Local
Austin’s Four Points Residents Concerned Over New Homeless Encampment
Homeless encampments continue to pose problems in Austin.
Keller ISD Backs Down, Allows Students with Pro-Trump Parking Spot Art to Repaint
After being instructed to erase art depicting the former president, students may now repaint their parking spots.
Sex Abuse Victim’s Mom Scorches Lorena ISD School Board
Amanda Gilmore said, “There’s a special place in Hell” for defenders of Lorena Primary Principal April Jewell.
Parents Split Over Student Access to Cell Phones at School
Keller ISD is the latest district to consider keeping kids off their phones during school hours.
Local Archive
Water: Conservation should be separate from infrastructure finance policy
A state plan to help with local financing of water systems and resource development is something I support but, the water plan talk seems often to be purposely conflated with various forced conservation elements. Resource development and financing are endeavors very...
Dewhurst’s praise of less debate troubling
The Texas Leadership Award from the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life was recently given to Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House. At the award event on Tuesday, Gov. Rick Perry said: “I look forward to many years of your leadership, in the Legislature and...
Texas cities don’t need another tax channel
Robert Duncan, chairman of the Senate’s State Affairs committee, told the Lubbock newspaper: “I think the momentum in the Legislature is more to cut taxes and hold the line rather than have new taxes, even on the local level.” He was talking about a project of...
Open Season on ISD Taxpayer Wallets Begins
'Tis that time of year again, when school district trustees make the all-important decision to send bond questions to the ballot box. The next available election date is May 11, so mark your calendar now. Austin ISD is so far leading the hunt (far and away) with four...
Austin Sets Date on Bike Share Boondoggle Launch
Remember that bike-share program pedaled by the Austin City Council in 2011? It’s set for launch later this year. Two years ago, reports surfaced about the Austin City Council’s willingness to shell out $1.8 million on a “bike-share” program. Austin Bike Program...
Missouri City to Impose “Crash Tax”
Be extra careful when you drive through the Houston suburb of Missouri City! Starting in March, those drivers at fault in car crashes will be charged as much as $2000, to pay for first responders. This fee is being imposed by the Missouri City Fire Department....
Austin Surplus Spending
Austin City Council members were seeing dollar signs earlier today, thanks to a $14.3 million surplus. So what did they do with the extra tax dollars? Spent it, of course! Thanks mainly to higher than expected sales tax revenue, the City of Austin has extra cash on...
Transparency in the Modern Age
Texas government, be it statewide or local, seems mired in a dilemma. On the one hand, we have some tremendously transparent government entities (i.e., the city of Houston's website was given an A- rating by Sunshine Review last year). On the other, we have some...
Microchip ID Cards OK Under First Amendment, Says Court
Back in November, I wrote about Northside ISD's effort to increase their state revenue cut down on truancy and keep students in the classroom with microchip tracking technology in student identification cards. At the time, this effort was being challenged in court,...