[City Pulse ]
[00:00:16]
WELCOME TO ANOTHER EXCITING EPISODE OF CITY PULSE.
I'M YOUR HOST, TRAVIS LEMONS FOR TODAY'S SHOW, WE WILL TAKE A TRIP TO PARIS, SORT OF CHECK OUT HOW ART IS BEAUTIFYING HOUSTON, AND SEE HOW THE PARKS DEPARTMENT GEARS UP FOR AN UPCOMING STORM THIS HURRICANE SEASON.
BUT WE START WITH PAYING OUR RESPECTS TO THE MEN, WOMEN, AND FIRST RESPONDERS WHO DIED ON 9 11 23 YEARS AGO.
THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF VETERAN AND MILITARY AFFAIRS HONOR THE HEROES OF NINE 11 WITH THIS SPECIAL REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONY AT CITY HALL.
OH, SAY, CAN YOU SEE BY THE DAWN? I THINK WE SHOULD ALL PAUSE FOR A MOMENT.
WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY? YOU KNOW, WE DO A LOT OF CEREMONIES AT THE CITY AND A LOT OF PROCLAMATIONS, BUT AS WE PAUSE AND PUT A FACE AS THESE GUEST SPEAKERS HAVE JUST DONE, WHY WE'RE HERE, 'CAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER DAY LIKE TODAY, WHY IT'S SO SPECIAL TO BE THE MAYOR OF HOUSTON TODAY IS BECAUSE THE TRAGEDY OF NINE 11 AND THIS CEREMONY BRINGS US TOGETHER PROBABLY LIKE NOTHING ELSE THAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE TODAY AS A MAYOR, I'M REPRESENTING 2.3 MILLION PEOPLE THAT I KNOW UNANIMOUSLY HONOR THE HEROES OF NINE 11.
MY MESSAGE TO AUDIENCE AND TO YOU IS NOT ONE OF FEAR, BUT ONE OF VIGILANCE.
AS WINSTON CHURCHILL SAID, THOSE WHO FAIL TO LEARN FROM HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.
WE LIVE IN THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND IT WILL TAKE ALL OF US TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.
TODAY I'M SAYING DON'T WAIT FOR A TRAGEDY.
THANK OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, OUR MILITARY, EVERYONE THAT IS MAKING OUR LIVES SAFER AND ALLOW, ALLOWING US TO WORK AND RAISE OUR FAMILIES.
THAT'S WHAT CALL TAKERS AND EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS AND THE EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER NOW HAVE.
DISTRICT C HELPED FUND SPECIAL QUIET ROOMS TO RELIEVE STRESS AND IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH.
AFTER RELAYING CALLS TO HOUSTON POLICE AND FIRE, HOUSTON FIRE MEDICAL, WHAT'S THE LOCATION? IF ANYTHING ELSE CHANGES WHERE SHE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION, YOU GIVE US A CALL BACK AND OUR HOPE EMPLOYEES SAID WE REALLY NEED SUPPORT OVER AT HECK.
UH, THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT WORK WHEN, UH, AN EMERGENCY SUCH AS A DISASTER KICKS IN.
THEY'RE WORKING 12 PLUS HOUR SHIFTS ALONGSIDE POLICE AND FIRE AND OUR OEM STAFF.
THEY ARE OFTEN THE UNSUNG HEROES, UH, BUT LIVES ARE SAVED BECAUSE OF THEIR WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND THANKS TO THE ADVOCACY OF HOPE, UH, WE HAVE COME TOGETHER.
I, MY OFFICE FUNDED THESE ROOMS, BUT IT WAS REALLY EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY THAT CREATED AND SAID, THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE IN THESE ROOMS. THIS IS A GREAT, GREAT IMPACT ON OUR STAFF HERE, UH, FOR THE SIMPLE REASON OF STRESS RELIEF, UH, WITH THE HIGH PRESSURE SITUATIONS THAT THEY, UH, UH, HERE DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
UH, THIS SPACE PROVIDES THEM TO DECOMPRESS, REDUCE THEIR STRESS LEVELS, UH, AND, AND HOPEFULLY PREVENT SOME BURNOUT.
UH, AND THEN FROM THE MENTAL HEALTH, UH, SIDE OF IT, THIS IS A REFUGE WHERE THEY CAN TAKE A BREAK, MEDITATE, ENGAGE, UH, IN MINDFULNESS ACTIVITIES, AND, AND HELP THEM LOWER THEIR ANXIETY.
UH, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THE JOB SATISFACTION, IT SHOWS THAT, HEY, WE AS THE HECK MANAGEMENT HERE VALUE OUR EMPLOYEES.
UM, AS A NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKER, I CONSIDER US FRONTLINE FRONTLINE WORKERS.
I'M THE VOICE THAT YOU WILL GET WHEN YOU CALL 9 1 1
[00:05:01]
ON YOUR WORST DAY.AND IT'S MY JOB TO GET YOU SAFELY TO WHERE YOU NEED TO BE OR HELP YOU IN, IN THE WORST SITUATION OF YOUR LIFE.
UH, I'D LIKE TO ALSO THANK COUNCILMAN CAYMAN FOR DOING WHAT SHE DID FOR US.
WE DESERVE THE QUIET ROOMS. WE NEED SOMEWHERE TO GO ON A STRESSFUL CALL, A STRESSFUL DAY TO DEBRIEF AND JUST TO RELAX AND TRY TO GET THROUGH THE WORST CALL WE MAY HAVE TAKEN FOR THE DAY.
THIS IS THE FIRST STEP IN PREPARING FOR A STORM.
THIS INCLUDES HAVING AN EMERGENCY KIT WITH PLENTY OF FOOD, WATER, AND FIRST AID ESSENTIALS.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR CITY DEPARTMENTS.
HERE'S A QUICK LOOK AT SOME OF THE WAYS THE HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT PLANS FOR AN IMPENDING STORM.
GET READY FOR JUST IN CASE IF WE GET HIT.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S CHECK THAT OTHER SIDE.
WHEN WE RETURN OUR PARTNERS WITH SPECTRUM FUSION, SHARE A SPLASH OF COLOR.
STAY WITH US FOR MORE HOUSTON HIGHLIGHTS ON CITY PULSE.
HELLO, MY NAME'S GUDO FERNANDEZ.
MY WORK DEALS A LOT WITH GOING BACK AND REVISITING THESE PLACES OF MY CHILDHOOD IN MEXICO AND DOCUMENTING THEM.
THE INFLUX OF SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE ARRIVING HERE IN HOUSTON FROM AROUND THE WORLD IS VERY IMPACTFUL ON MY PALETTE AS WELL AS MY CANVAS AS AN ARTIST.
MAINLY FOR ME, JUST ALL THE ART THAT WAS IN HOUSTON WAS A BIG INFLUENCE ON ME.
IT REALLY GOT ME SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING MY OWN.
WE ARE A CITY OF COLLABORATORS WHO BUILD ON ONE ANOTHER'S INSPIRATION, STRENGTHS, AND CULTURES TO SHAPE A FUTURE WE ALL CAN SHARE.
TOGETHER, WE ARE MORE THAN 7 MILLION INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE DISCOVERED, TASTED, OR INVENTED ANYWHERE ELSE.
COME ON, A MOVEMENT, A MOMENT, A FUTURE.
WE CANNOT WAIT TO MAKE TOMORROW TOGETHER.
IN HOUSTON, A TACO IS NEVER JUST A TACO.
IT'S AN INSPIRATION FROM CONVERSATION, A REFLECTION OF EXPERIMENTATION, A PRODUCT OF OUR STREETS, OUR LANGUAGES, OUR ART, OUR DREAMS TAKEN FROM HERE AND THERE, A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT.
IT'S WHERE HERITAGE AND AMBITION COME TOGETHER.
THAT'S JUST HOW IT WORKS AROUND HERE, BECAUSE WE KNOW TOGETHER MAKES IT AMAZING.
OUT OF THE PAST AND INTO THE PRESENT.
PRESERVING HOUSTON'S HISTORY IS TOO BIG A JOB FOR ONE PERSON, WHICH IS WHY COMMUNITY AND CITY DEPARTMENT VOLUNTEERS CAME OUT TO CLEAR DEBRIS AND PROVIDE UPKEEP TO A CEMETERY THAT HAS SAT HIDDEN IN HOUSTON'S FOURTH WARD COLLEGE, MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY.
KNOW MOST OF THE PEOPLE HERE THAT IS BURIED HERE, LIVED IN THE 18 HUNDREDS DURING SLAVERY TIME.
WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS PRESERVED THEIR, THEIR BARRIER PLACES PRESERVED TO MAKE SURE THEIR FUTURE GENERATIONS WHO COME OUT HERE AND, AND SEE, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE WHO CAME BEFORE THEM.
THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW, UH, AFRICAN AMERICAN CEMETERIES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND THE STORIES, UH, ARE ASTOUNDING.
THE STORIES, UH, WHAT OUR PAST WAS LIKE.
WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT OUR PAST WAS SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING IN THE FUTURE SO WE CAN MAKE WISE DECISIONS ABOUT OUR FUTURE.
WE ARE A DIVERSE, UH, GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT NOT ONLY TELLING THE HISTORY, BUT ALSO AN UPKEEPING AND PAYING
[00:10:01]
TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO HAVE PAVED THE WAY FOR US TO BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY.DO THE CITY OF HOUSTON GONNA COME IN AND PICK IT UP? OKAY.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THIS TO BE A SPACE THAT, UM, RESPECTS THE PEOPLE THAT ARE BURIED HERE, UM, AND RESPECTS THE HISTORY OF OUR COMMUNITY.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO FIND A TIME, WHETHER IT'S ONCE A YEAR, ONCE A MONTH, TO VOLUNTEER AND GET OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THAT WHAT, THAT'S WHAT MAKES HOUSTON SUCH A GREAT PLACE.
WE ARE HERE AT COLLEGE MEMORIAL PARK WITH ABOUT 30 VOLUNTEERS.
BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED Y'ALL TO GET THIS DONE.
AND IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO GIVE BACK, UH, WITHIN THE CITY, WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY.
WE'RE GATHERING HERE TO PRESERVE A LAND THAT HAS, WE KNOW HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY, UH, MISHANDLED IN THE PAST.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR, UM, COMMUNITIES TO COME TOGETHER.
NOW WE'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE FIRST OF WHAT WILL BE A RECURRING SERIES HERE ON CITY POLES, FOCUSING ON THE MINI MINIATURE MURALS PAINTED ON TRAFFIC CONTROL BOXES SPREAD THROUGHOUT OUR CITY.
TODAY WE'LL BE LOOKING AT A MURAL PAINTED IN THE SECOND WARD NEIGHBORHOOD OF HOUSTON, AND A SEGMENT PRESENTED BY OUR PARTNER SPECTRUM FUSION.
I THINK THAT THE MURIELS ARE REFRESHING RESPITE FROM THE WAY THE CITY IS MADE, THE POPS OF COLOR, THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CULTURES THAT ARE REFLECTED IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
REFLECTION OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN THAT COMMUNITY IS VERY REFRESHING, I WOULD SAY MORE THAN ANYTHING, THE PINATA MINI MURAL IS SIMPLY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EAST, THE EAST END COMMUNITY AND ITS HISTORY.
IT'S BASED ON THE PERSON, THE THINGS THAT ARE AROUND THEM.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE URBAN OR STREET MURALS SHOW OUR NEIGHBORHOODS ARE REALLY CHANGING AND THEY'RE CHANGING IN SOME CASES VERY RAPIDLY, BUT FOR A NUMBER OF GENERATIONS, THE EAST END HAS BEEN PRIMARILY LATINO.
BUT THE MINI MURAL MARKER THAT HAS A PINATA IS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE CELEBRATORY CULTURE THAT WE SHARE, ESPECIALLY IN THE EAST END, UM, AS A PREDOMINANTLY LATINO NEIGHBORHOOD.
WHEN YOU SEE THAT POP OF COLOR AND YOU KNOW THAT IT'S A REFLECTION OF THE PERSON THAT HAS DONE IT, PEOPLE HAVE PUT THEIR INTUITION AND THEIR SPIRIT INTO THE PAINTING, AND THAT'S REALLY NICE.
IT'S FUN, IT'S EASY, BUT IT'S VERY MUCH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE PLACE.
SO I JUST WANNA THANK THE CITY OF HOUSTON FOR SPONSORING THE MURALS THAT ARE ALL AROUND THE CITY, AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHER FORMS OF ARTWORK, CULTURAL ARTWORK THAT IS GETTING SHOWN.
AND THE PRESENCE IS, I TEASED IT AT THE TOP OF THE PROGRAM.
NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE PAY UP A TRIP TO PARIS.
I DON'T MEAN THE HOST CITY FOR THIS YEAR'S OLYMPICS.
I MEAN THE FILM, PARIS, TEXAS.
RECENTLY, THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOSTED A 40TH ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE OF THE PALM DIOR WINNING FILM FROM GERMAN FILMMAKER VIM VENDORS AND PULITZER PRIZE PLAYWRIGHT SAM SHEPHERD, THE MY DOLLS, A HOUSTON PUNK BAND THAT APPEARS IN A BAR SCENE WERE PRESENT FOR A POST SCREENING Q AND A.
THEY REFLECTED ON DRIVING THE DIRECTOR AROUND HOUSTON TO VARIOUS BARS AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO WORK WITH ACTOR HARRY DEAN STANTON IN HIS FIRST STARRING ROLE AT AGE 58.
STAN PLAYS TRAVIS, A WANDERER IN WEST TEXAS, WHO REUNITES WITH HIS BROTHER WALT AND SON HUNTER.
ONCE TRAVIS AND HUNTER RECONCILE, THEY EMBARK ON A ROAD TRIP TO HOUSTON TO FIND JANE, HIS WIFE PARIS, TEXAS IS A EUROPEAN PORTRAIT OF THE US AND IT IS MOST FITTING THE FINAL ACT TAKES PLACE IN HOUSTON, A CITY THAT LIKES TO PRIDE ITSELF AS THE MOST DIVERSE CITY IN THE NATION.
OKAY, THAT WILL DO IT FOR CITY PULSE THIS WEEK.
SPECIAL THANKS TO SPECTRUM FUSION AND OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR HTV HOUSTON TELEVISION AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I'M TRAVIS LEMONS LEAVING YOU AS I ALWAYS DO.
UNTIL I SEE YOU NEXT TIME, DO BETTER AND BE KIND.