Category Archives: State News
Confusion, Tension Roil Texas-Mexico Border As Federal Government Attempts To Reunify Immigrant Families
As an El Paso shelter prepared to take in undocumented immigrants separated from their children, President Trump’s tweets calling for deportations without due process drew rebukes.
Read more
Texas Just Opened the Nation’s First State-Run Gold Depository. Here’s What That Means.
Texans can now store their precious metals in a publicly backed secure vault close to home, as the United States’ first state-run gold depository opens for business in Austin. A 23,000-square-foot building — operated by the private storage company Lone Star Tangible Assets — will serve as Texas’ precious metals depository until 2019, when Lone Star is scheduled to open a facility double that size in Leander.
Read moreGov. Greg Abbott Announces School Safety Plan and Proposed Changes to Gun Laws After Santa Fe Shooting
The governor’s announcement follows three days of roundtable discussions about school safety last week at the Capitol. He said he was open to a special session to implement some of his ideas.
Read moreHurricane Season Starts June 1. Here Are Some Ways Texans Can Prepare.
Hurricane season is coming — and it can be deadly. Texas got its most recent glimpse of that during Hurricane Harvey, a storm that slammed the Gulf Coast in August and left Houston grappling with unprecedented flooding. Dozens of people died. The storm caused an estimated $200 billion in damage. Smaller towns that rely on tourism are still grappling with the aftermath. But everyone does need to be prepared; Hurricane season in Texas starts June 1.
Read moreHardline Conservatives Lose Big in Texas House Runoffs
Most of the seven Texas House Republican primary runoffs fell along familiar ideological fault lines in the Republican Party. The more moderate candidate won in most cases.
Read moreSeawater Desalination Plant Proposed for Corpus Christi Area
The proposed plant would be constructed in the city of Gregory and would be one of the first in Texas to use only seawater.
Read moreSaying 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.
Read moreTexas 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 more