Charles M. Barnard of Wichita Falls was appointed 89th District Court judge by Gov. Greg Abbott. He succeeds Mark Price, who passed away in February. Barnard's term expires at the next general election in November 2016.

Communications firm R&R Partners has hired Jill Warren as counsel in its Washington, D.C., office. Warren is a former policy director and special assistant attorney general for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. She also was a founding principal of the public affairs firm The Patriot Group.

Annie's List — which focuses on electing Democratic women to the Legislature — has endorsed Ina Minjarez in the special election to fill the empty Bexar County-based House District 124 seat. The election is set for Tuesday, March 31.

Deaths: Mary Edwards, former State Democratic Executive Committeewoman, SD-10, and former Tarrant County Central Labor Council board member. She also staffed for state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, for 18 years.