Tag Archives: Pflugerville

Now we’re dealing with hoax shootings

A new thing we need to be prepared for. Texas and other states have experienced hoax shootings, but experts say these threats shouldn’t be taken lightly. Research shows that if someone is going to commit a mass shooting there is … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Now we’re dealing with hoax shootings

Appeals court upholds school district mask mandates

Maybe not the most timely ruling ever, but still nice. An appellate court on Thursday sided with Texas school districts in their dispute with state officials over mask mandates, which numerous school systems have already lifted as pandemic conditions have eased. The … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Appeals court upholds school district mask mandates

More injunctions against the mask mandate bans

Keep ’em coming. Concluding that Gov. Greg Abbott exceeded his authority by banning mask mandates in Texas, an Austin judge ruled Friday that school districts in Travis County can enforce face coverings as a COVID-19 precaution. State District Judge Catherine … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Using the dress code to skirt the ban on mask mandates

Brilliant! The Paris school district found a loophole in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order preventing mask mandates across the state. Paris ISD’s board of trustees voted to alter the district’s dress code to include masks, according to its website. The school district, which is located … Continue reading

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Anti-Israel boycott law amended

For whatever this is worth. Gov. Greg Abbott this week signed a bill into law that limits the scope of a controversial anti-Israel boycott law, just weeks after a federal judge temporarily blocked its enforcement in an ongoing First Amendment … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Injunction granted against Texas anti-Israel boycott law

From the inbox: A federal court today ruled that a Texas law that requires government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel or companies that do business with Israel is unconstitutional. The judge ruled that … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas versus AirBnB

This is one to watch. Texas is adding short-term-rental site Airbnb to a list of companies that cannot receive state investments because it disallows Israeli-owned rentals in the disputed West Bank. Airbnb is the only American-based company on Texas’ anti-Israel … Continue reading

Posted in Bidness, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Friday random ten: The city never sleeps, part 8

I don’t know about elsewhere, but all eyes remain on Austin around here as the legislative season goes into overtime. There are no Austin songs on this list, but there is a song about a suburb just north of Austin. … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Friday random ten: The city never sleeps, part 8

The fight over domestic partnership benefits is just beginning

Stuff like this was inevitable. Leaders of two Christian groups want City Council to stop extending benefits to domestic partners of city employees, now that the state attorney general has called the benefits unconstitutional. City officials reject the demand, at … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The fight over domestic partnership benefits is just beginning

Cities generally ignore Abbott’s domestic partnership opinion

Good for them. Attorney General Greg Abbott’s opinion [last] week, while not binding, is the latest of several challenges to same-sex benefits across the country that so far have had mixed results in the courts and prompted changes after officials … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abbott opines against domestic partnership benefits

This should not come as a surprise to anyone. The state Constitution prohibits government entities from recognizing domestic partnerships and offering insurance benefits to those couples, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote in an opinion on Monday. In the nonbinding … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

There are a lot of Republicans who want to move us backwards on equality

Drew Springer is at it again, and he’s got help. In the last year, two Central Texas school districts have announced plans to offer employee benefits to same-sex couples, but one bill heard Tuesday at the Capitol would make that … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Some people still want to move backwards on equality

I’ve noted several bills that aim to move Texas forward, however incrementally, towards greater equality. These are all good and fine things, but don’t mistake their existence for evidence that the Legislature is through trying to move us backwards. The … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Another Lone Star Rail update

From the Statesman: Commuter rail between San Antonio and Georgetown, at least as a legislatively sanctioned policy goal, will have its 15th birthday this spring. The tiny government agency created later to make it a reality is almost 9 years … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pflugerville solar farm

This sounds promising. A startup solar energy company with corporate backing from India has won tax breaks from the City of Pflugerville and is near a similar agreement with the Elgin school district to build a 60-megawatt solar plant. The … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments