The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
A record-setting 78 cities earned a perfect score of 100 on an annual index measuring how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ people. Four of those cities are in Texas: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.
The national non-profit Human Rights Campaign examined municipal services, non-discrimination laws, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ equality. Human Rights Campaign Senior legislative counsel Xavier Persad wrote the report.
“It’s not just a moral imperative, it’s a business imperative as well,” Persad says. “When cities codify their value for diversity and inclusion, businesses take notice, residents take notice, and visitors take notice. That attracts the country’s best and brightest and businesses follow those that are looking to employ those talented individuals.”
One Texas city, Laredo, got a score of zero. College Station, Killeen, McKinney, and Round Rock earned the next lowest scores in the state at 12 points each.
A new report shows 44 percent of Fortune 500 companies were started by immigrants or their children. As Houston Public Media’s Elizabeth Trovall reports, 18 of those companies are based here in Texas.
Texan Fortune 500 companies started by immigrant families brought in nearly 500 billion dollars in revenue last year. Research from the New American Economy advocacy group shows those companies employ more than 700,000 people worldwide.
Most companies – like Phillips 66 and Texas Instruments – are based in Houston or Dallas and have founders with European, Asian, and Middle Eastern roots.
New American Economy Director Jeremy Robbins says in general, immigrants are more likely than the native-born population to start businesses.
“People who tend to come to this country start businesses at a much higher rates, and you also see that both through mom and pop shops on main streets but you also see that through America’s greatest companies,” Robbins says.
Robbins says one reason immigrants are more likely to start businesses is because of the independent spirit required to leave their home countries and start over.
The Houston Astros will face the Boston Red Sox on their home turf Tuesday after playing the first two games of the American League Championship Series in Boston. The Astros dropped game 2 Sunday night, leaving the Major League Baseball teams tied at one win apiece in the best of seven series.
After Sunday night’s 7-5 loss, Astros Manager A.J. Hinch shared a prediction about the role each team’s pitching staff will play throughout the series.
“I think this series, the bullpens are going to be talked about a lot, in playoff baseball there’s a lot of innings and a lot of outs you gotta get, so buckle up,” Hinch says.
Game 3 begins Tuesday afternoon.
