Tag Archives: Sheriff

Loving County defunds its police

How is it that a place with so few people can generate so much news? When activists demanded cuts to police budgets in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 death at the hands of Minneapolis police, Texas lawmakers reacted swiftly, passing a … Continue reading

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Is this the year Tarrant County finally goes blue?

Maybe. “Tarrant County is the 15th-largest county in the country, so it should get a lot of attention. And it’s the third-largest county in Texas, so it makes sense that there would be a lot of focus there,” said Mark … Continue reading

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The 911 drones of Montgomery County

I’m kind of fascinated by this. Drones could soon take on a new role in The Woodlands, responding to 911 calls ahead of first responders. Leaders of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office see the drone pilot program as a way … Continue reading

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Judge orders some Uvalde records to be released

Really hard to believe that this is still a contested issue, but here we are. The school district and sheriff’s office in Uvalde must release their records and documents related to the Robb Elementary School shooting — including police body … Continue reading

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Migrants’ lawsuit against company that flew them to Martha’s Vineyard can proceed

Of interest. A federal judge in Boston has ruled that migrants flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 can proceed with a lawsuit against the Florida company that took them there. The judge also dismissed claims against Florida Gov. … Continue reading

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LA to sue Abbott over migrant busing

Go for it. Los Angeles is preparing to sue Texas over Gov. Greg Abbott’s migrant busing program, which has sent more than 400 people there. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to investigate whether there are legal … Continue reading

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More requests for DOJ asked to investigate shady migrant flights

Massachusetts gets aboard. Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois is officially joining hands with California and Texas officials who have asked US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to help  investigate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s scheme to transport immigrants to Martha’s … Continue reading

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DOJ asked to investigate shady migrant flights

Feels like this should have been done awhile ago, but better late than never. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), California State Attorney General Rob Bonta and Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar sent a letter to the Department of Justice on Thursday … Continue reading

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Bexar County Sheriff’s Office files charges related to Florida immigration relocation stunt

Update of interest. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says it has completed its investigation into the transport of 49 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last September by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and filed criminal charges with the … Continue reading

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Perla Huerta added to migrants’ lawsuit against Ron DeSantis

Noted for the record. A Boston-based law firm suing Florida’s governor for his scheme to transport asylum-seekers from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard under false pretenses has added Perla Huerta — the San Antonio woman accused of recruiting the migrants … Continue reading

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Two DeSantis updates

From the Express News: Top aides to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were directly involved in arranging chartered flights that took 48 South Americans from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last month, records show. Texts from Larry Keefe, DeSantis’ public safety … Continue reading

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Treasury Department investigating DeSantis

Noted for the record. The Treasury Department is now investigating whether the taxpayer money Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) spent to fly Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard for political theater last month came from federal COVID-19 relief. Richard Delmar, the … Continue reading

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So did Ron DeSantis break Texas law or not?

A couple of lawyers try to figure it out. Bexar County, Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar has announced a criminal investigation into Venezuelan migrants being induced in San Antonio to board chartered planes and flown to Martha’s Vineyard. Florida Governor Ron … Continue reading

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Of course people are harassing the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office now

This is the world we live in. Hate mail and calls are rushing into the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office after Sheriff Javier Salazar announced an investigation into how 48 South American migrants were “lured” onto a flight to Martha’s Vineyard. … Continue reading

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Three migrants sue Ron DeSantis

I’m venturing a little from the core mission of covering Texas politics, but this was too irresistible, and there is a Texas connection. Three Venezuelan migrants flown from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last week filed a federal class-action lawsuit … Continue reading

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Bexar County Sheriff to investigate the “immigrants lured to Martha’s Vineyard” saga

Good, because this whole thing is not only weird and creepy but it’s not hard to see how at least some aspects of it could have been illegal. Sheriff Javier Salazar said Monday the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is opening … Continue reading

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Another lawsuit over Uvalde public information

This all really is ridiculous. The Texas Tribune, along with a group of other news organizations, filed a lawsuit Monday against the city of Uvalde, the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District asking a judge … Continue reading

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Sheriff Gonzalez nominated to lead ICE

Wow. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he will nominate Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, a vocal skeptic of cooperating with federal immigration authorities in certain circumstances, to serve as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As head of … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Fort Bend County, part 3

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions Appellate courts, Part 1 Appellate courts, Part 2 Judicial averages Other cities District Attorney County Attorney Sheriff Tax Assessor County Clerk HCDE Fort … Continue reading

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A closer look at county races, Part 2

Part One is here. As before, this is about taking a closer look at the counties where Democrats made gains from 2016. Collin County: Our reach may have exceeded our grasp, but it’s important to note that progress was made. … Continue reading

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A closer look at county races, Part 1

In this series of entries, I’m going to take a trip through the local election results pages on some counties of interest, to get a closer look at how they went this year and how that compares to 2016. We … Continue reading

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Menefee and Fagan

I’m delighted about the election of Christian Menefee as Harris County Attorney, and look forward to his inauguration. Christian Menefee, the youngest and first African-American elected Harris County attorney Tuesday evening, took little time to celebrate his historic victory. By … Continue reading

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Tarrant County has gone (tentatively) blue

At the Presidential level, with votes still being counted. Though President Donald Trump has been declared the winner in Texas, former Vice President Joe Biden has taken the lead with the latest results in Tarrant County. Biden had a 427 … Continue reading

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Omnibus Election Day post

I was up really late last night, and there’s still a lot of votes to be counted. The SOS website was mostly trash, but a lot of county election sites took their sweet, sweet time even reporting any Election Day … Continue reading

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2020 primary runoff results: Judicial and county races

Winding things up… The big, albeit not unexpected, news is that Cheryl Elliott Thornton defeated incumbent Judge Alex Smoots-Thomas, with over 70% of the vote. That honestly comes as a relief. I sincerely hope Judge Smoots-Thomas gets her stuff straightened … Continue reading

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So how’s Greg Abbott doing post-mask order?

Greg Abbott consistently polls as the politician with the highest approval rating in the state. He was basking in adulation a few weeks ago when things were reopening and the coronavirus numbers still looked good. How are things going for … Continue reading

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Runoff reminder: County races

Previously: Statewide, Congress, SBOE and State Senate, State House. There were a ton of contested county race primaries in Harris County, with all of the countywide offices except one HCDE position featuring at least three candidates. When the dust settled, … Continue reading

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Javier Ambler

Remember his name. Javier Ambler was driving home from playing poker on March 28, 2019, when he failed to dim the headlights of his SUV to oncoming traffic. A Williamson County sheriff’s deputy initiated a stop and began chasing him … Continue reading

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After-deadline filing review: Fort Bend County

Fort Bend County had a big Democratic breakthrough in 2018 (though the gains weren’t fully realized, as some Republican incumbents were not challenged), but you could have seen it coming in 2016, when Hillary Clinton carried the county by almost … Continue reading

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Filing update: Focus on Harris County

One more look at who has and hasn’t yet filed for stuff as we head into the final weekend for filing. But first, this message: Hi y’all, as we approach the filing deadline in Texas, this is a reminder that … Continue reading

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Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls will step down

That sound you hear is a domino falling. Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls announced Wednesday that he would not seek a third term in 2020. “My work in law enforcement, it’s been an honor and a privilege,” said Nehls. … Continue reading

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New Dallas County Sheriff chosen

Meet Lupe Valdez’s designated successor. Chief Deputy Marian Brown, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez’s third in command, will serve as interim sheriff until voters elect a new one in November. Valdez is stepping down to run for governor. Brown, … Continue reading

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The First Amendment remains in effect in Fort Bend

For now, at least. Karen Fonseca, the owner of a white truck at the center of a social media dispute with Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls, is considering a civil rights lawsuit against the sheriff’s office. Fonseca’s attorney, Brian … Continue reading

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Lupe Valdez

Now here is some potential-candidate news of interest. Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez has emerged as potential Democratic challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott in 2018. In an interview Monday, Valdez described herself as “in the exploratory process,” looking at the … Continue reading

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