H-Town Headlines

NASA Announces Artemis 3 Crew

(Houston, TX)  —  NASA is unveiling the crew for its Artemis 3 mission.  The list includes Commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano, and specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubo.  The four astronauts will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Orion spacecraft to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial human landing systems needed to deliver astronauts to the moon’s surface.  This come right on the heels of the successful Artemis 2 mission where four astronauts flew around the moon in the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years.  The mission is set for mid to late next year.

Brazoria County Deputy Fired After Fatal Shooting Of Student In Lake Jackson

(Lake Jackson, TX)  —  The Brazoria County deputy involved in the fatal shooting of a Texas State University student is out of a job.  Sheriff Bo Stallman announced on Tuesday that Deputy Kevin Tippit had been fired.  The shooting happened early last week in Lake Jackson when Tippit pursued 18-year-old John Mendoza Jr. into his father’s garage at the end of a brief chase following an attempted traffic stop.  Tippit fatally wounded Mendoza with a single shot that dispatch communications later described as accidental.  The Texas Rangers are investigating the case.

City Council To Vote Today On Mayor Whitmire’s Budget Proposal

(Houston, TX)  —  Houston City Council is expected to vote on Mayor John Whitmire’s proposed budget during today’s meeting.  City Controller Chris Hollins has certified the seven-point-five-billion-dollar budget proposal, a necessary procedural step before the council can consider final approval.  Hollins made it clear that his certification doesn’t mean he supports the proposal.  The certification follows weeks of debate over Whitmire’s proposed budget, certain components of which met with Hollins’s disapproval and skepticism.