Here are things to know for Friday, March 19:
1. Troy Finner to become next HPD chief, Mayor Turner announces
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Troy Finner is set to become the new chief of the Houston Police Department, Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Thursday during a press conference.
The selection must be approved by the city council, which is expected to happen next week.
Finner formerly served as executive assistant under current HPD Chief Art Acevedo, who recently said he has taken a job as the top cop in Miami. Finner began working at HPD in 1990 and has served in several capacities over his 31-year-career.
Turner said he earned “his stripes in HPD,” which has prepared him to lead from day one.
2. Houston Texans release new statement confirming NFL investigation into Deshaun Watson lawsuits
The Houston Texans released a statement Thursday confirming that the NFL will be conducting an investigation into the allegations made against Texans star Deshaun Watson.
Statement from the Houston Texans:
“The NFL informed us today that they will conduct an investigation into the allegations made in the civil lawsuits filed against Deshaun Watson. We will stay in close contact with the league as they do.
We continue to take this and all matters involving anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously. We do not anticipate making any additional statements until the NFL’s investigation concludes.”
The statement came hours after attorney Tony Buzbee’s law firm said that it had been hired by nine women to bring cases against Watson.
3. Man accused of shooting, killing Sgt. Sean Rios put on house arrest
The man accused of shooting and killing Houston Police Sgt. Sean Rios, 47, in November of last year faced a judge Thursday morning.
Roberto Soliz Soliz is facing several charges. including murder in connection with the shooting that left Rios dead.
Soliz was the first to appear in court Thursday where a judge went over the 24-year-old’s bond conditions, part of which includes house arrest with a GPS monitor.
During the hearing, Soliz’s attorneys argued against house arrest. However, the judge upheld the decision and as part of his bond conditions, he has been ordered to stay at home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He may only leave if he has a court date or needs medical treatment.
4. Texas lawmakers push bill to make it easier to sue abortion providers and harder for new anti-abortion laws to be blocked by courts
The proposed bill would strip Texas officials of their typical enforcement role — and open the door for any Texan to sue providers they thought weren’t complying with state abortion laws. Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune
Texas lawmakers — pushing to drastically restrict abortion access — have included language in a priority bill meant to make it harder to block the law from taking effect and easier to sue abortion providers.
The provisions seem intended to reshape the legal landscape, while many federal courts stop restrictive abortion laws that have passed out of conservative statehouses.
Proponents of the bill told lawmakers its “unique drafting” could make it the first of its kind that can’t be held up in the courts before it takes effect. But legal experts and abortion rights advocates say the proposals amount to a gambit meant to drive abortion clinics out of business.
5. School nurses have become crucial in battling the pandemic, but Texas doesn’t require districts to have them
Unlike their peers in hospital COVID-19 units, school nurses have not had to care for dying patients. They are serving on the front lines of the pandemic in a different way: tracking who has been exposed to the virus, testing staff and students who experience symptoms and diagnosing signs of anxiety in traumatized students.
Marisa Thomison is one of 13 nurses in her school district, which makes her lucky. Texas law doesn’t require public schools to have full-time nurses, and many don’t. In 2019-2020, more than 8,000 Texas public schools employed about 6,100 full-time school nurses, according to state data.
State Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, has filed a bill this legislative session to require all districts to employ at least one full-time nurse per school and keep a ratio of at least one full-time nurse for every 750 students enrolled. Hiring more nurses would cost districts or the state money, and Thierry said she wasn’t yet sure exactly how much.