Hurricane Harvey, school safety and teacher pensions all made the list of priorities likely to receive funding from the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund.
2019
Posted in
Politics
Oprah to interview Beto O’Rourke in New York in February
Oprah Winfrey is set to sit down with Beto O’Rourke on Feb. 5 as part of a series of conversations she’s holding in Times Square in New York City.
Posted inState Government
Texas officials vote to remove Confederate plaque that says Civil War wasn’t over slavery
State Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, has led a crusade to get rid of the plaque, which asserts the Civil War was “not a rebellion, nor was its underlying cause to sustain slavery.”
Posted in
Economy
At least 35,000 Texans with federal jobs aren’t being paid because of the shutdown
The partial federal shutdown could come to a head Friday, when tens of thousands of Texas federal workers will miss their paychecks. Meanwhile, officials also worry about small businesses who rely on federal contracts.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: For Dan Patrick, something new — the passenger’s seat
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has been the biggest agenda-setter in state leadership in recent legislative sessions. With a narrower majority in the Senate, a closer result in his last election and a new House speaker in place, he’s a bit quieter.
Posted in
Politics
Tarrant County GOP’s vice-chairman survives recall vote over his religion
County party officials overwhelmingly rejected attempts to remove Shahid Shafi because he’s Muslim. The 139-49 vote in his favor came after the state’s top Republican officials denounced the failed move to oust the trauma surgeon.
Posted in
Politics
Point of Order: How Dan Huberty wants to fix school finance
In our new podcast, Point of Order, Evan Smith asks Dan Huberty, chairman of the House Public Education Committee, what it will take — and what it will cost — for state lawmakers to solve the state’s most intractable problem.
Posted in
Politics
In the Rio Grande Valley, Trump’s visit to push for wall funding draws cheers and protests
Amid signs, shouts and waving flags, a veteran says Trump’s talk of the border as a war zone is overblown and an immigrant from Mexico says she supports the president’s push to protect the border.
Posted in
Immigration
Donald Trump says Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered Texas’ help building the border wall
It’s unclear how serious the president is about the idea, but Gov. Greg Abbott expressed skepticism for such a plan since the federal government isn’t committing the billions of dollars Trump wants.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Bill would curtail criminal prosecutions of rent-to-own customers
Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, wants to restrain the practice of prosecuting people who default on rent-to-own contracts for household items like TVs and sofas. The proposal comes in the wake of an investigation of rent-to-own prosecutions by The Texas Tribune and Nerd Wallet.