Providing safe and affordable housing for those who need it here in Houston was the subject of several votes the Houston Housing Authority Board took up Tuesday evening.

A Houston man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday after he was convicted of murdering a stranger in Independence Heights in 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

A local man was recently honored for his decades of service to the Houston community.

Some people living in historically Black, gentrifying neighborhoods like Independence Heights face special challenges when it comes to maintaining their homes, especially after a natural disaster.

It can be easy to forget as we travel the busy highways of Houston that homes once stood where many roads are now. But in the communities that were impacted by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the memories and impact of displacement remain.

HOUSTON – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, along with the United Memorial Medical Center, hosted a vaccination site in the Independence Heights community on Monday. The neighborhood outreach site was at Booker T. Washington High School at 4204 Yale Street. Local and elected officials and the Houston Independent School District also contributed to the vaccinate site. Officials said 1,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were administered at Booker T. Washington. This vaccination event, organized by Shelia Jackson Lee and UMMC, was different from others because people didn’t have to pre-register.

Flying Saucer Pie Company, the beloved bakery in Houston’s Independence Heights neighborhood has proved its staying power. The pre-Thanksgiving lines are notoriously long at Flying Saucer Pie Company. A quick primer for Houston newcomers: Flying Saucer Pie Company does not take call ahead pie or cake orders the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas. This year, Flying Saucer Pie Company asks that customers in line maintain a six-foot social distance from those who are not in their party. Flying Saucer Pie Company is located at 436 W Crosstimbers St. in Houston; (713) 694-1141, flyingsaucerpieshop.com.

But if you head to that Independence Heights neighborhood address today, you won’t find his home. Independence Heights, the first municipality established by black Texans, was isolated from the rest of the city by Interstate 45 and the 610 Loop. Once again, that could impact communities of color, including historic black neighborhoods like Independence Heights and the Fifth Ward, as plans call for demolishing homes and businesses to accommodate more roadway space. The North Houston Highway Improvement Project is estimated to cost $7 billion and would add ramps, frontage roads and lanes for carpooling or transit, among other modifications. “The process of repeating a highway expansion that goes through a community, takes away homes and displaces people is not new,” Blair said.