Regarding “Camp Mystic’s lack of planning led to preventable flood deaths, report,” (June 18): The story included that a lack of planning violated state licensing requirements for camps and led to preventable deaths. While the finger certainly can be pointed at the Camp Mystic leaders, what about the oversight the state has in ensuring these camps are following these requirements? Will that too be investigated? Does the state also bear some responsibility?
Regarding “Houston budget needs more BARC funding to protect humans and dogs,” (June 3): Maybe we should claim that stray animals contribute to flooding so we can divert money from the stormwater fund to BARC. Or we could move BARC under the water utility and charge a new “administrative fee” to bolster funding. Or maybe we could ask Houston police officers to use their overtime to assist with trap-neuter-return activities.
The plain fact is that there just isn’t enough money to go around for everything, and on the long list of Houston’s needs, adequate funding for animal control doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the top. Until it’s time to set up our Potemkin Village. Visitors to our city should not fear attacks by stray animals, but it shouldn’t take the World Cup coming to town to convince us to make even a half-hearted effort to get it under control.
There are so many people in the city who donate their time and effort to taking care of stray animals. I applaud the city for codifying the community cat program, but that is only part of the solution. We need to better educate residents on the actual costs of owning and caring for a pet, expand the availability of and access to affordable vet services, and increase BARC funding. All animals deserve love and care, and it’s beyond time the city makes the financial commitment necessary to do so.
Jeanette Russell, Houston
Regarding “Harris County judge absent from court for most of 2026,” (June 14): Congratulations to your reporters for bringing the public’s attention to the outrages of Judge Angela Graves-Harrington’s refusal to work, financial “integrity” consultant Chris Brown’s refusal to work and the Houston Police Department’s inability to account for millions of dollars in overtime funds. The overwhelming stench of these events raises the question of why Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has not requested that the Texas Rangers’ Public Corruption Unit execute the responsibilities specifically granted to them by the Texas Legislature to investigate public officials and police departments — somebody needs to call a cop!