Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion Monday supporting a Montgomery County courtroom chaplaincy program — and the use of prayer to open legal proceedings.
Jim Malewitz
Jim Malewitz was a reporter at the Tribune from 2013 to 2017, covering energy and environment and then working on investigations. Previously, he covered those issues for Stateline, a nonprofit news service in Washington, D.C. The Michigan native majored in political science at Grinnell College in Iowa and holds a master’s from the University of Iowa. There, he helped launch the nonprofit Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, where he currently serves on the board of directors. Jim also coaches the Texas Tribune Runoffs, which, sources say, is the scrappiest coed newsroom softball team west of the Mississippi.
Posted in
Health care
Massive Health Data Warehouse Delayed Again, A Decade After Texas Pitched It
Texas health regulators are starting from scratch in designing a project to store massive amounts of data — after spending millions of dollars trying to roll out a version that’s now been scrapped.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas High Court Carves “Monstrous Loophole” for Government Secrets
McAllen taxpayers cannot find out how much their city paid Enrique Iglesias to sing at a holiday concert, and that’s just one example of the fallout from a Texas Supreme Court decision that is shielding many business secrets from the public.
Posted in
Politics
Texas Agrees to Weaken Voter ID Law For November Election
Texas agreed Wednesday to terms that will weaken its voter ID law and that lawyers suing the state say will make it easier for minorities to cast a ballot in the November general election.
Posted in
Environment
Tiny Nordheim Sues State Over Drilling Waste Dump
A tiny South Texas town is continuing its fight against an oil and gas waste site half its size, even after regulators gave its developer the go-ahead. Residents of Nordheim, population 316, are suing the Texas Railroad Commission.
Posted in
Energy
Texas Challenges EPA’s Crackdown on Oilfield Methane
Texas is again taking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to court, this time challenging new rules aimed at slashing methane emissions in the oil patch.
Posted in
Economy
NextEra Would Own Oncor in $18.4 Billion Deal
Florida-based NextEra Energy has unveiled an $18.4 billion deal to buy Oncor, Texas’ largest electric transmission company.
Posted inState Government
With Prices Stabilizing, Texas Adds to Oil Rig Count
Also, a new outreach campaign is launched on the “Healthy Texas Women” program and a state representative seizes on the Pokémon Go craze to get out the vote.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Latino Voters in Texas Sue to Bolster Influence on Electing Judges
Seeking to bolster their chronically sparse representation on the state’s highest courts, seven Latino voters are suing Texas to challenge the state’s longtime method of electing judges statewide.
Posted in
Politics
Judge Orders Voter ID Fix for Texas House Runoff
Voters in Bexar County will be the first to cast their ballots under relaxed rules after a federal appeals court ruled that Texas’ strict voter identification law discriminated against minority voters.