Austin City Council to vote Wednesday on replacing city manager
Spencer Cronk, city manager since 2018, fell out of favor after the recent ice storm disrupted power for days. Full Story
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![From left: Austin Council Member Greg Casar, City Manager Spencer Cronk, Mayor Steve Adler, and City Attorney Anne Morgan listen to testimony during a city council meeting on Oct. 17, 2019.]()
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New family and child welfare commissioner foreshadows change as agency plans to outsource case management
Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Stephanie Muth told lawmakers Friday the agency will require a different set of skills from its employees as it changes how foster children’s cases are managed. Full Story
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![Members of the DFPS Council at a meeting in Austin on Friday, March 11, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Attorney General Ken Paxton agrees to apologize and pay $3.3 million to whistleblowers in settlement
Paxton and the four whistleblowers asked the Texas Supreme Court to defer consideration of the case until they can finalize the settlement, after which they’ll move to end the case. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton looks into the crowd at his primary election results watch party in McKinney on March 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas taxpayers face a $100 million bill to update voting machines with equipment that doesn’t exist yet
State lawmakers approved the requirement — which attracted little attention or debate — in their massive overhaul of the state’s voting laws during a 2021 special Legislative session. Full Story
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![A bipartisan testing crew uses voting machines and tabulators during a state-mandated logic and accuracy test on Sept. 21 at the Hays County government building in San Marcos. Texas law requires public testing of the voting machines before and after every election.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas DPS won’t discipline any more officers for Uvalde shooting response
The Department of Public Safety has finished its investigation into how officers responded to Texas’ deadliest school shooting. The agency has fired one officer and is in the process of firing another. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety officers guard the scene at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.]()
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Texas Military Department says it needs $460 million more to keep border mission afloat this year
State officials have repeatedly had to move money from other departments to keep Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border mission running this year. Full Story
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![Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers position themselves on the banks of the Rio Grande, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in El Paso. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Governor Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Tech reviews its hiring practices as efforts to promote diversity come under fire
Texas Tech’s review comes as Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed state agencies and public universities that “forbidden DEI initiatives” violate federal and state employment discrimination laws. Full Story
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![The Texas Tech seal sits near the intersection of University Avenue and Broadway Street on the Texas Tech University campus on July 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Democrats to chair fewer Texas House committees amid GOP pushback
House Speaker Dade Phelan selected Democrats to chair eight of the 34 standing committees, down from the 13 he appointed at the start of the last legislative session. Full Story
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![Opening Day action of the 88th Texas Legislature at the Texas Capitol showing Texas Governor Greg Abbott addressing the House chamber.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues to block Biden’s abortion medication guidance
In July, the Biden administration reminded pharmacies of their obligation to not discriminate in filling prescriptions, including for abortion-inducing drugs, many of which can be used to treat other conditions as well. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to supporters Paxton Watch Party Barn in Plano after being re-elected on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
A new winter storm and old problems raise questions about Austin leaders’ response to crises
As newly elected Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and a City Council with an array of fresh faces review their first major crisis, the city’s top officials once again find themselves trying to figure out why the city botched its response to a significant weather event. Full Story
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![Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks with the press to discuss the city's response to mass power outages after a ice storm, at the Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center in Austin on Feb. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott tells state agencies to stop considering diversity in hiring
In a memo written Monday and obtained by The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s chief of staff Gardner Pate told agency leaders that using diversity, equity and inclusion policies in hiring violates federal and state employment laws, and hiring cannot be based on factors “other than merit.” Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during the Texas Rally for Life event at the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
After botched response to Uvalde massacre, Texas senator wants better mass shooting training for public safety entities
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, wants to prevent communication breakdowns like the ones that occurred in the botched response to the Uvalde school shooting. Full Story
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![State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, at a press conference with family members of the victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting to address gun violence in schools at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 24, 2023.]()
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Texas Republicans heckle Biden over border remarks during State of the Union
Texas Republicans have long pressed President Joe Biden to do more to address border security and jeered at his remarks during his annual speech to Congress. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California watch.]()
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool-USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Co -
State Sen. Charles Schwertner arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
Schwertner, a Georgetown Republican, was booked into the Travis County jail at 2:12 a.m. Full Story
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![State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, leaves the Travis County Jailhouse in Austin on Feb. 7, 2023. Schwertner was booked the previous night for dangerous driving while intoxicated.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texans brace for the end of nearly three years of pandemic Medicaid coverage
Millions of Texans — mostly children, young adults and new moms — stayed on Medicaid for the duration of the pandemic. The state will soon start reevaluating eligibility. Full Story
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![Alexandria Robertson shows her daughters Novah and Kellani-Ari Wilson ultrasound pictures from her pregnancies in their home in Manor, TX on Feb. 2, 2023.]()
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Texas senators seem open to major change in state’s public education funding formula
Senators in the finance committee asked questions Monday about the pros and cons of basing the amount of money that schools get per student on enrollment instead of attendance. Districts say the change could mean millions in additional funding. Full Story
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![The sun sets over Lufkin High School in Lufkin on Jan. 29, 2023. Public school officials in rural areas like Lufkin face budget challenges because of proposed school choice legislation, which provides taxpayer-funded alternatives to sending a child to a local public school.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
Sports-betting advocates return to Capitol with narrower bill, new Republican author
The Texas Sports Betting Alliance threw its weight behind new legislation Monday to let voters decided whether to legalize online sports betting. Full Story
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![From left: Rep. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, discuss a property tax bill on the Senate floor on July 14, 2021.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls for new election in Harris County after voting problems in November
A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said only a court order could force a redo of elections. Full Story
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![Ballots and scanning machines arrive at central counting after polls close in Houston, Tuesday Nov 8, 2022. (Michael Stravato for the Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls’ campaign lost $150,000 in wire fraud theft
The Texas Republican’s campaign, which recouped most of the money, has reported the case to the FBI. The Federal Elections Commission is also looking into it. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, speaking during a press conference at the Houston Ship Channel on Feb. 2, 2021.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas veterans vow to protect the state’s hemp market as one state lawmaker hopes to crack down
The new delta-8 hemp products, which are widely available, can produce a high similar to marijuana’s. State Sen. Charles Perry said he and his peers never intended for such products to reach the market. Full Story
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![Dave Walden, wearing a Veterans of Foreign Wars cap demonstrates how the CBD vending machine works by purchasing a product, in Leander on Nov. 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune