HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston Mayor John Whitmire’s Friday announcement was meant to be a show of collaboration, of law enforcement and the city coming together to improve public safety. But some comments from the mayor overshadowed that collaboration.

Early parts of the press conference focused on talking points the mayor has been making for over a year now.

“Public safety is our highest priority. If we don’t make people be safe, feel safe, hold bad actors accountable, nothing else matters,” Whitmire said.

But some of the comments made were out of left field.

“I will do it, encourage the owners of the club to get their barely clad young ladies off the street on Washington,” Whitmire said.

Eyewitness News visited the restaurants, bars, and clubs in the area. Off camera, bouncers and managers said the dress of their patrons and employees shouldn’t concern anyone.

The mayor said that as part of the crackdown on Washington Ave, he’d be riding along with police on Friday and Saturday nights to witness and crack down on concerning and illegal behavior. Partnered law enforcement agencies said as more people are celebrating around the holidays, they want everyone to be safe.

“This is a very dense area; there are a lot of folks that are traversing back and forth from different clubs, for parking areas and things like that; it’s nighttime; drive safely,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

A partner at Rain HTX, a soon-to-open restaurant on Washington, said he understood he was entering a mixed social and residential area when he picked this spot, and he’s tried to be accommodating to his neighbors.

“We soundproofed the walls. We put foam in the walls. We set our amps at a certain volume, and no matter who comes into DJ or turns the music on, they can’t go past a certain volume,” Rain HTX partner Sean Foskey said.

However, he also feels concerns can be addressed by meeting face-to-face.

“Every business here is trying to do the same thing, survive, pay their bills, pay their staff, and take care of their families, and I just think a conversation is a good compromise besides just trying to shut things down,” Foskey said.

The mayor noted that he rode the emancipation and downtown area a few weeks ago.

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The UCLA Bruins lost running back T.J. Harden to the transfer portal this week but already have their sights set on their next potential tailback.

Washington State freshman Wayshawn Parker entered the transfer portal this week after a breakout season with the Cougars. Parker rushed for 735 yards and four touchdowns in 2024, averaging an impressive 5.4 yards per carry.

According to Pete Nakos of On3 (subscription required), the former Washington State tailback is set to visit UCLA, USC, and Utah.

In 2024, the Bruins averaged a Big Ten-worst 86.6 yards per game behind a questionable offensive line. With lots of room for improvement and a wide-open depth chart, UCLA offers a lot of playing potential for a running back like Parker.

Under new offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, who helped the Indiana Hoosiers rush for over 2,000 yards and a whopping 37 rushing touchdowns this season, the Bruins should see a massive improvement in the running game, with Parker potentially playing a big role if he transfers to Westwood.

Duke University and Washington University in St. Louis have each reported receiving $50 million gifts this week in support of advanced medical care. Here’s a summary of the two gifts.

Duke University

On December 11, Duke University announced that it had received the largest private gift in the history of the Duke University Health System — a $50 million anonymous donation for the development of a proton beam therapy center.

“This is a historic gift, both for Duke and for the state of North Carolina,” said Vincent E. Price, president of Duke University, in the university’s press announcement. “The Duke Proton Center will have a profound impact on cancer care in our region, and we are very grateful for the generous donor support that is making these advances possible.”

Expected to open by 2029, Duke’s proton beam therapy facility will offer proton therapy to approximately 800 patients each year.

Proton therapy is a more precise type of radiation with fewer side effects than conventional radiation therapy. That precision enables it to be directed largely at tumors themselves, rather than surrounding healthy tissue, thereby reducing harm for patients with various forms of cancer, particularly those with neck tumors, breast cancer, gliomas and meningiomas, and prostate cancers.

Proton therapy is increasingly becoming the treatment of choice for a variety of different cancers,” said Michael Kastan, executive director of Duke Cancer Institute. “Having proton therapy at Duke will enable us to push those boundaries even further, improving current applications and developing new ones through innovative clinical trials.”

Washington University

Washington University announced on December 12 that Andrew Taylor and his wife, Barbara, had made a $50 million gift to the university’s neurosurgery department. In recognition of the gift, the department has been renamed the Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery.

The gift was made out of gratitude for the medical care Andrew Taylor recently received from neurosurgeons at Washington University. Mr. Taylor is the executive chairman of Enterprise Mobility, the global car rental and transportation company based in St.Louis.

“This gift marks a new era in the history of innovative science and compassionate healing at WashU Medicine,” said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin, in a press release. “Andrew and Barbara’s generosity is further strengthening the department’s research infrastructure and helping WashU Medicine deliver world-class, life-changing care right here in St. Louis, while also providing life-saving innovations to the world. Their investment in new discoveries and treatments will give many more families reasons to feel grateful for decades to come.”

The Taylors’ gift will be used in several ways on behalf of the department, which is ranked fifth nationally for research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

It will support the recruitment of neurosurgeons and neurosurgery researchers, enhance neurosurgery residencies and fellowship training and strengthen the department’s current expertise in area such as neurotechnology, brain tumor treatment and spinal surgery. The gift will also support high-risk, high-reward projects in emerging or rapidly evolving neurosurgery research fields.