Nothing offers a better distraction from nasty political fights over serious subjects than nasty political infighting over Texas college sports.
July 2021
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
What you need to know about the latest COVID-19 surge and how to stay safe
COVID-19 cases have been increasing in Texas and nationally — mostly among unvaccinated people — as the highly contagious delta variant has become dominant. Here’s what that means for Texans, both vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
As Texas COVID-19 cases surge again, some local officials urge everyone to wear masks and unvaccinated residents to stay home
Officials in Dallas, Harris and Travis counties want residents to take stronger precautions as the delta variant drives an increase in coronavirus infections across Texas.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Texas lawmakers file bill to block UT-Austin from leaving Big 12 for SEC
The move is largely symbolic as the legislative session has been ground to a halt by the quorum-busting Democrats who fled Texas 11 days ago. Even if the Democrats returned, Abbott would have to add the item to his special session agenda for it to have a chance at passing.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas veterans homes overseen by George P. Bush were often the deadliest places to be during COVID-19 pandemic
Seven of the state’s nine veterans homes had a fatality rate of 25% or more, far higher than the statewide average of 11% for nursing homes. Bush has vowed to not renew the operators’ contracts.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas has seen nearly 9,000 COVID-19 deaths since February. All but 43 were unvaccinated people.
Preliminary data shows 99.5% of COVID-related deaths in Texas were among unvaccinated people, according to the Department of State Health Services.
Posted in
Politics
Gov. Greg Abbott promised “transparency and accountability” for border wall donations. But donors don’t have to use real names.
Despite promises from Abbott that transparency in the crowdfunding process for the border wall would be paramount, donor information released to The Texas Tribune for the first week of collections was bereft of any way to verify the identities of the majority of the donors.
Posted in
Politics
Lawmakers concerned about UT leaving Big 12 conference make their case to Gov. Greg Abbott’s office
Four prominent lawmakers — one each with ties to Baylor University, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University — met with Gov. Greg Abbott’s staff Thursday, one day after news broke that the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma had reached out to the Southeastern Conference about joining.
Posted in
Politics
Texas House Democrats trying to block the GOP voting bill are pinning their hopes on Congress. So far Congress is unmoved.
Over the past few days, the Texas delegation has met with nearly all of the most powerful Democrats in Washington, save for President Joe Biden. But there is not yet clear movement to revive the congressional Democrats’ federal voting legislation.
Posted in
Energy
Texans not expected to lose power through the rest of the summer, regulators say
The state’s electricity regulators said they’re taking steps to assure a skeptical public that the power won’t go out again if Texas experiences extreme weather this summer.
