WEATHER ALERT
Texas judge accused of breaking law after asking his university students to vote for him
Read full article: Texas judge accused of breaking law after asking his university students to vote for himA candidate running against the judge accused him of emailing his students at Texas State to vote for him. State law prohibits using public resources for political advertising.
Marijuana decriminalization measures in San Marcos, Austin get early court wins
Read full article: Marijuana decriminalization measures in San Marcos, Austin get early court winsThree other cities have passed similar measures but the Texas AG and others question whether they can be enforced because of conflicts with state law.
Texas State University will host first 2024 presidential debate
Read full article: Texas State University will host first 2024 presidential debateThe debate, scheduled for Sept. 16, 2024, will be the first of four for the general election. The San Marcos school would be the first Texas university to hold a presidential debate, Texas State officials said.
Texas is not prepared for Austin-San Antonio population boom, experts say
Read full article: Texas is not prepared for Austin-San Antonio population boom, experts sayThe neighboring regions are projected to collectively grow from 5.2 million to 8.3 million people by 2050. But the state still lacks an overarching plan to address critical housing and transportation issues, experts said.
Amid personal conflict, Hays County clerk turned to Republican’s ‘rogue’ prosecutor law to oust fellow Democrat
Read full article: Amid personal conflict, Hays County clerk turned to Republican’s ‘rogue’ prosecutor law to oust fellow DemocratPersonal conflict between two newly elected Democrats briefly escalated into public view. An attempt to remove one from county office came in the background of university, state and federal impeachment attempts.
Jacob’s Wells to remain closed ‘for the foreseeable future’ due to low water levels, spring flow
Read full article: Jacob’s Wells to remain closed ‘for the foreseeable future’ due to low water levels, spring flowSwimming at one of the most popular swimming holes in Texas will remain banned “for the foreseeable future” due to low water levels and spring flow, according to Hays County Parks officials.
Gov. Greg Abbott issues disaster declaration for Texas ice storm
Read full article: Gov. Greg Abbott issues disaster declaration for Texas ice stormAbbott declared disaster in seven Texas counties hard hit by this week’s winter storm. Austin has been the epicenter of a power crisis as tens of thousands wait for electricity to be restored.
5 inmates escaped from jail through plumbing pipes, authorities say
Read full article: 5 inmates escaped from jail through plumbing pipes, authorities sayFive inmates escaped from St. Francois County Detention Center in Farmington, Missouri on Tuesday night, authorities said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Texas elections secure despite COVID-related ‘irregularities’ in 2020, audit finds
Read full article: Texas elections secure despite COVID-related ‘irregularities’ in 2020, audit findsFour Texas counties were evaluated in a 359-page audit released by Secretary of State John Scott on Monday, two weeks before he steps down as chief election official.
Why some Texas cities and counties had to return millions of dollars meant to help renters during the pandemic
Read full article: Why some Texas cities and counties had to return millions of dollars meant to help renters during the pandemicFor some local relief programs, a lack of staffing, political support and effective community outreach got in the way of spending federal funds to prevent evictions, a new report found. More than $30 million went unspent and had to be returned.
Republicans rebounded in some suburban counties that had been drifting blue
Read full article: Republicans rebounded in some suburban counties that had been drifting blueAfter seeing Democrats gain momentum in suburbs of Houston and Dallas, Republicans succeeded in reclaiming ground this election. But the GOP is still a long way from returning to pre-Trump support, even in ruby red counties.
Hundreds of mail-in ballots are being returned to Texas voters because they don’t comply with new voting law
Read full article: Hundreds of mail-in ballots are being returned to Texas voters because they don’t comply with new voting lawLocal elections officials say an unexpectedly large number of ballots for the March primary are being initially rejected for lacking newly required ID information.
Murder suspect arrested after leading Houston police on chase, striking several vehicles
Read full article: Murder suspect arrested after leading Houston police on chase, striking several vehiclesHOUSTON – Investigators said a man with a violent history is in custody following a chase in Houston where he struck several vehicles on Tuesday. The constable’s office said Chambliss had removed an ankle monitor and was out on a PR bond for a murder charge in Hays County, which is southwest of Austin. After roughly two years behind bars, Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau said Chambliss requested his $250,000 bond be reduced. Court records show a judge granted a PR bond with GPS monitor in 2019 “under extreme protest” from the prosecutor. Investigators said Chambliss could face additional charges in Harris County for the chase, but those details have not been released yet.
Biden camp cancels multiple Texas events after a "Trump Train" surrounded a campaign bus
Read full article: Biden camp cancels multiple Texas events after a "Trump Train" surrounded a campaign busOn Saturday night, Trump tweeted a video of the Trump supporters following the Biden bus saying, “I LOVE TEXAS!”When reached for comment, the Texas GOP Chairman Allen West dismissed questions regarding the incident. According to the Biden campaign, multiple trucks pulled in front of the bus and appeared to try to slow it down. During that time, the person said, the group of Trump supporters fell back behind the police. “All involved parties are being referred to the San Marcos Police Department should they desire to file any type of report with law enforcement. Democratic officials say Trump supporters created a dangerous situation on Interstate 35 and continued following the bus into Austin.
Swamped with voter requests, the Texas secretary of state’s office has become a focus of frustration
Read full article: Swamped with voter requests, the Texas secretary of state’s office has become a focus of frustrationThe office is set up primarily to mail voters forms they need to fill out and send to their appropriate county election office. But, like other state agencies, the secretary of state’s office is hobbled by work restrictions because of the coronavirus. Many of the ballot application requests are being handled from employees' homes, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed. It’s just, it is negligent.”While the state’s deadline to request a mail-in ballot application is Oct. 23, the U.S. You can print out your own application, contact your local elections office to receive one or request one from the secretary of state’s office.
How a local Texas politician helped a serial entrepreneur use COVID-19 to boost his business
Read full article: How a local Texas politician helped a serial entrepreneur use COVID-19 to boost his businessThe leaders worked, sometimes vigorously, to persuade their local governments to buy COVID-19 tests from a company Hayungs was hoping to partner with. Villalobos, the Hays County chief of staff, said in a statement that Republicans were blocking access to COVID-19 tests. “Approved to Re-Vamp / Re-Brand Hays County Indigent Healthcare Program.”The county commissioners had not approved him to do anything. He did so without input from key Hays County medical leaders or approval from his fellow commissioners, as county rules require. Hayungs’ company falsely claimed in a letter that it was the FEMA-designated COVID-19 response team for Hays County.
Trump scales back landmark environmental law, saying it will help restart the economy
Read full article: Trump scales back landmark environmental law, saying it will help restart the economyTo spur economic growth, the Trump administration wants to remove processes meant to protect the environment that some large-scale infrastructure projects go through. Trump and his allies in business and industry argue that the law has proved costly and cumbersome to developers. He wants to exempt some projects and activities from environmental review altogether while speeding up the time frame for reviews for other projects. In January, Trump faulted the laws lengthy review process as one of the main reasons the nations infrastructure had fallen into disrepair. Kym Hunter, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in email that it made no sense to scale back the law at a time when marginalized communities were demanding greater input into decisions affecting their public health.