Zuvanich the courtroom when Thomas appeared azuvanich@theleadernews.com before a judge on June 17. “It’s a bittersweet moment, because Roxanne Malkie was supposed to be back in Paso Rothey’ve got the suspect, but my brothbles, California, where she works for a winery. er’s not here,” Alcantara said. “That She and her boyfriend had been vacationing in Costa doesn’t bring him back.” Rica – where they got engaged – and they were stuck According to a report by the Assoin Houston for a night because a connecting flight got ciated Press, prosecutors said Thomas cancelled. So they ventured out to Harold’s Restaurant, was identified as the suspect because Bar & Rooftop Terrace, located at 350 W. 19th St. in the of an alleged link to a shooting incident Heights, where they enjoyed a bite to eat, some drinks involving his 3-year-old son a few days and live music on a Monday night in the taproom. after Vasquez’s death. Police said the Malkie, who originally is from France, also got an unexbullet that struck Thomas’ son, who pected taste of home. The singing and guitar-playing was survived, matched a cartridge casing Photo by Adam Zuvanich found near Vasquez’s vehicle, accordpart of Make Music Day, a free, international music fesFans of live music gathered Monday at Harold’s Restaurant, tival held annually on June 21, the summer solstice. The ing to the report. celebration started in 1982 in France, where it is known Bar & Rooftop Terrace, 350 W. 19th St., where Amelia Earhart Thomas faces a felony charge of enReturns was the last of nine musical acts as part of a Make as Fete de la Musique. dangering a child in connection with Music Day event. When she found out about the connection, while sitting the April 8 shooting incident involvon a barstool next to her new fiancé, Malkie said, “That pated in the music festival for the first time. It was held in ing his son, in which he allegedly left made my day.” more than 1,000 cities in a total of 120 countries. a loaded gun on the bathroom sink, ac“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It was my favorite day in A total of nine acts played from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. at Har- cording to Harris County court docuFrance, because it was the longest day of the year. We old’s, where owner Alli Jarrett said there was steady busi- ments. Thomas was released from jail would go out and drink too much and have fun.” ness throughout the day and night. on a $1,000 bond at the time and was Lots of fun was had Monday at Harold’s, which served as one of 20 host sites around Houston, which particiSee Music P. 5A See Arrest P. 5A
Harold’s plays host for festival event
Local teens recognized for environmental activism
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THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 4A Classifieds.............................................. 5A Coupons. ................................................. 3B Food/Drink/Art................................... 7A Obituaries.............................................. 4A Opinion. ................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 3A
still there. The note said that they would come when available.” Other area residents can relate. A recent online update from the city’s Solid Waste Management Department said it is experiencing service delays in all quadrants of the city due to an increased amount of debris placed out for collection and driver shortages in their critical classifications. “As a result, SWMD is adjusting operations and updating collection schedules to serve Houston residents,” read the post. “The depart-
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Contributed photo Woodland Heights teenagers Caoilin Krauthaus, left, and Lila Mankad have a business called Bag Free Bayous in which they sell reusable bags made from upcycled banners.
Caoilin Krauthaus and Lila Mankad have been playing at Woodland Park for as long as they can remember. The 15-year-old high school students would prefer to forget some of the things they’ve seen at the wooded, urban sanctuary that surrounds part of Little White Oak Bayou. When they were in fourth grade at Travis Elementary, they went to the park for Krauthaus’ ninth birthday and
noticed plastic water bottles and Styrofoam had piled up along the shores of the bayou. There also were plastic bags embedded in the ground and hanging from trees. “Most sickening to us was the plastic bags. They were packed in the ground and spongy when you walked on them,” Mankad said. “No matter how many times we tried to pick them up, it kept coming back.” Krauthaus and Mankad started an online petition that year, in 2016, that asked Mayor Sylvester Turner and the
Houston City Council to ban singleuse plastic bags, like the ones used at grocery stores, or implement a fee associated with their use. And while they have not been successful in that endeavor – at least partly because of a Texas Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that prevents municipalities in the state from enforcing bans on plastic bags – they have continued to advocate for the environment. The young Woodland Heights resiSee Activism P. 5A
See Bob P. 4A