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North East ISD Teacher Accused of Sexually Grooming Student
John Ghrist used Snapchat and a school-approved app to message a 15-year-old girl, and police fear there could be more victims.
Suspects in Jocelyn Nungaray’s Murder May Be Tied to Violent Venezuelan Gang
Search warrants revealed that both men had videos and photos with gang signs and emojis linked to the Tren de Aragua gang.
Huffines: Time for Texas to Ban Taxpayer-funded Lobbying
A new solutions paper outlines steps the legislature can take to ensure taxes do not go toward killing citizen-priority legislation.
The Case For School Choice in Texas
School choice combats failing government schools and woke teachers through competition.
The Archive
A King’s Charge
With property taxes in Texas at near-confiscatory levels, State Rep. Phil King of Weatherford has been leading the charge to eliminate the scheme altogether. He's taken a step in making that happen by introducing a constitutional amendment that would begin devoting a...
Did pork silence El Paso’s drug debate?
El Paso has been the center of a lot of controversy lately. First, the City Council voted unanimously in favor of a debate on drug policy. When Mayor John Cook vetoed the resolution, several legislators quickly discouraged the City Council from overriding his veto....
Making Sausage
Texans are now officially locked out of the more interesting discussions at the Capitol. House members voted to exclude their caucus meetings from the state's open meetings laws. State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) defended the action, saying the caucuses "are a...
Step in the Right Direction
Austin City Manager Marc Ott is rolling out a new initiative, calling on his employees to identify ways the city can trim its budget. In a time when Austinites are having to do the same this is a welcome sight. The program is called Dollars and Cents and at the onset...
Tighten The Belt, Don’t Add Notches
Today House members voted to increase their operating budgets and raise the salary cap for legislative employees. While small businesses are tightening their belts, legislators are adding notches. Under the new rules, legislators will get an extra $1,000 per month to...
Putting The Gas Tax To Work
Even though we're told the gasoline tax is used to fund highway construction, we know some to non-road purposes. State Rep. David Leibowitz (D-San Antonio) wants to fix that, amending the constitution to require our gas-tax dollars are "used for the sole purpose of...
Less Money To Play With
A worsening national economy means Texas lawmakers are going to have almost $9 billion less in tax money to spend this Session than last. Talmadge Heflin over at the Texas Public Policy Foundation says the "Legislature needs to demonstrate leadership this year by...
Teen Voting
State Rep. Hubert Vo wants to let 17-year-olds vote in party primaries. The Houston Democrat/slumlord introduced a Constitutional Amendment 34 that will let anyone vote in the primaries who "will be 18 years of age or older on the date of the subsequent general...
Dinosaurs In The Capitol
Every Session bills are filed in the Texas House that range from the humorous to the inane. But of all the work lawmakers face this Session, none might be less relevant to modern life than re-desingating the official state dinosaur. Didn't know we had one, did you?...