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Kudos to Rep. Will Hurd of

Helotes, the only Texas Republican — and one of four GOP members in total — to support the House measure condemning President Trump’s bigoted tweets against four Democratic congresswomen of color. “There is no room in America for racism, sexism, antisemitism, xenophobia and hate,” Hurd said on Twitter after the vote. Reps. Pete Olson of Sugar Land, Chip Roy of Austin and Ron Wright of Arlington get partial credit for at least being willing to criticize the president for his vile comments. A very low bar, but most Republicans couldn’t even muster faint disapproval. Sen. Ted Cruz stayed mum, while Sen. John Cornyn limply called the entire episode “an unforced error,” — perhaps an apt name for the chapter on Trump’s presidency in future U.S. history textbooks. Sure, some Republicans may have seen the House vote as a political stunt, even if they disagreed with the president’s comments. Still, Trump made clear what message their silence sends. “I think the story is that 187 Republicans voted in favor of Trump and four voted against,” he told reporters. “There is great unity in the Republican Party.” What will the textbooks say about that?

The University of Texas System Board of Regents made headlines last week after it announced it will cover tuition and fees for students from families that earn up to $65,000 a year, a move that will benefit more than 8,600 undergraduates annually. Good news, right? Now imagine you’re John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, and you get calls asking if your school will follow UT’s lead and make a similar offer. “We already do,” you might say. “We have for a decade.” Ouch. To paraphrase Jan Brady: “t.u., t.u., t.u.!” We’ll continue Sharp’s efforts to set the record straight and add that several other colleges and universities offer similar aid, including Houston Community College, University of St. Thomas, University of Houston, Rice University, Sam Houston State and Texas Tech. Welcome to the party, t.u. — er, UT. What took you so long?

If you thought it was finally time to grow up after Toys “R” Us closed all its U.S. stores last year, don’t put away childish things just yet. The one-time retail giant, which billed itself as “the biggest toy store there is” in its popular jingle, is coming to Houston’s Galleria shopping center. The city will have one of two locations scheduled to open this year in time for the holiday season. The new stores will abandon the old “concrete warehouse crammed with toys” aesthetic and instead focus on being more of an “experience,” with open play areas, interactive displays and event space, according to reports. If this modern take includes Geoffrey the Giraffe tending an espresso bar, save us a bouncy horse for the grand opening.

Houston is one of the largest cities in the country and the most diverse. It boasts a great art scene, world-class museums and amazing food. And yet, it feels like we’re missing an iconic landmark that tells the world we’re here. Enter James Richards and Ben Olschner, who propose stripping the exterior skin off the Astrodome — and the cobwebs, too! — to expose the engineering wonder of the world that is the steel structure underneath — “the Eiffel Tower of Harris County,” as they call it. The project envisions a park, restaurants, a museum and a two-mile track that will spiral around the dome up to the top. The viability and cost of such an endeavor bears further scrutiny, but unlike the county’s current plan to use the Astrodome for parking and event space, this is the kind of ambitious, bold project Houston deserves but rarely gets.