Tag Archives: Texas

There’s only one way forward after this primary

The worst people you know had a very good week last week. It’s likely to get better for them after the runoffs. These headlines capture the essence of it: ‘Disastrous’: A shaken Texas House prepares for rightward shift after record … Continue reading

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Dallas Mayoral recall effort goes nowhere for now

It could still happen, but the same concerns exist as before. In a press release early Wednesday morning, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson let everyone know that the effort to recall him had failed “miserably.” Dallas activist and business owner Davante … Continue reading

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Annunciation House has its hearing

Seems like it might have gone well for them. An El Paso district judge lashed out at the Texas Attorney General’s Office after a lawyer said in court Thursday that Annunciation House was “stonewalling” by refusing to negotiate over documents … Continue reading

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City of Uvalde gets its report on police performance at Robb Elementary

It landed with a thud. A city-commissioned independent review of Uvalde police’s response to the Robb Elementary School shooting cleared local officers of wrongdoing, infuriating parents of the 19 children killed in the massacre and at least two city council … Continue reading

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Ousted Rep. Rogers has some thoughts about why he lost

He’s on the right track. It’s just a question of whether he takes it to the correct destination. The corruption that exists at the highest level of Texas state government would have made Governor “Pa” Ferguson blush. Governor Greg Abbott … Continue reading

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Evaluating the polls

This year we got a set of polls for various Democratic primary races from the UH Hobby Center. Because of the nature of some of the races and the fact that we don’t usually get this kind of polling data, … Continue reading

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Boca Chica land swap allowed to proceed

I still dunno, man. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously Monday to pursue an exchange that would give 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park in Cameron County to Elon Musk’s SpaceX spacecraft company. The state park land … Continue reading

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 8 edition

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, primary coverage. And more primary coverage. And some primary analysis, even. This week’s post was brought to … Continue reading

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Initial thoughts on the 2024 primary

Some opening considerations as we peruse the final unofficial voting data. Before you read my words, go check out Stace, Campos, Reform Austin, and the Texas Signal. Here we go: – Final turnout in Harris County was 176,396 for Dems … Continue reading

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Three Ken Paxton updates

I missed these in the recent news rush, but spotted them all more or less at once via the Google News app on my phone. Doomscrolling for the win, I guess. Whistleblowers: Texas Supreme Court must reject Ken Paxton’s ‘scheme’ … Continue reading

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Primary 2024 results: Democratic headlines

It’s going to be a late night and I have a couple of long days ahead of me, so I’m going to do some quick summaries based on what I now know, and will come back later to fill the … Continue reading

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Primary 2024 results: Republican headlines

It’s going to be a late night and I have a couple of long days ahead of me, so I’m going to do some quick summaries based on what I now know, and will come back later to fill the … Continue reading

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Today is Primary Day 2024

From the inbox: Election Day for the first-ever Joint Primary Elections in Harris County is tomorrow, March 5. More than 500 vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for voters to cast their ballots. Voters can … Continue reading

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The Fifth Circuit remains extremely on brand

Of all the Fifth Circuits in the world, they’re the Fifth Circuitest. A new law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants seeking asylum in the United States may soon take effect after an appeals court stepped in to … Continue reading

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Abortion and IVF roundup

Texas IVF patients are dealing with a lot of uncertainty right now. Heather Burzlaff has four embryos in a freezer in Dallas and she doesn’t know what to do with them. After seven years of medications, egg retrievals and waiting, … Continue reading

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One more look at primary turnout

Here’s the Derek Ryan report on early voting in the primaries, which sent me off into a rabbit hole yesterday. Early voting is over. (Thank goodness! Early voting is always the busiest point of the entire two-year election cycle for … Continue reading

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Getting revenge is the best revenge

I have one thing to say to these Republicans. State Rep. Glenn Rogers is mad as hell, and he’s not being shy about it. “Kiss my ass!” he recently told a statewide Republican official who had endorsed his primary opponent. … Continue reading

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Final 2024 Primary Early Voting totals

Off we go to Primary Day. Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 7,735 30,142 37,877 2016 13,034 72,782 85,816 2020 22,785 116,748 139,533 2024 14,661 87,591 102,252 2012 17,734 60,347 78,081 2016 20,780 110,365 131,145 2020 22,801 82,108 104,909 2024 … Continue reading

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Crypto miners really don’t want to tell us how much energy they consume

And for now at least, they don’t have to. U.S. officials this week indefinitely withdrew a survey aimed at gathering information on the crypto-mining industry’s power use, hindering attempts to understand the sector’s impact on grids and energy prices at … Continue reading

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Starr County DA disciplined for that self-induced abortion murder charge from 2022

It’s something. Not much, but something. A Texas prosecutor has been disciplined for allowing murder charges to be filed against a woman who self-managed an abortion in a case that sparked national outrage. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez agreed … Continue reading

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The worst judge in Texas

I admit, the competition for this is fierce, and we should draw a distinction between state and federal jurists, but no matter how you define it, Supreme Court Justice John Devine is a strong contender for the title. Speaking to … Continue reading

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PFLAG sues Paxton over intrusive data requests

Time for more deep breathing. An LGBTQ advocacy group is suing the Texas attorney general after his agency requested information that the group said would reveal the identities of its members, including those who sought to stay anonymous in recent … Continue reading

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The Panhandle wildfires

Scary stuff. A blanket of snow and rain that descended over the Texas Panhandle on Thursday helped firefighters to quell the spread of the largest wildfire in the state’s history, which has engulfed more than 1 million acres of land … Continue reading

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Flying taxis coming to an airport near you

Possibly in time for the FIFA World Cup. The Houston Airport System says they plan to bring air taxis to the area within the next two years, just in time for the FIFA World Cup in 2026. “Right now we’re … Continue reading

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 2 edition

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have a grab bag of election news, school news, Dallas city politics, school district news, eclipse … Continue reading

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2024 Primary Early Voting, Day Ten: Down to the wire

Here we go, the penultimate day and the day where we really see the uptick in early voting: Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 7,458 23,080 30,538 2016 12,202 53,302 65,504 2020 21,658 82,365 104,023 2024 14,002 65,756 79,758 2012 … Continue reading

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SB4 blocked by federal court

Good. A federal judge in Austin on Thursday halted a new state law that would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. The law, Senate Bill 4, was scheduled to take effect Tuesday. U.S. … Continue reading

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NASA needs more Mars simulation astronauts

Your next job opportunity. NASA is seeking applicants to participate in its next simulated one-year Mars surface mission to help inform the agency’s plans for human exploration of the Red Planet. The second of three planned ground-based missions called CHAPEA … Continue reading

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2024 Primary Early Voting, Day Nine: Two more to go

A slight uptick yesterday in early voting, with the two big days to come. Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 6,719 19,324 22,752 2016 11,367 45,552 56,919 2020 19,400 66,322 85,722 2024 12,448 55,456 67,904 2012 15,239 39,482 54,721 2016 … Continue reading

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Paxton sues Pornhub under the currently-enforceable state anti-porn law

Welp. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this week sued a major online porn distributor in an effort to enforce a new state law mandating age verification and purported health warnings on adult websites. The lawsuit, filed in state court … Continue reading

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The state of robotaxis in 2024

Good read. In 2023, it almost felt as if the promise of robotaxis was soon to be fulfilled. Hailing a robotaxi had briefly become the new trendy thing to do in San Francisco, as simple and everyday as ordering a … Continue reading

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2024 Primary Early Voting, Day Eight: That was Tuesday

We are at the point of the early voting calendar where I begin to run out of clever intros. Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 6,381 16,371 22,752 2016 10,970 34,419 45,389 2020 18,503 54,325 72,728 2024 10,440 47,185 57,625 … Continue reading

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You’re not going to fall for Greg Abbott’s BS about IVF, are you?

Let’s count the ways in which he dodged and weaved. Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that he supports Texas families having access to in vitro fertilization treatments and has “no doubt” the state will address issues raised by a recent … Continue reading

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2024 Primary Early Voting, Day Seven: Week 2 begins

Week Two is where the action really begins, though usually you don’t see the first hint of it until Wednesday. Let’s check the board: Year Mail Early Total ============================== 2012 6,295 13,763 18,058 2016 10,180 28,367 38,547 2020 16,651 44,349 … Continue reading

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