The most ambitious proposals are all but dead, leaving teachers wondering why they’re looking at small raises when the state has a historic budget surplus at its disposal.
May 2023
Posted in
Guns in Texas
Greg Abbott says to stop mass shootings, Texas must improve mental health care. A $25 billion investment hasn’t been enough.
Texas still lags nationally when it comes to mental health services and there have been seven mass shootings since Abbott took office in 2015.
Sponsor Post
Humana Healthy Horizons commits $488,000 to improve health of Texans
Community investments in 11 organizations bring total to $1.4 million since 2020, grants from Humana Foundation added another $7.3 million since 2018
Posted in
Allen Mall Shooting
Allen mall shooting victims include three kids and a couple who leave behind their 6-year-old son
A security guard, an engineer, and a child as young as three were among the eight victims of the shooting at the Allen outlet mall on Saturday.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Daniel Perry is sentenced to 25 years for killing an Austin protester. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to pardon him.
Perry’s case has become an explosive political stew of arguments over gun rights, self-defense and racist social media posts. The governor dived in early, saying he would pardon Perry even before a judge handed down the sentence.
Posted in
Energy
Shell refinery unit in Deer Park had history of malfunctions before fire
Recent “upsets” like tripped compressors, pressure loss and freezing weather resulted in thousands of pounds of unauthorized pollution but no fines or citations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Posted in
Immigration
Biden administration mobilizes troops, prepares new asylum restriction before ending Title 42
The administration’s moves come ahead of Thursday’s planned end of the public health policy that allowed U.S. agents to quickly expel migrants without letting them request asylum.
Posted in
Guns in Texas
Deaths from firearms keep climbing in Texas, decades after lawmakers began weakening gun regulations
The rate of firearm-related deaths in Texas has reached a level not seen since the 1990s. Texas lawmakers have approved more than 100 bills that loosened gun restrictions since 2000.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Bryan Slaton’s Texas House downfall could complicate GOP fight against “groomers”
Republicans were so busy policing drag artists and transgender Texans that they missed so-called “grooming behavior” by one of their own, LGBTQ advocates say.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Thwarting Democratic efforts, House Republicans revive border policing unit in early-morning vote
The proposed unit would let those who are not law officers arrest or detain suspected undocumented immigrants in border-region counties.
