Any big city has its fair share of annual gossip. Houston is known for a lot of things, but its penchant for knee-slapping headlines is chief among them. 2018 was a great year for political, amusing, or controversial news, so we’ve decided to deliver our favorites to your computer screen. Here are the stories we’ve been talking about all year long.
- It’s hard to deny the symbolism in the 2018 political season all across the country. Lina Hidalgo is a 27-year-old immigrant who grew up in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, and she managed to unseat Harris County Judge Ed Emmett in a major upset to the status quo. Hard-line immigration? Not anymore! Change is coming.
- Comedy never manages to take a back seat to local politics in Texas, and this could not have run truer when Dan Crenshaw successfully landed his 2018 midterm seat in Congress. They say no publicity is bad publicity, and we have to agree. The only reason anyone knows his name is because SNL comedian Pete Davidson called him a “hit man in a porno movie.” Wow.
- If you haven’t read (or watched) Crazy Rich Asians, now might be a good time. Kevin Kwan is the author of the 2013 national best-seller. The former Singapore citizen moved to Texas at only eleven years old, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Houston.
- Sometimes viral fame isn’t hard to achieve–especially if you’re already a celebrity. Such was the case for Astros third baseman Alex Bregman when he delivered his now-classic dugout stare. We couldn’t care less about his weird facial expressions, though. He’s an all-around nice guy. He tipped a waitress $500, and also teamed up with Jim “Mattress Mack” to hand out 500 turkeys to those who couldn’t afford to buy their own.
- Bregman isn’t the only one with a big heart, though. Sue and Lester Smith managed to raise a whopping $83 million for Texas Children’s Hospital, and plan to match any donation up to $1 million for Houston Chronicle‘s March of Dimes.
- 43-year-old Christina Wells may have been eliminated in the penultimate round of America’s Got Talent, but this Houston singer and single mom won’t soon be forgotten. She was beloved for her views on body image, and is an inspiration to all those who mistakenly believe that what’s on the outside means more than what’s on the inside.