Category Archives: State News
Saying The State Is Violating A Voter Registration Law, Federal Judge Gives Texas Until Thursday To Propose A Fix
Civil rights advocates hope that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia could force Texas to adopt a version of online voter registration.
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Texas Supreme Court Decision Could Help Uninsured Patients Negotiate Excessive Hospital Bills
The state’s highest civil court said uninsured patients suing hospitals can access records detailing how much insurance companies paid for similar procedures.
Read moreTexas Is Making Billions From Oil and Gas Drilling, But Counties Say Rural Roads Are Being Destroyed
Damage from heavy trucks has battered local roads in and around the state’s oil fields, and many counties want the state to help pay for repairs and maintenance. Will lawmakers take action?
Read moreTexas National Guard Deploys Troops to Texas-Mexico Border
The Texas National Guard plans to send hundreds more in coming days after President Donald Trump called for stronger U.S. military protection there. The federal deployments come after Texas lawmakers in recent years agreed to spend more than $2 billion in state money on border protection.
Read moreTeachers In Other States Are Striking. Texas Teachers Can’t Do That.
Texas state law says that teachers could lose their teaching certificates and pensions if they go on strike.
Read moreFederal Judge: Texas Is Violating National Voter Registration Law
A federal judge has ruled that Texas violated the federal National Voter Registration Act. The fix he orders could introduce the state’s first online voter registration system.
Read moreA Decade After Ike, Houston Still Hasn’t Spent Tens of Millions it Got to Build Affordable Housing
When the Houston Housing Authority tried to build in low-income neighborhoods, housing advocates and the feds blocked the projects. When they turned to wealthier areas, neighbors and politicians shot them down. Will anything change once federal money starts to flow after Hurricane Harvey?
Read moreLarge Portions of West Texas Sinking at Alarming Rate, New Report Finds
A report released Thursday by geophysicists at Southern Methodist University says a 4,000-square-mile area near the “Wink Sinks” is showing signs of alarming instability.
Read moreAustin Serial Bomber Dead: Blows Himself Up After Shootout With Police [VIDEO]
The Austin serial bomber suspected of delivering six homemade bombs to locations around Austin this month, killing two people, has died after blowing himself up.
Read moreAustin Rocked By Fourth Explosion In Less Than Two Weeks, Two Seriously Injured [VIDEO]
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley urged residents to remain in their homes “until we’ve had a chance to deem this neighborhood safe,” which will be “at minimum until daylight.”
Read moreAustin Rocked By Second Explosion Hours After Deadly Blast Kills One [VIDEO]
Austin, TX has been rocked by a series package bombs that have resulted in the death of two individuals and injured several others.
Read moreGov. Abbott, Other Texas Republicans Silent on Trump’s Embrace of Gun Control
It’s a striking contrast to their responses to then-President Barack Obama’s gun control efforts, which were less aggressive in some areas than President Donald Trump’s.
Read moreWill Texans See Sky-High Electric Bills This Summer? Grid Operator Sends Dire Warning
A day after the state’s main electric grid operator warned that a variety of factors including record high demand could lead to pricier and dicier electric service, experts added a grain of salt to the predictions.
Read moreTexas Leads 20-State Lawsuit Against Obamacare
Texas is suing the federal government over President Barack Obama’s landmark health care law — again.
Read moreGun Rights Groups Are Powerful in Texas — But Not Because of Money
Members of the Texas congressional delegation have received $427,800 in donations from the NRA since 1998, but that’s a relatively small fraction of their overall fundraising. Guns rights groups’ biggest boost for Texas elected officials isn’t money, it’s votes.
Read moreGeorge P. Bush’s Secret Mansion is Financed by an Undisclosed Loan From Texas Donor’s Bank
When the land commissioner wanted to buy a West Austin house, he turned to a major donor’s bank for an $850,000 mortgage — then put it under the name of a family trust to keep his home address secret. Bush says death threats made the move necessary.
Read moreU.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case Over Whether Texas Congressional and House Maps Discriminate
Further extending a drawn-out legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case over whether Texas’ congressional and House district boundaries discriminate against voters of color.
Read moreBooted From the Alamo, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Kept Treasured Library
San Antonio celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2018. The history of the city — and of Texas — comes to life in the artwork, manuscripts and maps of a library that has recently found a new home.
Read moreNow You Can Carry Any Knife (Almost) Anywhere in Texas [VIDEO]
A new state law eliminates the category of “illegal knives,” effectively expanding knife owners’ freedom to carry blades almost anywhere in the state.
Read moreMore Texans May Be Left Without Health Insurance After End of Open Enrollment
Open enrollment to buy health insurance through the federal government ends Dec. 15. With the enrollment window cut in half and Trump administration limitations on the budget, more Texans could go uninsured.
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