by Tony McDonald | May. 19, 2017 | State, Uncategorized
After being sued for fraud by one business partner last year, Byron Cook has now also been sued by a Collin County pastor who alleges that he was defrauded by Cook’s business scheme. Mike Buster, executive pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, filed suit...
by Cary Cheshire | May. 19, 2017 | State
At the end of April as the Texas House was debating legislation to ban sanctuary cities, four lieutenants of House Speaker Joe Straus skipped a vote on a crucial amendment intended to strengthen the law. While House Democrats did almost everything they could to stop...
by Tony McDonald | May. 18, 2017 | Local
One of the Houston-based special prosecutors who is prosecuting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton may have violated state law requiring prosecutors to receive training in how to avoid so-called Brady violations regarding the withholding of exculpatory evidence. The...
by Erin Anderson | May. 18, 2017 | Local
Dallas’ embattled bus bureaucracy is scrambling for cash in the wake of last week’s credit downgrade, more scandal, and another hearing in the Texas Legislature on a bill to abolish the agency. The bureaucracy is drowning in debt, despite being subsidized by taxpayers...
by Cary Cheshire | May. 18, 2017 | State
Conservative leaders across the Lone Star State are becoming increasingly frustrated with Texas GOP Chairman Tom Mechler for his failure to aggressively advocate for the party’s legislative priorities. For a number of years, conservatives have been distrustful of...
by Ross Kecseg | May. 18, 2017 | Uncategorized
Hundreds of city and county officials joined an anti-taxpayer coalition in Austin recently to oppose a critically important property tax reform bill. Among other important provisions, the Senate’s version of the bill (SB 2) would empower taxpayers to vote on excessive...
by Charles Blain | May. 18, 2017 | Local
Houston taxpayers have had protection against increasing property taxes for almost fifteen years, but if Mayor Sylvester Turner has his way, that won’t be the case for much longer. During the 2014 mayoral campaign, in the midst of pension talks, and as recently as his...
by Michael Quinn Sullivan | May. 18, 2017 | State
Hiding behind Texas schoolchildren, two associations representing bureaucrats are often found promoting public policies that leave children vulnerable while attacking taxpayers. And the worst part is that taxpayers end up footing the tab for their lobbying activities....
by Ross Kecseg | May. 17, 2017 | Local
The school board of a North Texas school district is forcing taxpayers to provide its head administrator with perks never before seen in Texas. The school board has barely flinched under criticism, even since recent news reports exposed the district’s absurd policies....
by Erin Anderson | May. 17, 2017 | Local
Just days after voters said yes to a $600 million bond package for expanding Collin College, trustees met to approve a $9.6 million contract for “program management services” related to the expansion. That amount is just for “Phase 1” of the mega-bond funded “Master...
by Tony McDonald | May. 17, 2017 | State, Uncategorized
On the heels of a letter from Texas House Speaker Joe Straus begging Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate to come to his rescue and pass a sunset safety net bill in order to avoid a special session, sources within the capitol are coming forward to confirm that...
by Cary Cheshire | May. 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
Legislation that would allow ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft to operate statewide is one step closer to passing after a flawed bill to address the issue received approval in the Texas Senate on Wednesday. With a vote of 20-11 House Bill 100 passed the state’s...
by Cary Cheshire | May. 17, 2017 | State
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is drawing a line in the sand for House Speaker Joe Straus and his lieutenants, demanding that the House pass conservative reforms that have so far been blocked or face a special session. At a press conference Wednesday morning, Patrick told...
by Tony McDonald | May. 16, 2017 | Local
The Dallas Court of Appeals has stayed further proceedings in the prosecution of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton pending a hearing on Paxton’s petition for mandamus and prohibition against Judge George Gallagher. In his petition for writ of mandamus and writ of...
by Keith Self | May. 16, 2017 | Commentary
Rhetoric from local politicians opposing property tax reform has escalated in recent days, specifically in testimony before the Texas House Ways and Means Committee. It brings to mind something I recently read in a book of Ronald Reagan’s hand written notes:...
by Erin Anderson | May. 15, 2017 | Local
In the latest blow to Dallas’s problem-plagued bus bureaucracy, Moody’s again downgraded the credit rating of Dallas County Schools, this time to “junk bond” status. The downgrade is bound to affect how the Texas Legislature decides to deal with the financially...
by Ross Kecseg | May. 15, 2017 | Local, State, Uncategorized
Texas homeowners pay the fourth-highest property tax bills in the nation, when home values are taken into account. Despite Texans clamoring for real reform and relief, state lawmakers in the Texas House failed to deliver when they diluted and defanged the Senate’s...
by 1836 Studios | May. 14, 2017 | Texas Scorecard Video
by Cary Cheshire | May. 14, 2017 | Uncategorized
On Mother’s Day Weekend, most Texans are sending their mothers and grandmothers some flowers, but Austin lobbyists and their liberal Republican allies are trying to send them a tax increase. Few proposed bills this session have generated more outrage from Texans than...
by Lauren Melear | May. 14, 2017 | Local
It’s often said that apathy is one of the greatest enemies of democracy. Thankfully, there are people like Colton Driver of Stephenville who lead by example – demonstrating that political activism isn’t as daunting as some may believe, and with perseverance, can be...
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