“Kelly Hancock was rejected by Texans because he failed to do his job. He failed to take me down during impeachment, and his career is over,” Paxton wrote on X. “It’s time for him to be fired.”

Before his appointment as acting comptroller, Hancock served in the Texas Senate and was one of two Republican state senators who voted to convict Paxton in his impeachment trial. Paxton was acquitted.

The latest dispute comes after Hancock sent a letter to Paxton and to federal officials, calling for stripping the Houston Quran Academy of its charter because of alleged ties to CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights advocacy organization. Abbott has designated that group a foreign terrorist organization.

The academy is suing to overturn the designation.

Texas poised to lead nation in data centers

Texas is poised to lead the nation by 2030 in the number of data centers, the Austin American-Statesman reported, surpassing Virginia. The state currently has 6.5 gigawatts of data center capacity under construction, accounting for 20% of the capacity added to the U.S. pipeline last year. One gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes on average.

Data centers provide the infrastructure to support both crypto currency facilities and the growth of artificial intelligence. The centers require huge amounts of power and water to operate. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates most of the state’s power grid, said the continuing growth in data centers will increase Texas energy demand by 71% in the next five years.

Central Texas has become the top data center market in the country. The American-Statesman identified at least 55 completed or planned projects between Temple and San Antonio in 2025.

$116 million in FIFA safety grants announced The city of Houston and the North Central Texas Council of Governments, areas hosting FIFA World Cup events, will receive $116 million in grants to provide for safety personnel, equipment and other public safety needs, the Governor’s Office has announced.

“The FIFA World Cup coming to Texas gives our state a premier opportunity to showcase all it has to offer,' Abbott said in a news release. “These public-safety grants will help ensure that travelers visiting and traveling throughout Texas can enjoy our great state safely, will bolster Texas' efforts to combat crime, and help prevent potential acts of violence.”

The money is coming from the federal government under the omnibus budget bill passed last year, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The budget provides $625 million in federal funding to host cities across America. The funds are allocated for recipients to provide extensive security to protect venues, players, staff and attendees against potential terrorist attacks.

License seekers will have to prove they’re in country legally Anyone seeking a professional license in Texas, from barbers to dog breeders, will have to prove they are in the country legally after May 1, The Texas Tribune reported. The state’s Commission on Licensing and Regulation last week adopted a new rule that could affect thousands of workers.

A long line of speakers at a hearing urged the commission not to adopt the rule, arguing it will hamper the state’s economy and push people to work without a license. The commission oversees the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

“TDLR has long been evaluating verification of license eligibility in line with federal law. With the transfer of the Texas Lottery to TDLR, the recent launch of our licensing system modernization project, and increased focus on combatting human trafficking, the department is moving forward with lawful presence verification,” said Caroline M. Espinosa, a TDLR spokeswoman.

TDLR attorney Derek Burkhalter told commissioners that some non-citizens will still be able to get licenses if they are here legally; for example, if they were granted asylum or admitted as a refugee.

“The proposed rules do not impose a citizenship requirement,” Burkhalter said. “Individuals who are not U.S. citizens may still be eligible for licensure if they meet the eligibility criteria.”

Pedestrian, bicyclist fatalities increase

With spring and warmer weather here, there are more pedestrians and cyclists out on the road.

More than 20% of all Texas traffic fatalities involve either pedestrians or cyclists, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, which is urging drivers to know and follow the rules for sharing the road.

In 2024, 852 cyclists and pedestrians were killed in crashes on Texas roads. There were 6,095 crashes involving pedestrians and 2,761 crashes involving bicyclists. In 2025, there were 1,372 traffic crashes involving pedestrians in Texas and 527 traffic crashes involving bicyclists. In these crashes, 186 people were killed.

“All of us share a responsibility to watch out for each other, but people on foot or riding a bike are most at risk for serious injury or worse in a crash with a car, which means drivers must be extra vigilant,” Tx-DOT Executive Director Marc Williams said.

Slightly less active hurricane season predicted Hurricane season is a little more than two months away, and weather media outlet AccuWeather is predicting a slightly less active season this year than in 2025, the Houston Chronicle reported. However, Texas and the Gulf Coast are still at risk of being hit.

AccuWeather forecasts 11 to 16 named storms, including four to eight hurricanes. Of those, one to three are expected to become Category 3 or strong hurricanes, with winds of at least 111 mph. Three to six storms could directly hit the United States, including one to three along the Gulf Coast, putting Texas and neighboring states at risk.

Last year was the first since 2015 without a hurricane making a direct U.S. landfall. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

School day mornings in the winter were an event to behold if the weather was extremely cold. Brother Eddie and I had a bedroom on the screened back porch which required tarps covering the screened area during fridgid weather. It was made inhabitable by piling on layers of heavy blankets. Luckily it was just a few steps to the heated bathroom and kitchen.

Any show of resistance about rising became a battle of wills and my mom always won. Always! If the verbal threats didn't get results the broom whacking on the foot of the bed soon brought us out of hibernation. The smell of cinnamon toast was added incentive for us to hit the cold concrete floor but even today I can still feel that warmth and comfort we had under those blankets.

Early married life in the winter brought on a change of my attitude. We were living in a small two bedroom woodframe house with one propane heater in the living room and one in our bedroom along with one small one in the bathroom and a propane kitchen stove. Leaving the heaters going all night was a no-no except in extremely cold conditions. I guess it amounted to taking a chance on burning up the house or freezing to death. Anyway, becoming the one to get up first to light the fires gave me a greater appreciation of my mom's winter daily routine in earlier times.

By the time my son came along and we bought our first house central air and heat were a common household item. If there were struggles to get him up for school I was unaware because I commuted to San Antonio for work and I was long gone before the roosters started crowing.

Later when grandkids came to live with us and there was some resistance to early morning waking while I was around I would march into their bedroom playing 'Reveille' on my make believe bugle. At first it was viewed as irritating but eventually it became more of a fun tradition. Well it was fun unless I used it to wake my wife on mornings when we had someplace to go.

All those events make my memories of growing up in Bandera feel a bit warmer. Now I can just see my friends from back in the day nodding in agreement as I recall those cold winter days from our early Bandera life. We all had our own stories.

Next time maybe I'll include some less familiar stories like when the older boys at St. Joseph's Catholic School showed some of us younger boys how to pee on the cast iron radiator heaters in the boys bathroom on cold days. They swore it was a rite of passage even though that sort of behavior never passed the smell test.

There was Cedar Hill too but I'm still confused how it got it's name since every hill in the area was covered in cedar. Just some of the unmarked points of interest along the old Highway 16 route heading south out of Bandera toward San Antonio.

Jenning's Store and Pete's Place were also from another time along the familiar route of my daily commute back in my working days. John T. Floore's Country Store was situated on the main highway and not a backstreet back then.

A little further up the road was The Texas Star Inn situated close to the first sign of a traffic signal before reaching Loop 410 on my daily drive. It was just a blinking light but it was a sign of things to come.

It was right after my graduation from high school in May of 1965 when I began working in the big city. I bought my first car around that time and it was a 58 Chevy.

It wasn't anything remotely related to an economy mode of transportation but luckily gas could be found for around fifteen cents a gallon at the time.

After leaving Bandera there were two places along the way to get gas before getting into San Antonio. Pete's Place in San Geronimo and a Shamrock station just before reaching Leon Valley. Meanwhile if I happened to be working in downtown San Antonio there might be gas wars going on and I could save enough money for a beer later on.

In 1967 my Uncle Sam called and said he needed my help. It was a bit of an inconvenience at the time since I had been married for just a little over a year but away I went to Fort Polk in Louisiana.

Later when he sent me to New Jersey for some more schooling that I swore I would never be a part of after high school I took my wife along with me. It was quite an experience since neither of us had ever driven anywhere beyond 150 miles of Bandera.

Fortunately by then we had a new 66 Plymouth car to travel in as we toured most of New Jersey when I was off duty and she wasn't working at Eaton Donuts across the street from our apartment.

We even made a couple trips to New York City. A PFC in the U.S. Army and a waitress in a donut shop were living an experience in places you couldn't pay me enough to visit today.

As I am now left to travel without her by my side I can think back to our early years of growing up in Bandera and know how fortunate we were living in a time that was more carefree than these current times. Friends who knew me back in the day realize God had blessed me by sending her to be my companion on my journey through life. I wasn't known for always making good decisions and He knew I needed all the help I could get. I was blessed!

Cornyn said the change should be made to advance the SAVE America Act, legislation pushed by President Donald Trump that would require a birth certificate or passport to register to vote.

“After careful consideration, I support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary for us to get the SAVE America Act and homeland security funding past the Democrats’ obstruction, through the Senate, and on the president’s desk for his signature,” Cornyn wrote.

Cornyn has long opposed ending the filibuster, which requires a 60-vote majority to end debate on the Senate floor. The practice dates to the early 1800s.

Cornyn is in a tough runoff race with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. That election is set for May 26.

Middleton, Roy go on offense ahead of AG runoff State Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, are taking the gloves off as they also head to a runoff in the GOP primary for Texas attorney general, The Dallas Morning News reported. Middleton finished first in the March 3 primary but fell short of a majority. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton didn’t seek reelection to the state attorney general post, opting instead to run against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

“Chip Roy is on the ropes,” Middleton said. “We’ve got all the momentum.”

Roy, a four-term congressman, criticized what he called Middleton’s lack of legal experience.

“I wouldn’t hire Mayes Middleton into the office of the attorney general, except at a very basic level, because he has no discernible legal skills,” Roy said. Both are framing themselves as Trump allies.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, faces former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski in a runoff. Johnson received 48.1% of the vote to 26.4% for Jaworski in the March 3 primary.

Trump taps emergency oil reserves from Texas sites The Trump administration pledged 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week, with the oil coming from sites along the Gulf Coast, the Houston Chronicle reported. Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude oil have been hovering just below $100 per barrel since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against the theocratic regime in Iran.

Iranian officials have responded by essentially shutting down oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran controls.

“The market is seriously unbalanced, and that will continue until the Strait is reopened and upstream and downstream operations return to normal,” said Jim Burkhard, vice president, S&P Global Energy crude oil markets. “It will not happen quickly.”

The national oil reserves are held in dozens of man-made underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana.

State ban on smokable cannabis takes effect March 31 Smokable cannabis products must be gone from Texas store shelves by March 31, the Texas Standard reported. The new rules were formulated by the Texas Department of State Health Services after the Legislature couldn’t agree on whether to regulate THC products or ban them entirely.

Annual fees charged to retailers are set to rise to $5,000 per year for each retail location and $10,000 per year for each manufacturing facility — 33 and 40 times higher, respectively, than current levies. More than 9,100 retail locations in the state are registered to sell consumable hemp products.

Cannabis advocates say the higher fees and ban on cannabis flowers and smokable extracts will send users to the underground market.

“Our concern is some of these measures are so draconian that you are going to drive people out of the business and then folks’ access to the products,” said Mark Bordas, head of the Texas Hemp Business Council. “Invariably, we’re going to have to bring forth a (lawsuit]), and the state has to defend what it’s done, and that’s taxpayer money, and it’s a waste.”

Water woes in Corpus could prompt state action A looming water crisis in Corpus Christi has prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to warn the city’s leadership the state may intervene to ensure the city’s residents and businesses have access to water, The Texas Tribune reported. The city’s water supply could be outpaced by demand as soon as June 2027, according to one model.

“Corpus Christi is a victim not because of lack of water. They’re a victim because of a lack of ability to make a decision,” Abbott said at a press conference.

The city currently has $1 billion in water projects underway to increase supply, but many of them won’t come online until later this year or next year.

The city’s water woes stem from low reservoir levels, a long-lasting drought and rising demand driven by an industrial boom, especially in petrochemical and energy projects near the bay. A large seawater desalination plant proposal was turned down by the City Council last year after it faced fierce criticism because of its cost and potential harm to the marine ecosystem.

Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette M. Guajardo has called for a special emergency meeting to vote again on the plant proposal.

Big Bend projects removed

from ‘Smart Wall’ plan

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has updated its “Smart Wall” map to remove two planned projects in the Big Bend area, including one slated for Big Bend National Park, according to the Texas Standard. The plan has drawn considerable opposition from park lovers, including a newly formed group, No Big Bend Wall.

“While this shift from potential ‘physical wall’ to ‘detection technology’ is a signal that the public pressure is working, lack of transparency means we don’t know if this is a real policy shift or a tactical one designed to lower our guard,” the group said.

CBP did not publicly announce the change and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Drivers are urged to never drive after consuming any amount of alcohol or drugs and to arrange for a sober ride beforehand.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

The tale of the disappearing town of Bandera, Texas is still being written. Contemplating its demise will create differing opinions depending on one’s perspective.

Back in the day the daily rush hour traffic flow on Main Street was even less than what you might encounter today around midnight on a weekday. Chances were pretty good back then that you knew everyone you met and where they were going and for what reason. “Oh that’s Jimmy Britt getting an early start going to the Market Square in San Antonio to pick up produce for Britt’s Vegetable Stand”. “There goes Warren Hyde heading to the OST for a late cup of coffee with Sheriff Miller and Walter Welch”. You just knew those things.

Teens dragging Main in the evening usually didn’t encounter any traffic other than other teens dragging Main. Now the one thing that caused a short flurry of traffic was when the siren on the water tower went off and folks headed into town to follow the firetruck to the site of the emergency. Yes, I know about current laws but things were different back then. Lots of things were different back then and perhaps they were better. There is a lot of that going on these days as imagined fears drive us to fix things that aren’t broken.

Back in the days of Joe Short and Tag Knibbe manning the post office there where the Bandera Bank parking lot is now located along Main Street it wasn’t unheard of to receive mail addressed to you general delivery Bandera, Texas. They knew which box to put it in.

When I went in for Granddaddy Kindla’s mail I didn’t have to ask. They knew and it was handed to me with instructions to tell granddaddy they said hello. I understand why that wouldn’t work in today’s world but what a great memory it is to recall.

During my later teen years it wasn’t really unusual for boys my age to obtain beer at a couple establishments around Bandera county. My parents would receive calls occasionally informing them of my activities. The result was always the same, “When you get caught you better have the money to pay the fine or else you will be doing jail time”. As I recall the fine for any misdeed at the time was $27.50. My mother continued to get those calls even after I was married and had moved out. Such was the life of a small town kid Growing Up In Bandera.

Early voting began Feb. 17 and runs through Feb. 27.

Among Republicans, Paxton led incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn 38% to 31%. U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt polled at 17%, making it likely the race will go to a runoff in May if these margins hold.

Among Democrats, Crockett led with 47% while state Rep. James Talarico was favored by 39% of respondents.

The margin of error for both parties was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The primary election is March 3. Runoffs are May 26 and the midterm is Nov. 3.

Roy front runner in attorney general’s race

In the race to succeed Ken Paxton as Texas attorney general, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, with 33% in the latest poll, leads a crowded GOP field by 10 percentage points, with state Sen. Mayes Middleton in second at 23%.

The Texas Tribune reported state Sen. Joan Huffman polled at 13%, and Aaron Reitz, a former federal assistant attorney general, trailed at 6%.

However, 25% of those polled remain undecided in that race.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Nathan Johnson led with 25% of the 550 people polled, followed by former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski at 22%. Attorney and former FBI agent Tony Box held 13%.

A majority of those polled said they didn’t know enough about any of the candidates to express a preference.

That poll was conducted by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs.

Fed predicts job growth in Texas in 2026 A new employment forecast by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas predicts the state will add jobs in 2026, after a flat 2025, The Dallas Morning News reported. The bank’s forecast indicates Texas employment will grow by 1.1%, or about 155,000 jobs.

That is about half of job growth the state has experienced in recent years.

“We’ve run our models. We’re going with the 1.1% growth, so that is a significant increase from zero, certainly,” said Pia Orrenius, a senior economist at the Dallas Fed.

The slower-than-normal employment growth is partly attributable to the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies and enforcement operations, according to some economists. In a report published by the Fed in October, the authors said the immigration policies were negatively affecting one in five Texas businesses.

“The stepped-up visibility and intensity of enforcement have produced a chilling effect,” the authors wrote. “As fear spreads in immigrant communities, foreign-born individuals are more likely to miss work or school and less likely to venture out to shops and restaurants.”

State, feds prepare to fight screwworm invasion U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Gov. Greg Abbott presided last week over the opening of new facility in Edinburg to produce sterile flies in order to combat a potential invasion of New World screwworms from Mexico that could threaten the nation’s leader in cattle production, The Texas Tribune reported.

Cases of the screwworm, which lays eggs in open wounds on cattle, have been detected in Mexico as close as 70 miles from the border.

“I don’t want to underplay it because it is a big threat to our country, but I believe we’re as prepared as we could possibly be, if that happens, to deal with it, to move toward eradication,” Rollins said.

Sterile flies were released last week in Northern Mexico and in Texas within 50 miles of the border as a precautionary measure.

Abbott has issued a disaster declaration to enable a newly formed response team to have adequate resources. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to open its own production facility in Edinburg by the end of 2027.

For now, the facility is using larvae produced in Panama and flown to Texas.

Abbott breaks with Trump over nationalizing elections Gov. Greg Abbott has broken with President Donald Trump over the latter’s call to nationalize elections in some parts of the country, kut.org reported. He was asked about Trump’s suggestion at a recent campaign event.

“Listen, my understanding of the United States Constitution, and that is elections for state positions are to be conducted by states, and I don’t think we should deviate from that,” Abbott said.

Legal experts and some Trump allies highlight the Constitution grants states the primary authority over elections, making any effort to nationalize the process both legally complicated and logistically challenging.

High stakes for Abbott in comptroller’s race

As the Houston Chronicle reported, while Gov. Greg Abbott is widely expected to win his primary reelection bid, the governor has a lot on the line in the Texas comptroller’s race. Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, appointed when Glenn Hegar left to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, faces a serious challenge from one of the governor’s biggest political foes, former state Sen. Don Huffines — a Republican who ran and lost to Abbott in 2022.

Also on the GOP primary ballot is Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick.

The winner of that race will oversee the state’s new voucher program.

“Succession in Texas politics is on the ballot,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. “There’s a lot of jockeying for position for the future of the Republican Party in Texas.”

Huffines spent heavily in 2022 in his unsuccessful bid to oust Abbott, calling him a “weak leader” and a “coward.” Hancock has vowed to work closely with Abbott.

Galveston’s Elissa sailing to New York for 250th celebration

The 1877 “tall ship” Elissa, docked in Galveston Bay, will sail to New York City for the Fourth of July to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday, the Texas Standard reported. The Galveston Historical Foundation purchased the ship in 1979, and it normally serves as a museum. Will Wright, creative director of the foundation, said the ship is one of only two of its kind in the world that can still actively sail.

“Elissa is still traditionally sailed,” Wright said. “We benefit from a lot of the technological advances, but at the end of the day, the ship is a sailing ship.”

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

One of the most closely watched statewide races for both parties are the primary contests for U.S. senator. Incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn faces two challengers: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston. On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, faces state Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock. There are many other contested races on the ballot as well.

Voters can access election information, find out if they are registered to vote and obtain other pertinent information at votetexas. gov.

More than 30K voucher applications on first day More than 30,000 school-voucher applications were submitted last week on the first day of the state’s new program to give families taxpayer-funded accounts for private school tuition and homeschooling expenses, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The applications will be accepted until March 17 and are not first-come, first-served.

The Legislature provided $1 billion in funding for the program’s first year, which is projected to support up to 100,000 accounts. If it receives more applications than can be funded, an income- and disability-based lottery will be held to determine which families receive vouchers.

“When parents have more options, students have more opportunity — and that’s a win for Texas,” acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock said in a news release.

Officially called Texas Education Freedom Accounts, the program is being administered by the state Comptroller’s Office and Odyssey, a New Yorkbased tech contractor.

School walkouts could trigger TEA probes

A rash of student walkouts in Texas to protest the ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in Minnesota has prompted the Texas Education Agency to warn school districts they could face investigations and possible loss of funding, The Dallas Morning News reported.

In a letter sent last week to school districts, the agency warned students must be marked as absent, with schools risking loss of daily attendance funding. It stated that teachers or school systems who “facilitate walkouts” will be subject to investigation and sanctions.

After thousands of students from 14 campuses in the Austin Independent School District left class to protest ICE activity, Gov. Greg Abbott called on Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate.

“AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest,” Abbott wrote on X. “Our schools are for educating our children, not political indoctrination.”

Besides Austin, several school districts in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth area experienced student walkouts. Organizers pointed out protests are protected speech, with the harshest consequence being an unexcused absence.

State back in court soon over no AC in prisons Texas will soon return to federal court to defend not providing air conditioning in many of its prisons, according to the Texas Standard. The plaintiffs include advocacy groups and incarcerated individuals, who claim heat levels in un-air-conditioned prisons constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice argues the prison system needs more funding and resources. Two-thirds of the state’s 103 prison facilities lack air conditioning in cell blocks and dorms. Temperatures inside those prisons often rise above 90 degrees, according to readings now required by law.

“There is no mitigation measure other than air conditioning that can protect people from death or sickness due to the heat,” attorney Erica Grossman said. “People living in Texas prisons should not be subjected to conditions we won’t even subject animals to.”

County jails are required to keep temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees. Animal shelters also have heat rules.

Measles reported in Dilley immigrant center, West Texas Two detainees at the family immigration center in Dilley, 70 miles south of San Antonio, have “active measles infections,” federal and state officials said. The Texas Tribune reported more than 1,400 people are being held at the nation’s only family-detention center for migrants.

A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said medical officials were monitoring detainees and taking “appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection.”

“All detainees are being provided with proper medical care,” Tricia McLaughlin said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is collaborating with DHS to determine the number of vaccine doses needed for the Dilley facility. DSHS has also reported three confirmed measles cases in Reeves and Ward counties among non-Texas residents who spent time there.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease spread through coughing, sneezing or simply being near an infected person. The MMR vaccine is considered the most effective way to prevent measles.

TEA hires inspector general to investigate teachers The Texas Education Agency announced last week it has hired an inspector general to oversee the agency’s growing number of investigations into the conduct of Texas teachers, the Houston Chronicle reported.

He is Levi Fuller, a former chief of staff to state Rep. Andy Hopper, R-Decatur.

“With more than a decade of experience holding bad actors accountable, Levi will help root out the flawed few that (sow) distrust among families and school communities while helping to restore confidence in the teaching profession,” Education Commissioner Mike Morath said.

RRC completes digitization of 100 million records The Texas Railroad Commission recently surpassed digitizing more than 100 million oil and gas records, making nearly a century’s worth of documents available online.

“Digitizing 100 million records represents a significant achievement in the Railroad Commission’s ability to better serve Texans, streamlining access to our vast library of files and continuing to expand our modernization efforts,” said Wei Wang, executive director of the RRC.

Digitized records are available on the RRC’s website at https://tinyurl. com/yh4e6bf5.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas dashboard indicated demand was running comfortably below available capacity. As of Sunday, more than 128,000 customers were without power, according to poweroutage.us, with the most being reported in Nacogdoches, Cherokee and Rusk counties.

“Based on expected weather conditions, ERCOT anticipates there will be sufficient generation to meet demand,” an ERCOT spokesperson said. “ERCOT will continue to deploy all available resources to manage the grid reliably and coordinate closely with the Public Utility Commission, generation providers and transmission utilities.”

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration just prior to the storm for 134 Texas counties to ensure adequate resources remained available to Texans.

Crockett, Talarico hold first debate

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico both presented themselves as fighters during their first debate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, held in Georgetown last Saturday.

The two are competing to face the GOP primary winner. Incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn faces challengers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

The two Democrats debated for an hour, The Texas Tribune reported. Crockett pitched herself as a political brawler who could expand the electorate, while Talarico emphasized his Christian faith and record fighting “tooth and nail” in the Texas House.

The primary is March 3.

Data centers could strain water supply A new report says the boom in data centers across Texas could consume nearly 3% of the state’s water by 2030, the Houston Chronicle reported. The Houston Advanced Research Center found the data centers, which power artificial intelligence, used 25 billion gallons of water in 2025.

That amount could increase to 161 billion gallons annually by 2030.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has already warned the data centers, which also require vast amounts of electricity, could potentially strain the state’s power grid.

ERCOT oversees most of the state’s power grid.

“The data-center surge presents a unique challenge that requires immediate attention,” said HARC President John Hall. An estimated 575 data centers are already in place, concentrated in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio.

Texas legislators last year passed a law setting up a $20 billion water fund, with $1 billion disbursed annually starting in 2027 for infrastructure, after an initial allocation of $2.5 billion.

Abbott endorses Miller’s GOP challenger Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed the Republican primary challenger to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Abbott said he is backing challenger Nate Sheets because he is “committed to fighting for the best interests of Texas agriculture, upholding the rule of law and restoring integrity.”

Miller is seeking his fourth term to the office he has held since 2015. He has strong ties to President Donald Trump and was the first statewide elected official to endorse his candidacy in 2016. Sheets is a beekeeper and owns a honey company.

To date, Trump has made no endorsement in this year’s primary.

Quorum-busting House Dems fined

The Texas House Democrats who left the state last summer to delay a bid to redraw congressional maps each now face more than $9,000 in fines, the Austin American-Statesman reported. That includes $7,000 in penalties for being absent and another $2,354 to cover the costs the state spent trying to bring them back to the Capitol.

The members have until Feb. 9 to appeal. House Democratic Caucus leader Gene Wu, D-Houston, said members plan to protest to the House Administration Committee.

“Breaking quorum is a constitutional right, and we will use every tool available to challenge these fines,” Wu said. More than 50 of the 62 House Democrats flew to Chicago to stop the attempt by GOP members to redraw the maps to give Republicans a likely additional five seats. The walkout lasted two weeks.

Upon their return, the redistricting plan passed in the GOP-controlled Legislature and was signed into law. It triggered similar mid-decade redistricting attempts by both parties in other states.

Orphaned oil and gas wells reach record high The number of orphaned wells in Texas climbed above 11,000 by the end of last year, breaking a 20-year record, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, reported about 2,000 new wells joined the list last year, bringing the total to 11,123.

Orphaned wells are not actively maintained and have no operator on file at the commission. That means responsibility for cleaning and plugging them is on the state.

The price of oil fell roughly 20% last year, meaning more companies have gone bankrupt or out of business. The defunct operations sometimes leave unplugged wells behind.

“While there has been a recent increase in these populations due to various external factors such as operator bankruptcies and aging wells, we are in the process of taking significant actions to increase our well-plugging efforts,” said Bryce Dubee, a spokesman for the Railroad Commission.

Appeals court rehears immigration law challenge A 2023 law giving state police authority to arrest people suspected of crossing the border into Texas illegally is once again before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which blocked the law from taking effect in the initial legal challenge.

The court heard oral arguments last week, The Texas Tribune reported.

The Biden administration sued to block the law after its passage, arguing that policing immigration rests with the federal government alone. A threejudge panel upheld an injunction blocking the law. Since then, the state has appealed, asking for the case to be reheard by the entire 17-judge appeals court.

At the time the law passed in December 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol reported nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants along the border with Mexico. That number has plummeted in the past year, with just 4,264 migrant apprehensions reported in December.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

The seat is now held by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who faces two major opponents in the GOP primary: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston. Cornyn is seeking his fifth term.

The Georgetown debate is sponsored by the Texas AFL-CIO. Crockett describes herself as a progressive and hopes to inspire voters to turn out in November if she wins the nomination.

Talarico is emphasizing electability, noting he flipped a Republican district to get elected state representative. He also said he is the right choice for Democrats to compete statewide.

Early voting in the March 3 Democratic primary begins Feb. 17. The general election is Nov. 3.

White drops bid to take on Abbott

Andrew White has dropped his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor and has thrown his support behind state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, who is widely seen as the frontrunner, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The crowded Democratic primary has 10 candidates vying to take on Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term, in the Nov. 3 general election.

Abbott has $90 million in his campaign war chest. Political analysts said he faces only token opposition in his own GOP primary March 3.

Besides Hinojosa, who has served in the Legislature since 2017, the Democratic primary field also includes Chris Bell, a former Houston congressman and gubernatorial nominee, and Bobby Cole, a rancher and retired firefighter.

White is the son of former Gov. Mark White. He ran for governor in 2018, coming up 6 percentage points short in his Democratic primary race against former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez. She lost handily to Abbott that year in the general election.

500 miles of buoys to be added to Rio Grande In a move to increase border security, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to add floating buoys along more than 500 miles of the Rio Grande, The Texas Tribune reported.

Secretary Kristi Noem announced the deployment last week while visiting the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas deployed 1,000 feet of the water barrier along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass in 2023 and added another 1,000 feet in January 2025.

“Texas finally has a partner in the White House,” Andrew Mahaleris, press secretary for Gov. Greg Abbott, said in a statement last week. “The floating marine barriers deployed by Texas have been a resounding success, and Gov. Abbott is proud to work with the Trump administration and Border Patrol to expand the program.”

Under the Biden administration, the federal government sued Texas over the buoys, citing migrant safety and saying they violated water treaties between the U.S. and Mexico. That case is still before the courts.

“They’ll create a safer environment for agents on patrol, and securing our waterways not only protects Americans, it saves the lives of illegal aliens by deterring them from daring to attempt to cross through this treacherous water,” Noem said.

Texas flu levels ‘very high’ with new strain Flu activity in Texas has reached a “very high” level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Austin American-Statesman reported the state the last week of December recorded 25,000 flu-related emergency room visits, with children ages 5 to 11 accounting for more than a quarter of all ER visits statewide.

“It’s been really, really startling,” said Jeff Shilt, a physician and president of Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin. “What’s most startling to us is the number and the severity.”

The surge is fueled by a rapidly spreading H3N2 subtype of influenza A. Although the flu vaccine has been less effective against this strain, doctors emphasize inoculation still helps protect against severe illness.

Other respiratory illnesses, such as COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, remain at low levels in Texas, according to the CDC.

Teachers’ union sues TEA over Kirk probes

One of the state’s leading teachers’ unions has sued the Texas Education Agency to block investigations into public educators who commented negatively about conservative activist Charlie Kirk after his assassination, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The lawsuit claims the probe has “unleashed a wave of retaliation and disciplinary actions against teachers” by their local school districts.

TEA launched the inquiry last fall and has yet to issue any disciplinary action. AFT represents about 66,000 educators in Texas.

The agency said in December it received more than 350 complaints from the public, of which 95 are “open and undergoing further investigation and review.” The remainder have been dismissed.

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath warned soon after Kirk’s death that educators who posted or shared “vile content” would be investigated for possibly violating the educator’s code of ethics.

At a press conference last week, AFT President Randi Weingarten called the TEA investigations a “state-sponsored attack on teachers.” She noted only Texas and Florida launched probes.

“Mr. Morath decided to exploit the strategy of Mr. Kirk’s senseless murder,” Weingarten said. “His actions were a transparent effort to smear and shame educators, divide our communities and deny our kids opportunities to learn and thrive.”

New World screwworm case reported in Tamaulipas A new case of New World screwworm was identified in December in a 6-day-old calf in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, less than 200 miles from the border. The Texas Standard reported this is the northernmost active detection of the flesh-eating larval parasite.

“The continued detections of New World Screwworm near the Texas border are grim reminders of the serious threat this pest poses to our state,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a five-point plan to address the issue, including building a sterile fly production facility in Edinburg. The parasite was eliminated from the United States decades ago through similar efforts.

“This proven strategy is key to the long-term eradication of New World Screwworm,” Miller said.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

Here’s a summary of the most notable new laws now in force:

• County sheriff’s offices are now required to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the passage of Senate Bill 8. Local jail staff are authorized to verify the immigration status of inmates and to honor certain federal immigration warrants. A grant program was created by the state to help sheriffs cover training and implementation costs related to the new law.

• Eviction proceedings involving unauthorized occupants must be held in court from 10 to 21 days of filing. Also, the new law limits legal delays occupants may take to avoid eviction.

• With the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence systems into many aspects of daily lives, House Bill 149 established a statewide framework for regulating AI and providing transparency. Companies using AI must notify people when they are interacting with an AI system. The law also created a state advisory group to oversee the implementation of oversight and compliance. Penalties can be assessed for violations of the new requirements.

• The business inventory tax exemption has been raised to $125,000, cutting property taxes for small businesses that maintain stock. The previous exemption was $2,500.

Texas small businesses optimistic about 2026

Most Texas small-business owners are optimistic about 2026 and expect their businesses to grow, according to a survey conducted by Comerica Bank of roughly 1,000 small-business owners, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Nearly 80% expect sales growth this year, and about 70% plan to make capital investments, the survey indicated.

“While the headlines about the economy can be disconcerting, small-business owners are telling us that they see much brighter prospects for the part of the economy that touches their business directly,” said Comerica Bank chief economist Bill Adams. “That’s an encouraging sign that the underlying trend for small business is still solid.”

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the impact of tariffs and a slowing of growth in the national economy, Adams said the recent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and lower effective tax rates for businesses under the major financial bill passed last summer are encouraging to small-business owners.

The state’s gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 6.8% in the second quarter of 2025, compared to 3.8% nationally.

Texas student loan borrowers in default could see wages withheld Beginning this month, the Trump administration has threatened to withhold wages from borrowers who have not made a student loan payment in the past nine months or longer, the San Antonio Express- News reported.

An estimated $131.9 billion in outstanding student loans are owed by Texans, according to the Education Data Initiative.

The federal Department of Education confirmed recently that it could begin seizing up to 15% of a person’s disposable income from his or her employer until the defaulted loan is paid in full or removed from default.

Nearly 5.5 million borrowers are currently in default. The pandemic-era pause on repayments was ended by the Trump administration last year.

Critics of the move worry about the effect of garnishing income in the current financial climate, the Express-News reported.

“At a time when families across the country are struggling with stagnant wages and an affordability crisis, this administration’s decision to garnish wages from defaulted student loan borrowers is cruel, unnecessary and irresponsible,” Persis Yu, director of Protect Borrowers, an advocacy group, wrote in a statement.

Texas to get $281 million in federal funds for rural health care Texas will receive the largest portion of the first rollout of the $50 billion allocated under the Rural Transformation Program, The Texas Tribune reported. The state will receive $281 million under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which also slashed Medicaid funding by an estimated $1 trillion.

While Texas is receiving the most funds, when its population rank is calculated that amount comes to about $60 per rural resident — the lowest rate in the nation. The funds come as the state’s rural hospitals and clinics face budget shortfalls and rising costs. Fourteen rural hospitals in Texas closed in the last decade, according to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality. Over half of the 82 remaining facilities are at risk of closing.

The funding will be used to strengthen rural health care clinics by educating and attracting health care professionals to work in rural areas, as well as modernizing resources and technology.

Paxton loses bid to enforce rules on large-county prosecutors A Texas appeals court has again blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing new rules that would require prosecutors in the state’s largest counties to send his office detailed reports, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.

The Texas Fifteenth Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court order blocking the rules after several district attorneys filed suit. The court ruled that, under the Texas Government Code, Paxton lacks the legal authority to require the proposed reports.

“Based on the plain language of (the code), the Legislature did not expressly grant rule-making authority to the Attorney General, nor can rule-making power be implied where no such authority is expressly granted,” Justice Scott K. Field wrote in the three-judge panel’s opinion.

The rules were adopted last year and mandated that prosecutors in counties with populations of more than 400,000 turn over detailed information from case files from victims and witnesses, including internal emails.

The appeals court ruling stays in place while the case continues in a lower court.

At least 10 Texas incumbents in Congress not returning At least one-fourth of Texas’ congressional delegation will not be coming back in 2027, the Texas Standard reported. The massive departure likely will weaken the state’s clout on Capitol Hill. Nine members of Congress from Texas — six Republicans, three Democrats — have already announced they will leave at the end of the year.

Three incumbents in South Texas are facing competitive general election races.

In addition, a special election on Jan. 30 in a redrawn Houston district will elect a member of Congress who will then face U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, in the March primary. When the dust settles, between 10 and 17 of the 38-member delegation could end up leaving when this term ends.

“We’re slim right now, (from) what we used to be,” said U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, who, with 13 years, is one of the longest-tenured Texans in the House. “But that’s because we’ve had a lot of retirements. That happens. Now you’ve got to rebuild.”

Five big moves from the Lege in 2025 The Legislature made a host of major decisions in 2025, as The Dallas Morning News reported. Here are the highlights:

• Homeowners received a break on their property taxes after approving a proposed constitutional amendment in November. The homestead exemption increased to $140,000 from $100,000. People 65 and older were given an additional $60,000 exemption on top of that.

• A major public-school funding bill was passed, pumping $8.5 billion into raises for teachers and support staff and additional operational funding. Lawmakers also approved a statewide school voucher plan with $1 billion in initial funding. Eligible families can use public funds for private schools.

• The Texas Lottery Commission was abolished, with oversight moved to the Department of Licensing and Regulation. Online ticket sales were banned, as were courier services.

• After devastating floods in the Hill Country, especially along the Guadalupe River, killed at least 135 people, lawmakers approved funding to strengthen flood-warning systems, expand river and rainfall gauges, and speed updates to floodrisk mapping.

Warm, dry holiday weather elevates wildfire risk The Texas A&M Forest Service is warning that unseasonably dry and warm weather conditions are raising the risk of wildfire with the new year.

“We have seen above-normal grass production across large areas of Texas, especially near Abilene, Wichita Falls, Lubbock, Childress and Amarillo,” said Luke Kanclerz of the forest service. “These grasses are now dormant and freeze-cured, which means they dry quickly and can support wildfire activity when wind speeds increase.”

About 90% of wildfires in the state are caused by human activity, with debris burning and equipment use accounting for the majority of mishaps. Before traveling, drivers are urged to inspect their vehicles to make sure tires are properly inflated and trailer safety chains are secure to prevent creating sparks that can cause wildfires.

A total of 103 Texas counties are currently under a burn ban. A list can be found at https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/.

Judge blocks app store age-verification law A federal judge temporarily blocked a new state law requiring app stores to verify the ages of users and restrict use by those under 18, the San Antonio Express-News reported. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman granted an injunction against the law, which was set to take effect Jan. 1, saying it likely violates free speech rights under the First Amendment.

“The act is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book,” Pitman wrote.

Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will appeal the ruling.

The law would require app store users to be over 18 or to have parental consent before downloading or purchasing an app. Tech companies such as Apple and Google objected, calling the measure a violation of privacy and saying it would affect all apps, including those dedicated to news, sports or weather.

Paxtons’ divorce files unsealed

After months of legal wrangling, the files in the divorce case of Angela and Ken Paxton have been released. The files show Angela Paxton contended the marriage has become “unsupportable” in part because of his infidelity, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Several media companies sued to force the release of the files, contending the public had a right to know since both parties are public elected officials. Angela Paxton is a Republican state senator from McKinney. Ken Paxton is leaving his attorney general post in a bid to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the March GOP primary.

The couple in mid-December agreed to make the files public just before a scheduled hearing on whether the records should remain sealed.

In her motion for divorce, Angela Paxton asked for a larger portion of their assets. Ken Paxton responded that his wife of 38 years should “take nothing.”

South Texas builders: ICE arrests upend industry Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas, The Texas Tribune reported, and builders say the arrests are slowing construction of new homes. The arrests account for nearly one-fifth of all ICE arrests in the entire state.

Mario Guerrero, executive director of the South Texas Builders Association, said ICE agents were operating without arrest warrants — which they can do legally — but are also detaining people who have proper authorization.

“It’s what’s happening across the Rio Grande Valley at construction sites,” he said.

Data from the Federal Reserve of Dallas indicates a 5% drop in construction jobs during the third quarter of 2025.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, LufkinandCedarPark.Email:

There was a time not that long ago it seems when most streets in Bandera were gravel. The exception was Main Street and some of the tree named streets but even then those were only paved for a limited distance.

Those gravel backstreets could be a nightmare on laundry days with clothes hanging on the clothes line out in the back yard. Depending on wind direction my mom would make some calculations and then send me out to get the water hose and wet the street to keep the dust down.

Don’t get me started on the subject of old men and their habit of burning everything. Trash, brush, leaves or even an old tire now and then.

It was on those laundry day occasions that I learned my sweet momma knew some of those words that had caused me to get my mouth washed out with soap.

Back in the day we had stop signs on the number streets intersecting the tree named streets. Now we have them sprinkled around like fairy dust.

For those of us living along the few stretches of a stop sign free zone we have to deal with the drivers making up for lost time due to multiple mandatory stops in their daily pursuit of happiness.

I’m not sure of the procedure at city hall when requesting to have a stop sign installed but whatever it is Cypress Street has the market cornered. I think the common sense approach should be to lower the speed limit to 20 mph on all streets in town other than Main Street which already enjoys a perpetual flow restriction. Sadly the lower speed limit would probably be ignored as is often the case currently with regards to the stop signs.

One thing that will never change for me is how my mind’s eye will forever see things as they used to be while Growing Up In Bandera. 8th Street will still be seen as the dusty gravel road we traveled many times in the back of our old truck on the way to swim at Dripping Springs.

Heading north at the bottom of the hill on 6th Street my memory will make a 90 degree turn to the right along the river on the old Mayan Ranch Road toward the old bridge. In reality I will continue straight ahead crossing a new bridge on Schmidtke Road.

Yes my friends, it’s a new life I’m living here now but in my mind I still find some comfort in seeing the Bandera of old.

Old wood working tools of every type in that “look but don’t touch” environment. My fascination was understandable considering the only tool I had at home was an old pair of slip joint plies that I used when working on my bike.

I guess that is what triggered my interest in old tools from the wood cabin and barn building era in early Bandera. I have been able over the years to accumulate various types like draw knives, T-handle pole barn beam hand drills, and a couple large wood and wrought iron carpenter’s mallets.

I also added a small one gallon coal oil can to my collection because it reminds me of the one my granddaddy had when I rode with him in his old Ford truck to the service station to fill it up.

Usually we went to Henry Lloyd Kalka’s Sinclair station or Billings Free State Oil Co.

Clearly visible from the outside of his tool shed was an anvil mounted on top of a large piece of a cypress.

I have yet to give in to the urge to replicate that item in my collection. Don’t think the idea hasn’t crossed my mind more than once as I come across them occasionally in my travels.

Besides the cost of those vintage anvils and a cypress stump I would have to consider how it’s going to fit in my office/computer room space. I might have to downsize my lure, marble, walking stick & cane, hat or book collection to make a little room.

Maybe if I move some of this stuff to my bedroom..... hmmmm?

Even though granddaddy’s house has changed hands multiple times and has undergone several renovations I still have my visions of the way it was back in the day.

The outhouse, clothesline and woodpile vanished many years ago. Those were the first signs of changes taking place as I often passed by.

Then the old tool shed and garage soon followed including the attached smokehouse. That’s where my parents hid the large Christmas presents from Santa before the big day.

When my first bike was in there it was clearly visible through the cracks between the old cypress boards. Let me tell you I had begun to regret discovering it because it caused me so much agony as days seemed to drag on forever after finding it.

So many times my mind has been filled with regret thinking about those early times of Growing Up In Bandera around my Granddaddy Kindla.

I was too young to comprehend or consider that he was the product of an earlier time that provided few privileges.

Everything involved hard work and grit just to get through the days of his youth. I was young and just wanted to have fun so we didn’t always mix well but I hope he felt later on how much I came to love and appreciate him.

The map is likely to give Republican candidates wins in up to five congressional districts previously held by Democrats.

The majority on the court agreed the redistricting was done for partisan purposes, calling it “indisputable,” The Dallas Morning News reported. Those opposing it claim it was redrawn to dilute the voting power of the state’s minorities in Houston, Dallas and South Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement indicating the redrawn maps better reflect the state’s changing voting habits.

Six Texas GOP members of Congress are leaving At least six Texas Republican members of Congress are retiring or seeking a higher office, the Houston Chronicle reported. The latest to announce his retirement is U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, one of President Donald Trump’s most ardent backers in that chamber.

His brother, Trevor, has announced he plans to run for that seat.

Others planning to leave when their term ends in 2027 include U.S. representatives Jody Arrington, R-Plainview; Morgan Luttrell, R-Magnolia; Michael McCaul, R-Austin; Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, who is running for the U.S. Senate spot now held by John Cornyn; and Chip Roy, R-Hays County, who is running for Texas attorney general.

Republicans currently hold a 219-seat majority in the House, with Democrats holding 213 seats. There are three vacancies.

Texas first state to invest in crypto

After passage of a bill last regular session that gives the state comptroller authority to create a publicly funded cryptocurrency reserve, the state has purchased about $5 million of bitcoin, the Texas Standard reported.

Backers say crypto has been surging in value for the past five years and the state should get involved, especially with the rapid growth of data-mining centers in Texas.

Opponents say crypto is a risky asset with volatile swings.

The state has appropriated a total of $10 million that can be invested in crypto, which is a small fraction of the state’s general fund.

State’s ‘bathroom bill’ now in effect

Transgender people in Texas will no longer legally be allowed to use multistall restrooms that do not match their gender identity at birth, as a new law took effect Dec. 4, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The law applies to all public buildings, as well as public schools and universities.

The bathroom bill passed last September after a decade of failed attempts. When similar legislation was introduced previously, some members of the business community argued its passage would harm Texas’ ability to attract new business and jobs.

Rather than punishing individuals who use a bathroom not conforming to their birth gender, the law requires public agencies to take “every reasonable step” to ensure the law is being followed. Violations can be reported to the attorney general, who could file lawsuits and seek fines.

“The actual legislation doesn’t really tell folks what they should be doing as far as enforcement is concerned,” said Brad Pritchett, CEO of Equality Texas, an LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit. “What it does is it kind of creates a kind of threat to any municipality. At any time, someone could accuse them of being noncompliant with the law.”

The law does not apply to non-public spaces, including private universities or colleges.

Patrick proposes giving Texas newborns $1,000 each Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has proposed a state program to give every newborn baby in Texas $1,000 invested in the stock market, The Texas Tribune reported. He said the proposal would be a priority during the 2027 legislative session. It mirrors a federal plan created under Trump’s tax and spending bill.

The initiative, if passed by the Legislature, would cost the state about $400 million annually. The money could not be accessed until the child turns 18.

“If I see a great idea from the president that helps Texans, my first question is always, ‘Why not do it in Texas, too?’” Patrick posted on social media. “This is a great way to return money back to families and to teach the value of savings and compound interest to young Texans.”

Some conservative groups are pushing back, saying it would increase state spending and the growth of government.

“Creating state-run wealth accounts for every newborn violates key liberty principles: It expands government rather than limiting it, replaces personal responsibility with state dependency and undermines free enterprise by turning the state into an investor,” the Texas Policy Research nonprofit posted on social media.

Texas hemp industry feeling effect of looming ban A nationwide ban on THC, the psychoactive ingredient in some hemp products, is already affecting business owners selling products derived from hemp, according to the Houston Chronicle. But the owners are hopeful they can convince Congress to overturn the ban before it takes effect next November.

A state ban was passed by the Legislature and vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

However, by executive order, he has banned minors from buying such products. The hemp industry in Texas is worth anywhere from $5.5 billion to $10 billion, depending on how it is calculated. About 8,000 retailers are scattered around the state.

“Everybody knows, as a standalone bill, this ban would not have passed, and that’s why I think everybody is pretty much of the mindset that this won’t hold,” said Lukas Gilkey, co-owner of a hemp-product store who led a public lobbying campaign against the state ban.

The president of the Texas Hemp Growers Association said several members are considering pulling out of growing hemp amidst the uncertainty.

“You throw in all this regulatory uncertainty and the rules changing, it gets real tricky, real fast,” Kyle Bingham said. “I don’t think it makes sense for anyone to grow right now, any form of the plant.”

Hemp is also grown to supply the building industry.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

The Republican-led Congress has so far declined to extend pandemic- era subsidies that reduced ACA premiums, a factor in the recent government shutdown. Part of the deal to reopen the government includes a promise to hold a vote on the issue in December, but it appears unlikely to pass.

Texas insurers have raised ACA premiums by an average of 35%, but the hikes have been even higher for older enrollees.

“Price impacts tend to hit older folks the hardest,” said Laura Dague, who is the James M. Griffin professor of health policy at Texas A&M University. That is because insurance companies consider them higher risk, she added.

Abbott demands action on Mexico’s violation of water treaty Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have demanded Mexico address its failure to meet the minimum requirements to deliver water to the United States under a 1944 water treaty.

“Mexico must be held accountable for (its) continued breaches of our long-standing water agreement,” Abbott said. “Because of their pattern of neglect, Texas farmers are enduring preventable hardship and an erosion of the agricultural viability of the Rio Grande Valley.”

Abbott said Mexico has failed to supply more than two years’ worth of water — almost 2 million acrefeet. An acre foot is the amount of water needed to cover 1 acre at a depth of 1 foot, or 325,851 gallons.

Abbott said the situation has had a severe negative impact on the state’s agricultural industry.

“Economic losses from delayed water deliveries cannot be recovered,” said TCEQ Commissioner Tonya Miller. “Texas communities across the lower Rio Grande Valley will continue to suffer unless Mexico starts meeting their treaty obligations.”

Under the agreement, the United States has consistently met its delivery obligations on the Colorado River, while Mexico has significantly breached its commitments on the Rio Grande River, Abbott said.

The state’s two U.S. senators, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, have proposed a bill that would hold Mexico accountable for failing to provide water to South Texas under the 1944 treaty.

Final rules on state’s voucher program are released The state Comptroller’s Office has finalized rules for Texas’ $1 billion school-voucher program, the Houston Chronicle reported. Applications for families are scheduled to open in February.

Among the features:

• Families seeking prekindergarten services will be able to access accounts worth $10,500, which can be spent at private pre-K schools or child care centers that have pre-K classes.

• A clarification in the rules means that private schools or charter- school networks already established in other states can open new campuses in Texas. The law says private schools must have been accredited for at least two years. This includes operating a campus in another state.

• The application window opens on Feb. 4 and will last six weeks.

• Students approved for vouchers will not need to reapply in the following years.

Power-plant loan program making progress After a rocky start, a state plan to boost the construction of natural-gas plants has begun loaning money two years after the $7 billion Texas Energy Fund was created, The Dallas Morning News reported. That comes after one of the original loan applicants was selected despite the company’s head having been convicted of a federal crime.

Other companies pulled their applications, citing supply-chain issues in procuring the large turbines needed to produce electricity.

However, since June, the Public Utility Commission of Texas has approved about $1.5 billion in loans for six power-plant projects. When completed, they will have the capacity to provide electricity to at least 875,000 homes.

The Legislature created the Texas Energy Fund after the February 2021 ice-storm blackouts killed more than 200 people. The fund was created to build power plants that can produce electricity on demand. One of the companies receiving a loan is Houston-based Calpine.

“This 460-megawatt, state-of-the-art facility is designed to start within minutes and will deliver safe, reliable power exactly when Texans need it most,” Caleb Stephenson of Calpine said in a news release.

$1.2 billion headed to Texas broadband access AFederal funding included in the 2021 infrastructure law passed during the Biden administration has been slow to reach states, The Dallas Morning News reported. But the Trump administration announced recently it has approved a plan to spend more than $1.2 billion in federal funds to improve broadband access in Texas, delivering high-speed internet to rural areas.

That amount is considerably less than the $3.3 billion allocated to Texas under the original infrastructure law passed in 2021. Texas is the 19th state to win approval of a final plan.

Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock said the approved plan will make it possible for nearly every Texas location to connect to high-speed internet.

“The Texas broadband plan reflects our state’s commitment to responsible stewardship and to creating an environment where families, students and businesses can continue to thrive for generations to come,” Hancock said.

PUC provides money-saving tips as winter nears The Texas Health and The Public Utility Commission of Texas has launched a new website, Ways to Save, to help Texans conserve energy and save money during frigid weather.

“Small changes at your home or business can make a big impact on your electric and water bills,” PUCT Executive Director Connie Corona said. “It’s important to prepare ahead of the cold winter months, especially ensuring you are enrolled in the electricity plan that is right for your home and family.”

The page includes tips on how consumers can prepare their home or business for cold weather and reduce energy and water use to save money on utility bills. Tips range from small lifestyle changes to physical updates consumers can make to prepare their homes for winter.

You can find the site at puc.texas.gov/waystosave.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

By a 2-1 vote, the lower federal court had ruled a few days earlier in the week the new map was racially gerrymandered.

The Dallas Morning News reported Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito signed the order after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the lower court’s decision, which would have forced the state to revert to the old map of 2021.

Alito asked the full court to issue a ruling this week.

Days earlier, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, had granted a preliminary injunction.

Brown was appointed to his position by President Donald Trump and is a former Texas Supreme Court justice who has long backed conservative policies.

U.S. Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith wrote a searing dissent.

Lawmakers last summer redrew the map at Trump’s request, making it likely the GOP would pick up five additional congressional seats next year.

The filing deadline for a place on the primary ballot is Dec. 8. Until the issue is settled, potential congressional candidates will not know which position to file for.

Judge blocks display of Ten Commandments at some schools A federal judge ruled that requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms interferes with the religious freedoms of the 15 Texas families who sued, issuing a temporary injunction against 11 districts across the state, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The ruling has been appealed to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear arguments in both the Texas case and a similar case in Louisiana.

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Round Rock, Leander and Galveston school districts after board members voted against putting up the displays.

“These rogue ISD officials and board members blatantly disregarded the will of Texas voters who expect the legal and moral heritage of our state to be displayed in accordance with the law,” Paxton said in a statement.

Another lawsuit challenging the requirement to post the Ten Commandments temporarily blocked the move. A total of 25 school districts are affected by the rulings.

Dallas Fed: State’s economy is cooling

The Texas economy is cooling, according to a recent analysis by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The analysis concludes that tariffs, inflation and uncertainty about the economy are taking a toll on the state’s businesses.

“Tariffs and the surrounding uncertainty continue to impact the Texas economy,” Luis Torres, a Dallas Fed economist who coauthored the analysis, said in accompanying comments.

He added that nearly half of all businesses surveyed are seeing costs go up because of tariffs, and more than a fourth are passing along those higher costs to their customers.

The survey found modest growth in the manufacturing sector while the services sector saw slight job losses.

Texas has the country’s second-largest state economy, with 9% of overall U.S. gross domestic product.

New state parks planned with $1 billion fund After voters in 2023 backed a $1 billion endowment to establish the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is planning development of several new state parks. The largest is the Silver Lake Ranch acquisition from the Moody Foundation, which will be developed with money from the fund, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

“This fund allows Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to address the demand for more public lands in Texas while conserving natural and cultural resources for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations,” the Parks and Wildlife Department said on its website.

Paxton asks court to keep divorce records sealed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking a Collin County court to seal records in his ongoing divorce case, The Dallas Morning News reported. A hearing has been set for Dec. 19 on a lawsuit filed by several major media companies to make the records public.

“Allegations that might suggest abuse of marital assets, concealment of financial information, or personal conduct inconsistent with public responsibility are not merely private — they are of public consequence,” the plaintiffs’ filing reads.

In response, Paxton called the media companies’ efforts an “unprecedentedly broad and intrusive request.”

Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, filed for divorce in July, citing infidelity, according to Collin County court documents.

Ken Paxton is attempting to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next March’s GOP primary.

Add a flu shot to Thanksgiving shopping list The Texas Department of State Health Services is encouraging everyone to add flu shots to their Thanksgiving shopping lists.

Flu vaccines are widely available at health clinics, doctors’ offices and pharmacies across the state.

“It is especially important for older adults, very young children, people with chronic health conditions and pregnant women to get protection from the flu,” said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford. “People in those higher risk groups are more likely to get seriously sick if they do get the flu, and some will inevitably need to be hospitalized and even die from their infections.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the flu caused at least 600,000 hospitalizations in the country and tens of thousands of deaths last flu season.

Cooler weather, holiday gatherings and increased travel all increase the risk spreading the flu. Public health officials recommend everyone six months of age and older get vaccinated.

Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@ texaspress.com.

The latest round of drought and water restrictions has been hard on some of us here in town. I experienced an expensive plumbing bill due to a shifting foundation causing an under slab leaking water line.

There’s lots of theories about so many of the oak trees dying in the area and I personally believe it is connected to a declining water table.

The good news is there are plenty of pecans on my trees for the squirrels and deer to enjoy this year.

I used to harvest a few to provide some pie and brownie ingredients for my wife to whip up some desserts but she preferred to just eat them rather than spending time in the kitchen. Occasionally I still walk around the yard and pick up a pecan to peel with my trusty pocket knife while our little dogs follow me around insisting I share.

I guess that’s only fair since neither of them has a pocket knife of their own. I did give some thought to dusting off my trusty inertia nut cracker but then I took a nap and the urge went away.

For anyone who suffered the loss of a pecan tree there is a side benefit to your misfortune. Pecan is some of the best wood available for your bar-b-que/smoker pit. For years I used only oak and mesquite. The mesquite was eventually toned down due to the old age problem of everything causing indigestion. Pecan wood leaves a milder smooth taste. Most fruit tree types of wood are excellent too. I prefer that when using our pellet grill smoker.

I know the berries of the hackberry trees are a favorite with racoons, ringtails and quite a few birds but that is one nasty tree to have in your yard. I removed several from my lot years ago and now I don’t have to worry about them dying during these dry times and falling on my fences.

Also it deprived the banker birds in the area of supplies with which to make a deposit on the neighborhood vehicles. Thanks to my late mother-in-law Mildred Bergman for that bit of wisdom.

There is nothing that compares to the smell of a sycamore or cypress tree. They are my favorite as they trigger my memories of good times on creeks and the river while Growing Up In Bandera. I will admit to being hooked on the smell of burning cedar too. Anyone who loves the hill country will agree to that one.

“(The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October,” according to a letter written by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to state agencies. “However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the nation.”

More than $614 million is distributed monthly in Texas to recipients.

Currently, other assistance programs such as Medicaid and the Children Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, are not affected by the shutdown, which is in its fourth week.

Oil prices at lowest level since pandemic Oil prices have dropped to their lowest level since early 2021, the Texas Standard reported. Matt Smith, lead energy analyst at Kpler, said strong supply is driving the drop per barrel to about $57.

Average gasoline prices in Texas stood at $2.79 a gallon in September, down 67 cents from two years ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Smith said U.S. oil production in July, the latest monthly statistic available, was at a record high. He predicted the low oil prices could slow domestic production by next year.

Fall higher-ed enrollment sets Texas record More than 1.6 million students enrolled this fall at Texas colleges and universities — an all-time high, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reported. The preliminary numbers cover all levels of higher education, both public and private, and represent a 4.7% increase from last fall.

“The record enrollment numbers will help the state’s continuing efforts to build a talent-strong Texas and an increasingly educated workforce,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Wynn Rosser.

For the first time since the pandemic, enrollment numbers surpassed pre-pandemic numbers in each sector of higher education.

Judge tosses Texas bookrating law

A Waco federal judge last week threw out a 2023 Texas law requiring booksellers and publishers to rate their books based on sexual content and reference, kut.org reported. The ruling makes permanent a lower court’s temporary injunction that was later upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The firm representing the coalition of bookstores and publishers hailed the ruling as a “major First Amendment victory.”

“The READER Act would have imposed impossible obligations on booksellers and limited access to literature, including classic works, for students across Texas,” attorney Laura Lee Prather said in a statement.

The act is an acronym for Restricting Explicit and Adult Designated Educational Resources.

HB 900 sought to restrict which books are available in school libraries. It also required booksellers to rate their own books. The bill’s author, state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Friso, posted on X he was “deeply disappointed” by the judge’s decision.

However, he said SB 412 passed in the last legislative session holds school personnel “accountable” for exposing a child to what he termed “harmful materials.”

Proposition would fund dementia prevention research As early voting continues through Oct. 31, the Texas Medical Association is backing Proposition 14, which would provide $3 billion in funding over a 10-year period for research into preventing dementia.

The proposal, if approved, would create the Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas.

Houston neurologist Reeta Achari, who testified in favor of DPRIT’s creation on behalf of TMA, said Proposition 14 has the potential to make Texas a leader in dementia research, and thus “attract much-needed physicians and subject-matter experts and innovators from across the world.”

Alzheimer’s disease comprises 60-80% of dementia cases and is becoming a public-health crisis, according to a report from the Texas Department of State Health Services. More than 450,000 Texans over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s, the report states.

Opponents of the measure, according to a nonpartisan analysis by the Texas Legislative Council, fear it would create a new state bureaucracy without sufficient accountability and an open-ended financial risk for taxpayers.

Feds slash ACA enrollment program’s budget With open enrollment set to begin for the Affordable Care Act, funding for a navigator program that helped 65,000 Texans enroll for health insurance has been slashed by 90%, The Texas Tribune reported. As a result, nonprofits are seeking other ways to fund their efforts to help uninsured Texans find health care.

The state received $17 million in navigator grants last year. Most of the nearly 4 million Texans covered by an ACA plan find coverage on their own. However, navigators enrolled about 26,533 Texans and helped nearly 39,000 others obtain Medicaid.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said the return on navigator investment was too low.

“Despite receiving $98 million in the 2024 plan year, Navigators only enrolled 92,000 consumers — just 0.6 percent of plan selections,” according to a CMS statement in February.

About 17% of all Texans are uninsured, the highest rate of all states.

Nearly one fourth of traffic deaths in oil and gas regions The Texas Department of Transportation is urging drivers to be extra cautious when driving in one of the state’s five main energy regions — the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford Shale, Barnett Shale, Anadarko Basin and the Haynesville/Bossier Shale.

One in four of the state’s 1,023 traffic fatalities in 2024 occurred in those areas.

“Oil and gas production activity means large trucks and heavy machinery share the road with local traffic on rural roads and highways,” according to the news release. “Increased truck traffic can mean limited visibility for drivers and wear and tear on road surfaces, potentially creating hazards that are difficult to navigate and maneuver around.”

Nearly 79,000 traffic crashes occurred in those five regions. Failure to control speed and driver inattention were the top two factors contributing to those crashes.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

The really young ones have zero attention span when it comes to most of my tales.

As we ride around in our golf cart I can point out the places of interest concerning my days of growing up in Bandera and they just wanna go throw rocks in the river or head to the playground.

The older kids will looked confused trying to imagine a world that is completely foreign to them.

“Grandpa did you really get to count an evening swim in the river as taking a bath?”

After considering the low flow conditions of the river they are used to seeing these days I can understand their hesitation to buy into that story.

I struggle at times myself trying to understand how we enjoyed all those days of swimming and tubing in the river loop around Bandera. Was the river always running full back in the day or were those special times just so great that they stand out in my memory?

It’s getting difficult to keep up with all the changes taking place in our town. New houses going up and lots of old homes are being remodeled. It’s good for business but it’s hard on some of us oldtimers watching the quiet childhood memories giving way to a more modern world. Short time rentals are now in places where I once visited with my friends back in the day.

As far as my personal life is concerned there are some pretty obvious changes in my habits here in my “golden” years. Seems it takes me all day long to do what I used to do all day long. The priorities are still there but the days just aren’t long enough to get everything taken care of and still find time to go fishing.

There was a time when I used to see Arkey Blue in The Silver Dollar quite regularly but now I see him most often in the OST at breakfast time. The Dollar is more inviting to me during the daylight hours by way of the back door now rather than the night time and those stairs at the front door.

Some old habits just need a little tweakin’ as I continue Growing Up In Bandera.

I kinda miss those days back when I was living with 5 siblings and my mom and dad. We always knew what we were having because it was whatever my mom had decided to fix.

No questions and no choice other than take it or leave it.

I wasn’t a real picky eater back in those earlier times. I pretty much ate anything that didn’t eat me first.

Despite that I was skinny as a mangy jackrabbit as I often survived on ketchup sandwiches between meals. It scared me and caused nightmares when people would tell me I had a tapeworm.

My mom tried to convince me it was due to my refusal to eat beets. Well mom, just look at me now and I still don’t eat beets.

Early school days brings to mind peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a brown paper bag. If the budget was allowing then a cookie might be added too.

Are some of you younger folks reading this and thinking how could a simple thing like a cookie impact a budget? Talk to your grandparents if you are lucky enough to still have them. It was a different world back in the day.

My childhood friend Angel Martinez who lived just down the street was as skinny as me. I couldn’t figure that out as we played on the St. Joseph Catholic School ballfield by their house.

Even the smells in the air when his mom was cooking made me gain a little weight. It was always a special treat when we got to try one of her homemade flour tortillas.

Angel’s brother Joey was on the thin side too. Later that trend was broken when Jessie came along. Even when he was in diapers he was no lightweight as I recall. Around that time Angel had to combine his ballplaying with babysitting.

Sometimes when Angel was up to bat we took turns holding Jessie. For some reason it didn’t sit well with Jessie when it was my turn. He would cry and holler the whole time. That amused Angel and Joey to no end. Not so much for me and Jessie though at the time. Later in life I got to tease Jessie about it quite often.

Here in my current Growing Up In Bandera life I have a simple solution when the question of what’s for supper comes up. It can be applied to breakfast and lunch too. It’s called OST.

Of course other places are occasionally visited too but it’s hard to beat the old Bandera feeling in the Old Spanish Trail.

The Texas Legislature redrew the maps at the request of President Donald Trump in hopes of gaining five additional GOP seats. As a result, there are winnable seats for Republicans in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas that have drawn 19 GOP candidates to date.

The move is being challenged in court.

Two Republican members of Congress are seeking statewide office instead of trying to hold on to their current seats. Chip Roy, who represents a Central Texas district, is running for Texas attorney general, while Houston Republican Wesley Hunt recently jumped into the U.S. Senate race.

In addition, Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and Morgan Luttrell, R-Houston, are not seeking reelection. Those four open seats have drawn 25 GOP candidates.

Out-of-state company to run school voucher program A New York tech company has been picked to administer the state’s new school choice program, the Texas Standard reported.

The billion-dollar program passed in the regular legislative session looks to help parents use taxpayer money to pay for private school tuition, homeschooling expenses and other educational costs. Odyssey will head the program, responsible for both processing applications and ranking families to determine who gets access to funding.

The company already manages education funding in several other states.

Anyone with a child eligible to go to public school in grades K-12 or a 4-yearold eligible for pre-kindergarten can apply.

Odyssey can receive up to 5% of the total $1 billion school choice appropriation, or $50 million, for administering the program.

Roberson’s execution date paused by Texas court The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed the execution of Robert Roberson just one week before his scheduled capital punishment date.

Roberson was convicted of capital murder following the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter for shaken baby syndrome, a diagnosis since discredited by most scientists. His case has drawn widespread attention and calls for his exoneration.

The Austin American- Statesman reported that the state’s highest criminal court decided to send the case back to trial in Anderson County, where he was convicted. The court cited the case of Andrew Wayne Roark, a North Texas man who was exonerated in a similar “shaken baby syndrome” case.

“As identified in Roark, our scientific understanding of what has become known as shaken baby syndrome has significantly advanced,” one judge wrote. “Because of this deeper understanding, certain assumptions and conclusions that were once thought to be true may not be.”

Roberson, now 58, claims his daughter fell out of her bed in the middle of the night in 2002. He soothed her to sleep, and upon checking on her later that night, found that she was not breathing. She was pronounced dead at an emergency room the next day, and Roberson was eventually charged and convicted of capital murder.

Agency raising screwworm threat awareness The Texas Department of State Health Services is calling for increased awareness among health professionals and the public about the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that can threaten both animals and humans.

The screwworm was previously eradicated in the United States in the 1960s but remained endemic in most of Central and South America. Cases were detected in Mexico in November 2024, raising concerns that it would make its way back across the border.

Cattle have been barred from coming into the United States from Mexico since then. More than a million head of cattle that normally would have gone to Texas feed lots remained south of the border, down 18% from a year ago.

The supply squeeze is raising the price of beef to record levels. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has called for the use of pesticide bait to deal with the problem.’

“This isn’t just a livestock issue, it’s about protecting Texas jobs, rural communities and our agricultural lifeblood,” Miller said.

An infected cow was reported less than 100 miles from the Texas border in September, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Cornyn, Paxton neck-and-neck

A poll published last week shows incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton essentially tied, with new entrant U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt not far behind, according to the Express-News.

Wesley’s entry suggests that no candidate is on track to win an outright majority, making a runoff likely — if current polls stand.

The late September poll by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University found 34% of respondents favored Paxton, compared to 33% for Cornyn. Hunt picked up 22% of poll respondents with 11% of likely GOP voters polled still undecided.

President Donald Trump has yet to weigh in on the race, with all three candidates eager to receive his endorsement, if one is forthcoming. The poll found that half the respondents would vote for any candidate Trump endorsed.

Abbott directs DPS to increase hemp enforcement Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to toughen enforcement against vape and smoke shops that don’t comply with new state regulations that prohibit selling hemp-derived products to minors.

Abbott issued the executive order after attempts to either ban such products outright or impose new laws regulating sales failed in the last two special sessions.

“Texas will protect children from dangerous hemp products,” Abbott said.

DPS will conduct targeted operations to identify vape and smoke shops that could be selling to minors. The effort will include conducting undercover investigations.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

The Texas Tribune reported this is the first legal test for the redrawn districts, which are intended to increase the Texas congressional seats held by Republicans by five.

The hearing began Oct. 1 in El Paso and is expected to last through this week. Voting-rights lawsuits are initially heard by two district judges and one circuit judge. Their ruling can only be appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Several lawsuits were filed after Texas legislators redrew voting maps in 2021 following the decennial census. Those suits were consolidated into one case, League of United Latin American Citizens versus Abbott. As with the 2021 lawsuit, the latest complaint claims the new map harms the voting rights of Latino and Black voters.

Time is running short, with the filing deadline for candidates on Dec. 8.

“All of this, every part of this, is about the clock right now,” said Justin Levitt, a voting rights expert at Loyola Law School. “The plaintiffs want an answer as soon as possible. Texas wants to stall like crazy. All of this is about what’s going to get a court to deliver an answer before the next election.”

How federal shutdown is affecting Texas The federal shutdown that began last Wednesday has stopped –– for now –– a chunk of the hundreds of billions of dollars that flow from Washington to Texas each year, the Houston Chronicle reported. Also affected are the more than 230,000 Texans who work for the federal government and will not receive a paycheck until the shutdown ends.

That includes members of the military.

Texas is home to 14 military bases operated by more than 100,000 servicemen and servicewomen, as well as large numbers of civilians working in support industries such as food service and construction.

Medicare and Social Security payments will continue, and military bases and other operations considered essential to national security will continue to operate.

Air traffic controllers and employees of the Transportation Security Administration are considered essential employees and are required to continue working without a paycheck until the shutdown ends. Staffing shortages are expected at major Texas airports, as cash-strapped workers either stay home or look for new jobs.

In addition, most federal courts will be forced to close if the shutdown lasts very long, as their funding reserves run out. National parks likely will remain open, just without anyone staffing them.

Talarico raises $6.2 million in first three weeks of Senate bid State Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock, raised $6.2 million in the first three weeks of his bid for U.S. Senate, kut.org reported. That far outpaces his main rival for the Democratic nomination, former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who announced raising $4.1 million over three months since launching his campaign on July 1.

Talarico’s donations came from more than 125,000 individual contributors across 230 Texas counties and all 50 states, according to his campaign. It is the most a Senate candidate of either party has raised in the first quarter of their campaign in Texas history.

“We’re underdogs in this fight against billionaire mega- donors and their puppet politicians, but more than 100,000 people have answered the call to build a new kind of politics,” Talarico, a former public-school teacher, said in a statement.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination for the Senate will face either Republican incumbent John Cornyn or Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging him. Neither has announced their third-quarter fundraising totals.

Regulatory efficiency office is now open The Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office is now open for business, under the office of Gov. Greg Abbott. Its mission is reviewing agency rules and procedures to cut red tape and to eliminate waste, fraud and unnecessary rules while increasing transparency for Texas taxpayers.

A news release states, “TREO will guide state agencies in finding outdated and redundant regulations and create best practices to make agencies’ rule making processes more efficient.” It will also house a website that will assist Texans in understanding what rules need to be followed when starting a new career or business, as well as the Regulation Evaluation Portal to submit feedback or report potential government overregulation.

“The state of Texas operates at the speed of business, and this new Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office will ensure we continue to foster economic opportunity and protect individual liberty,” Abbott said.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com

Dealing with pests in nature brings to mind wasps and yellowjackets. As kids we waged wars against the wasps which were mainly the black variety which has now given way to the more plentiful and mean natured red type. I have used fake hornet nests made from brown paper bags to discourage nest building in my tool shed. It works well for me on the wasp but the yellowjackets don’t play by the same rules.

I think yellowjackets are the Chihuahuas of the bug world. To illustrate how far we have ventured away from nature just Google yellowjacket and you can read all about some television series and nearly nothing about the winged type creatures. Don’t even get me started on scorpions and fire ants.

I was never much on deer hunting although I do love me some fried venison. I enjoyed the camaraderie while being around family and friends during hunts but never felt any joy in a kill.

Here in my current situation I enjoy feeding the deer in the morning and evening right in front of my home. I have a 14 point buck that would make most hunters get the shakes. He gets close enough to touch but he hasn’t let that happen yet. On the other hand there is a 6 pointer who eats corn out of my hand and then follows me around the yard begging for a handout as I fill bird feeders. I finally gave in and now it has become a daily habit.

I had to forego filling my bird feeders in the evenings because during the night racoons would come and empty the feeder or do their best to tear them down. More than once I walked out with my little dog for a bathroom break at 4 am and caught a coon hanging upside down having a meal.

Having a little respect for natures creatures can go a long way. I treat buzzards with respect by giving them a lane of clearance while they are doing their job of dead animal carcass removal along the highways. Yes, I know they are really turkey vultures and not buzzards but few around Bandera would understand. So let’s all just agree they are buzzards and then I won’t be a topic of conversation tomorrow at the OST table of knowledge.

I carry a pair of gloves in the door pocket in my truck in case I encounter a turtle needing some assistance crossing a busy highway. The gloves are for his protection as well as mine especially if he happens to be a snapping type of turtle. I communicate telepathically to each one I help in hopes he will let me know later if he happens to observe what that chicken is doing after crossing the road.

In my current Growing Up In Bandera days I do what I can to provide for my local friends in nature. I have hummingbird feeders front and back along with three different birdseed feeders. Like others in my neighborhood I have a water trough for the deer so I added goldfish to keep the mosquito population down. I now have to add goldfish food to my shopping list. I thank The Good Lord for this life I’m living.