Houstonians

The federal government is now offering aid in Harris County and several other Southeast Texas communities that were impacted by a tornado that ripped across the region on Jan. 24. Tornado victims will be able to receive help from the U.S. Small Business Administration through its Physical Disaster and Economic Injury Disaster loan programs, Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news release Friday. Both businesses and residents can apply for these low-interest loans, added Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in a statement on Twitter. One member of each household must be a U.S. citizen in order to be eligible. She directed online applicants to www.readyharris.org and disasterloanassistance.sba.gov for more information. People can also apply in person, beginning Tuesday, March 21, at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center at the John Phelps Courthouse Annex at 101 S. Richey St., Suite F, Pasadena. Another location for applicants will soon be available in Deer Park, Hidalgo said. "I know a … [Read more...] about Harris County tornado victims can now apply for federal aid

Many national food conglomerates in the U.S. tout stories of humble beginnings. Shipley Do-Nuts , known here simply as Shipley's, is a Houston success story that went from mom-and-pop to ubiquitous chain across the American South. Here's how it started, and how it's going. How it started As the saying goes: "Behind every great man is a great woman." In the case of Lawrence Shipley, Sr., the woman was his wife Lillie, whose family owned a doughnut shop in Dallas, where he honed his leavened fried dough chops. The business-minded Shipley Sr. learned what he could of the doughnut trade, opening and then selling his own shop in Dallas—reportedly for $350. He moved to Houston, where he worked tirelessly to develop a recipe for a quality doughnut that would withstand the city's sticky climate. The resulting treat held its glaze perfectly, and would eventually become the catalyst for his nearly century-old doughnut empire. The craving for a Shipley's doughnut wasn't so easy to … [Read more...] about Behind the rise of Shipley’s Do-Nuts from mom-and-pop to national chain