CITY COUNCIL VOTES AGAINST PAPPAS

By Jo-Carolyn Goode, Managing Editor

Money is one of the quickest ways allies can become foes. For over two decades, the Pappas family restaurant chain has considered itself a friend of Houston. However, bonds are being tested and may break in the latest battle of contract negotiations over who will reign as ‘king’ concessionaire at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport.

In one corner is the Houston-based hospitality brand – Four Families, which residents and visitors alike of the Houston area have fallen more in love with each passing year. We know them for their Texas flair, extra-large portions, and high prices. In the other corner is the not so familiar face of Areas S.A.U. hospitality out of Spain, which caters more to train commuters via airplane commuters. They are looking to gain a better footing in the US market.

The History and Problem That Started the Fight

Four Families is used to fighting for what they want in Houston, even if they must throw some shade. The company "won" the fight to sell food in Hobby Airport in 2003 after going toeto-toe with a New York based company, CA One Services. Both companies put in bids to be the airport concessionaire at Hobby Airport after a call for requests was made in 2002 to various companies.

Through the city’s procurement process, the competition for the $234 million contract was dwindled down to Four Families and CA One Services. Houston City Council was set to decide on a winner based on a scoring process where design, management, and other entities in each company’s proposals were being evaluated. But proceedings were slowed down when several questionable things occurred.

Questionable #1 : According to the Houston Chronicle, Four Families was not originally on the council’s agenda for contract consideration for weeks.

Questionable #2 : Questions swirling about how CA One Services even got recommended to make a bid for the contract delayed a council’s vote.

Questionable #3: A supposed private investigator snooped out that Four Families had appeared to have originally beaten CA One Services after scoring evaluation.

When proceedings began to move forward again, the scoring process plus rent were reviewed, and it was determined that CA One Services was the winner of the contract since the city would stand to make more money based on their projected profits and the amount of money they would pay the City of Houston.

Four Families allegedly found out what that figure was and said they would pay the same amount. To further ensure that they would get the contract, reports have said that Four Families convinced several councilmembers to side with them over CA One Services, even though the then sitting mayor,

Lee P. Brown, was in favor of CA One Services.

CA One Services followed suit and sued the city in federal and state court. The Houston Chronicle reported that CA One Services claimed the city violated competitive bidding statutes, which prohibit a city from awarding a contract through competitive bidding. The suit also claimed the city violated the Texas Opening Meeting Act, which requires government entities to keep public business open to the public.

The city had previously negotiated a contract with CA One Services but substituted Four Families name in the contract after councilmembers changed who they were supporting. Later, CA One Services dropped the lawsuit after the city agreed to extend its contract with Bush Intercontinental Airport by four years.

Back-to-Now

The contract that Four Families, aka Pappas Restaurants, currently has with the city at Hobby Airports is set to expire. And just like in all businesses, when something looks good, others will gasp for their piece of the pie as soon as an opening looks available.

Read

CHRIS ROCK TACKLES 'SELECTIVE OUTRAGE' AND OSCARS SLAP IN LIVE NETFLIX SPECIAL

By Marianne Garvey, CNN

Chris Rock finally addressed the Oscars slap and made Netflix history on Saturday, with the platform's first live global streaming event. "I'm going to try to do a show tonight without offending nobody. I'm going to try my best, because you never know who might get triggered," Rock said as he opened his set from Baltimore. "People always say words hurt ... anybody who says words hurt has never been punched in the face."

After that quick apparent reference to Will Smith slapping him on stage at last year's Academy Awards, Rock saved his jokes about the incident until the last ten minutes of the show. "You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith," Rock said. "It still hurts. I got 'Summertime' ringing in my ears. But I'm not a victim, baby. You'll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying ... I took that hit like Pacquiao."

Rock suggested Smith's response to his Oscars joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, was more about their relationship than him. "I love Will Smith, my whole life,"

Rock said. "I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life ... now I watch 'Emancipation' just to see him get whupped."

Smith plays an enslaved man in the period drama, "Emancipation."

"'How come you didn't do nothing back that night?'" Rock said people have asked him. "Because I got parents. You know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of White people."

Titled "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage," the comedian hit on a wide range of topics in the first 50 minutes of the special, including addiction, abortion, racism in America, Meghan,

Duchess of Sussex, the Kardashian family and "wokeness."

"I have no problem with the wokeness. I have no problem with it at all. I'm all for social justice. I'm all for marginalized people getting their rights. The thing I have a problem with is the selective outrage," Rock said. "You know what i'm talking about. One person does something, they get canceled. Somebody else does the exact same thing, nothing. You know what I'm talking about ... the kind of people who play Michael Jackson songs but won't play R. Kelly. Same crime, one of them just has better songs."

Tackling the country's division, Rock said, "America is in horrible shape right now."

"We got it worse than Ukraine. Yeah, I said it. You know why? Because Ukraine is united and America is clearly divided," Rock joked. "If the Russians came here right now, half the country would say, 'Let's hear them out.' We're in a bad place right now."

Rock also delved into his romantic life, saying when he noticed his pillow cases were dirty, he realized how much women do for men.

"I'm trying to date women my age, which is 10 to 15 years younger than me," he said. "Don't hate the player, hate the game. I didn't get rich and stay in shape to talk about Anita Baker. I'm trying to f--- Doja Cat."

The performance was Rock's sixth standup special and his second for Netflix after 2018's "Tamborine," directed by Bo Burnham.

Read More at StyleMagazine.com

BREAST PAIN DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN CANCER: WHEN TO GET A MAMMOGRAM

By Cara Jones, TheBlackDoctor.Org

While anyone can experience breast pain, don’t panic: It’s rarely cancer.

Penn State Health offers some reassurance about what might cause the pain and when it might be time to have a mammogram.

“We see a lot of patients who come looking for answers that have widespread, cyclical breast pain,” says Dr. Alison Chetlen, a staff physician at Penn State Health Breast Center in Hershey, Pa.

“We usually start with reassurance, perhaps eliminating the underlying cause of the pain,” she said in a Penn news release. “Sometimes it is related to their menstrual cycle or underlying hormonal fluctuations. Is it musculoskeletal? If so, perhaps medication and a warm compress will help. Something like arthritis of the rib joints also can cause pain that mimics breast pain. In such cases, the pain is not actually coming from the breasts.”

Women, men and transgender people can each experience breast pain. Reasons vary.

“It’s extremely rare for breast cancer to be the source of breast pain,” Chetlen says. “We worry more when we have a patient present with a lump, bloody nipple discharge, or a lump under the armpit. Breast pain is typically not the initial sign of breast cancer.”

Breast pain in men

Men can have breast pain in all stages of life. If you are experiencing breast pain, here’s what may be causing it.

Gynecomastia

Breast pain in men is typically caused by gynecomastia, an increase in the amount of breast glandular tissue caused by a hormone imbalance. With gynecomastia, abnormal growth and swelling in the breasts occur in males of all ages. The change in shape or size varies and can cause pain. Gynecomas- tia can be a result of hormone imbalances, where estrogen increases, and testosterone decreases. Obesity and aging can also cause this condition.

“Even as boys change into men they can experience pain behind the nipple, which can be quite painful,” Chetlen says. “Ninety-nine times out of 100, it is gynecomastia, which is benign.”

Cysts

A cyst is a typically harmless lump under the skin that contains fluid or air. In some cases, cysts can become sore and can cause pain if they are located on your breasts sore and can cause pain if they are located on your breasts.

Muscle strain

The pectoralis major and minor are the two main muscles that make up the chest. Performing weighted chest exercises or putting excess pressure on the muscles can cause a strain.

Breast fat necrosis

Fat necrosis occurs when fat tissue becomes damaged. This may be a result of surgery on the breasts or a biopsy. Breast fat necrosis can produce a lump but is not cancerous.

Jogger’s nipple

While running your nipple can start to chafe against your top or vest. The chafing can cause the nipple to become sore.

Fibroadenoma

Another non-cancerous lump that can form on the breasts is a fibroadenoma, although they are rare in men. The cause of a fibroadenoma is unclear, however, most do not increase the risk of breast cancer.

Other possible causes liver disease heart or lung disease heartburn medications, such as antidepressants back, neck, or shoulder injuries

Breast pain in women

Women can experience breast pain for a number of reasons including:

Cynical breast pain

Cyclical breast pain is caused by changing hormone levels during the menstrual cycle. During this time many women may experience discomfort and lumpiness in both breasts a week before their periods. They may also experience pain that varies from mild to severe and is tender and sore to touch. The pain often goes away once a period starts.

Non-cynical breast pain

What causes non-cynical breast pain remains unclear, but it is often linked to: a benign (not cancer) breast condition previous surgery to the breast injury to the breast having larger breasts a side effect from a drug treatment, such as certain antidepressant drugs and some herbal remedies such as ginseng

Stress and anxiety

The pain can occur in one or both breasts and can affect the whole breast or a specific area with a burning, prickling or stabbing pain, or a feeling of tightness. This pain may come and go and can affect women before and after menopause.

Breast pain in transgender people

Hormone therapy may cause breast pain for transgender women. Transgender men may have pain in native breast tissue or in tissue left behind after a breast reduction or mastectomy.

Prevention

It is not always possible to prevent the causes of breast pain because it isn’t always clear what causes cysts or fibroadenomas.

However, some causes are preventable. Here are some prevention tips from MedicalNewsToday: avoiding high intensity chest workouts gradually increasing the resistance of chest exercises including enough rest time between chest workouts using lubrication or protective gear for the nipple before running avoiding anabolic steroids or other drugs that affect hormones where possible

When to see a doctor

Some causes of breast pain do not require a doctor and may go away on their own.

However, pain that worsens over time, is localized to one area, interferes with daily activities or includes a lump, redness or warmth needs an immediate visit to your physician, Chetlen advises.

Read More at StyleMagazine.com

The Raspberry Rally Girl Scouts cookie, a raspberry-flavored version of the beloved Thin Mint, was always supposed to be a limited edition item. Just not this limited.

The new Girl Scouts cookie sold out in hours. Now, people desperate to try it can search eBay.

The Girl Scouts would really rather you didn't, though.

In an email addressed to a New York chapter of the Girl Scouts, local leaders said that the "Raspberry Rally cookie sold out in less than a day." The cookie "proved to be more popular than anticipated," according to the letter, which was seen by CNN.

GIRL SCOUTS' SOLD-OUT COOKIE IS AVAILABLE ON EBAY. THE SCOUTS ARE NOT PLEASED

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business/StyleMagazine.com - Newswire

Quickly, it ended up on the resale market. Raspberry Rally cookie packages are now listed on eBay, some for around $30 — well above the Girl Scouts' price of about $5 or $6 per box.

For over 100 years, Girl Scouts has sold cookies as a way to help members build their business skills and raise money for the group. But profits from the resale market don't go to Girl Scouts, which said it was "disappointed" that the products are now available through other vendors.

"When cookies are purchased through a third-party seller, Girl Scout troops are deprived of proceeds that fund critical programming throughout the year," Girl Scouts told CNN in a statement. Plus, unauthorized sales can erode Girl Scouts' good cookie name.

"Girl Scouts of the USA, your local Girl Scout council, and our licensed cookie bakers cannot guarantee the freshness or integrity of cookies bought through unauthorized sites." To buy cookies from Girl Scouts directly, customers should use the Cooke Finder on the Scouts' website, Girl Scouts said.

The Scouts may be disappointed, but eBay has no plans to pull the listings.

"We strongly support the entrepreneurial spirit of hardworking local Girl Scout troops and encourage cookie-seekers to also support their local Girl Scouts," eBay said in a statement to CNN. "However the sale of Girl Scout cookies does not violate eBay policies."

The Girl Scouts first introduced the coveted Raspberry Rally over the summer, months ahead of the January to April cookie season. At the time, the group explained that the Rally would only be available for purchase online for direct shipment to customers a first for the organization. The online-only sales strategy is a new way to teach entrepreneurship, the group said.