BREAKING NEWS
Anger over Houston power outages after Beryl has repair crews facing threats from some residents
Read full article: Anger over Houston power outages after Beryl has repair crews facing threats from some residentsHoustonās prolonged outages following Hurricane Beryl has some fed-up and frustrated residents taking out their anger on repair workers who are trying to restore power across the city.
Anger over Houston power outages after Beryl has repair crews facing threats from some residents
Read full article: Anger over Houston power outages after Beryl has repair crews facing threats from some residentsHoustonās prolonged outages following Hurricane Beryl has some fed-up and frustrated residents taking out their anger on repair workers who are trying to restore power across the city.
Pressure mounts on Houston power company to quickly restore service as city sweats after Beryl
Read full article: Pressure mounts on Houston power company to quickly restore service as city sweats after BerylHoustonās primary utility company has come under mounting pressure over its response to Hurricane Beryl.
Beryl knocks out power to 1.5 million; at least 1 person killed
Read full article: Beryl knocks out power to 1.5 million; at least 1 person killedAfter Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas, knocking out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses and killing at least three people it moved east and weakened to a tropical depression.
Some in Houston facing no power for weeks after storms cause widespread damage, killing at least 4
Read full article: Some in Houston facing no power for weeks after storms cause widespread damage, killing at least 4Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says it could take āweeksā for power to be restored in some parts of Houston following fierce storms with winds of up to 100 miles per hour.
Some in Houston facing no power for weeks after storms cause widespread damage, killing at least 4
Read full article: Some in Houston facing no power for weeks after storms cause widespread damage, killing at least 4Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo says it could take āweeksā for power to be restored in some parts of Houston following fierce storms with winds of up to 100 miles per hour.
Molly Cook beats state Rep. Jarvis Johnson in special election to fill open Texas Senate seat until January
Read full article: Molly Cook beats state Rep. Jarvis Johnson in special election to fill open Texas Senate seat until JanuaryCook will fill John Whitmireās unexpired term ā but will face Johnson again in a Democratic primary runoff for a full four-year term.
Two Houston Democrats face off in back-to-back elections for John Whitmireās open state Senate seat
Read full article: Two Houston Democrats face off in back-to-back elections for John Whitmireās open state Senate seatState Rep. Jarvis Johnson and emergency room nurse Molly Cook are duking it out in a sleepy special election to briefly occupy the seat vacated when Whitmire was elected mayor.
Houston-area Democrats line up in competitive primary to succeed John Whitmire in the Senate
Read full article: Houston-area Democrats line up in competitive primary to succeed John Whitmire in the SenateWhitmire held the Senate seat for four decades. Six Democrats are now competing for the seat in the upper chamber.
Six years after Hurricane Harvey, the city of Houston still hasnāt allocated $200 million in relief funds
Read full article: Six years after Hurricane Harvey, the city of Houston still hasnāt allocated $200 million in relief fundsBoth the state and the city of Houston say they want to work together to help pay down the remaining funds.
After years of losing battles with GOP leaders, some big city Texas mayors strike friendlier tone
Read full article: After years of losing battles with GOP leaders, some big city Texas mayors strike friendlier toneAustin Mayor Kirk Watson and incoming Houston Mayor John Whitmire, two veteran Democratic legislators, are trying to repair their citiesā fraught relationships with the stateās GOP leadership.
Democrat John Whitmire elected Houston mayor, defeating congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
Read full article: Democrat John Whitmire elected Houston mayor, defeating congresswoman Sheila Jackson LeeA longtime Democratic Texas lawmaker who has represented Houston in the Legislature for more than 50 years will lead the nationās fourth-largest city after winning a mayoral runoff election.
Houston has a population that's young. Its next mayor, set to be elected in a runoff, won't be
Read full article: Houston has a population that's young. Its next mayor, set to be elected in a runoff, won't beVoters in Houston will elect the oldest big-city mayor in the U.S. this weekend when they choose between U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, two Democrats in their 70s.
In Houston mayoral race, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire head to a runoff
Read full article: In Houston mayoral race, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire head to a runoffThe two well-known Democrats led a crowded field, but neither captured a majority of the vote. The runoff will be Dec. 9.
Houston mayor's race heads to runoff between US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire
Read full article: Houston mayor's race heads to runoff between US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John WhitmireTwo Democrats with decadeslong political careers are heading to a runoff election to be Houstonās next mayor.
In crowded field, Houston mayor's race centers on prominent Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and John Whitmire
Read full article: In crowded field, Houston mayor's race centers on prominent Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and John WhitmireJackson Lee has sought to rally her partyās base, vowing to stand up to āMAGA Republicans.ā Whitmire has relied on a more bipartisan coalition while also defending his Democratic credentials.
Sheila Jackson Lee expresses regret after audio leaks of her berating, demeaning staffers
Read full article: Sheila Jackson Lee expresses regret after audio leaks of her berating, demeaning staffersJackson Lee is running for Houston mayor, and the recording of her expletive-laden rant toward an employee was sent from an anonymous email account to multiple news organizations, three days before the start of early voting.
Houston's next mayor has big city problems to fix. Familiar faces want the job
Read full article: Houston's next mayor has big city problems to fix. Familiar faces want the jobHoustonās next mayor will tackle many challenges similar to ones faced by other large U.S. cities: crime, crumbling infrastructure, budget shortfalls and a lack of affordable housing.
Political dominoes could fall in Houston as 2 longtime Democrats campaign for mayor
Read full article: Political dominoes could fall in Houston as 2 longtime Democrats campaign for mayorState Sen. John Whitmire, first elected in 1982, and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, in office since 1995, could be vacating seats that havenāt been open for decades. The election calendar, however, may bring a tough decision for one or both.
Protesters decry stalled fentanyl test strip bill; Texas House passes get-tough criminal penalties
Read full article: Protesters decry stalled fentanyl test strip bill; Texas House passes get-tough criminal penaltiesStuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives.
Texas Senate passes bill limiting farmland sales to China, other countries
Read full article: Texas Senate passes bill limiting farmland sales to China, other countriesThe amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries.
Former elections chief Chris Hollins drops bid for Houston mayor
Read full article: Former elections chief Chris Hollins drops bid for Houston mayorFacing a crowded field, Hollins, who served briefly as Harris County clerk in 2020, announced Thursday he will instead run to be Houstonās chief financial officer.
Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000
Read full article: Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayor
Read full article: U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayorJackson Lee enters a mayoral contest that is already well underway. The early frontrunner is state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and his competitors include Chris Hollins, the former Harris County clerk, and Amanda Edwards, a former City Council member.
Lawmakers could no longer ādouble dipā into pension funds under newly filed bill
Read full article: Lawmakers could no longer ādouble dipā into pension funds under newly filed billState Sen. Joan Huffman filed a bill that would repeal a provision that allowed longtime lawmakers to increase their yearly take-home income by $140,000 by collecting pension payments without retiring.
Texas senators seem open to major change in stateās public education funding formula
Read full article: Texas senators seem open to major change in stateās public education funding formulaSenators 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.
Texas Senate Democrats call again for a special session on gun safety in response to Uvalde shooting
Read full article: Texas Senate Democrats call again for a special session on gun safety in response to Uvalde shootingThe senators said they would support proposals like raising the age to legally own an assault weapon from 18 to 21, creating red flag laws and regulating private gun sales.
Texas suspends inmate transports after escape left 5 dead
Read full article: Texas suspends inmate transports after escape left 5 deadThe Texas prison system says it's temporarily stopped transporting inmates as it investigates how a convicted murderer escaped from a transport bus last month, later killing a man and his four grandsons.
Uvalde gunman legally bought AR rifles days before shooting, law enforcement says
Read full article: Uvalde gunman legally bought AR rifles days before shooting, law enforcement saysHe brought only one of the rifles with him into the elementary school, according to the briefing. The other was left in a truck he crashed nearby.
Former U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Edwards announces run for Houston mayor
Read full article: Former U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Edwards announces run for Houston mayorEdwards joins a field that already includes two well-known names: veteran state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Chris Hollins, the former Harris County clerk who oversaw election changes in 2020 that became a lightning rod for Republicans.
State Sen. John Whitmire announces he will run for Houston mayor in 2023
Read full article: State Sen. John Whitmire announces he will run for Houston mayor in 2023Whitmire, the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate, will first run for reelection to the chamber in 2022 before his mayoral run the following year.
Texas GOP to revive voting bill, Democrats plot next move
Read full article: Texas GOP to revive voting bill, Democrats plot next moveTexas Republicans are pressing ahead with their push for tougher election laws after Democrats' defiant weekend walkout stopped one of the nation's most restrictive voting measures.
CPS Energy uses a college student for weather forecasting. Thatās not how other major Texas utilities operate.
Read full article: CPS Energy uses a college student for weather forecasting. Thatās not how other major Texas utilities operate.Multiple representatives from CPS Energy have pushed back on the notion that they were ill-equipped to forecast storms. AdMoreno said last week the utility also uses public sources like the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio and local newscasts. RELATED: CPS Energy faces $1 billion bill for winter weather power crisisA CPS Energy vehicle. (KSAT)DTNās vice president of weather operations, Renny Vandewege, told the Defenders via telephone Friday CPS uses a customized version of the companyās weather platform, WeatherSentry. And while DTN employs a significant number of meteorologists, Vandewege did not know if communication between DTN and CPS increased as the storm approached Texas.
The Texas lawmakers who led the Sandra Bland Act are pushing to reinstate the police reforms stripped from their original bill
Read full article: The Texas lawmakers who led the Sandra Bland Act are pushing to reinstate the police reforms stripped from their original billBut by the time the Legislature passed it, most of the sweeping provisions related to policing had been stripped out. Many provisions were removed from the bill after law enforcement opposition. Those measures stalled the bills progress because of opposition from law enforcement groups and lawmakers concerned about unfunded mandates. The version of the Sandra Bland Act signed into law by Gov. Abbott did not, however, mention any specific proposals, and has not addressed the policing aspects that faced harsh opposition by law enforcement and how, if at all, that will change in 2021.