Hello Houston (January 13, 2026)

On today’s Hello Houston, we’re joined by John Diamond, senior director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute, who helps break down the job market outlook for 2026 as well as what lies ahead for workers and employers.

Also, in the first hour, we learn all about the upcoming MLK Unity Parade - which unites two of Houston’s longstanding Martin Luther King Day parades into a single event - with local radio personality Madd Hatta, who’s one of the parade’s grand marshals.

In the second hour of the show, we’re joined by newly elected Houston City Councilmember Alejandra Salinas, who discusses the latest city council issues, shares her vision and priorities for 2026, and fields questions from Hello Houston listeners.

Plus, Brett Ishida, artistic director of the ISHIDA Dance Company, choreographer Kristian Lever, and dancer Maddie Medina, join us to tell us more about the nationally recognized dance company and their upcoming program, Rara avis, which is being presented by Asia Society Texas.

And, as always, Ernie and Celeste talk about today’s top stories at the top of each hour, including Texas faith leaders urging public school boards not to adopt rules setting aside time for prayer, the introduction of a bill to make Greenland the 51st state, and Texas Democrats calling for an investigation into Elon Musk’s AI chatbot on X.