INSIDER
How 11 Texas cities made housing unaffordable — and what’s being done to fix it
Read full article: How 11 Texas cities made housing unaffordable — and what’s being done to fix itTexas desperately needs more and denser housing to keep up with the demand. But zoning restrictions get in the way, a Texas Tribune analysis found.
Pilot tried to pull out of landing before plane crashed on the doorstep of a Texas mall
Read full article: Pilot tried to pull out of landing before plane crashed on the doorstep of a Texas mallA Federal Aviation Administration incident report says the pilot of a small plane that crashed and burned on the doorstep of a strip mall in Texas was trying to pull out of a landing before the accident.
Facing declining enrollment and charter school competition, San Antonio and Plano consider closing campuses
Read full article: Facing declining enrollment and charter school competition, San Antonio and Plano consider closing campusesSchool officials in San Antonio announced earlier this week that they are looking at closing about 20% of their campuses while Plano school officials are starting those discussions.
New Texas law bars animal cruelty offenders from owning animals for five years
Read full article: New Texas law bars animal cruelty offenders from owning animals for five yearsThe law bans those convicted of animal cruelty, including those involved with dogfighting, from owning any kind of animal for five years after their first criminal offense.
“Let’s clean house”: Paxton tells supporters to lead charge in removing his Republican rivals who impeached him
Read full article: “Let’s clean house”: Paxton tells supporters to lead charge in removing his Republican rivals who impeached himPaxton named House Speaker Dade Phelan, a fellow Republican, in his brief remarks Saturday in North Texas. The suspended attorney general faces a trial Tuesday that would remove him from office permanently.
Texas sues to block Biden’s abortion medication guidance
Read full article: Texas sues to block Biden’s abortion medication guidanceIn 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.
As lawmakers begin a new session, Texas mayors want to maintain control of local issues
Read full article: As lawmakers begin a new session, Texas mayors want to maintain control of local issuesMayors from the state’s most populous cities presented their legislative wish list, including economic development and workforce programs, broadband infrastructure and violence prevention.
Watch: Four new Texas House members discuss immigration, property taxes and public school financing
Read full article: Watch: Four new Texas House members discuss immigration, property taxes and public school financingThey talked about their campaigns and journey to the Legislature, what has stood out to them so far about working in the House and what they hope to accomplish this session.
H-E-B opening second store in the DFW Metroplex this fall
Read full article: H-E-B opening second store in the DFW Metroplex this fallH-E-B has announced the opening date for its second Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex location just weeks after enthusiasts flocked to the opening of the area’s first store.
Pregnant Texas woman who claimed unborn child as second passenger had ticket dismissed, gets another
Read full article: Pregnant Texas woman who claimed unborn child as second passenger had ticket dismissed, gets anotherA pregnant Texas woman who received a traffic ticket for driving alone on the HOV lane in Dallas recently had her ticket dismissed, but then got cited a second time for the same reason.
Texas woman arrested after racist rant, assault in restaurant parking lot
Read full article: Texas woman arrested after racist rant, assault in restaurant parking lotA woman is facing a possible hate crime charge after she was captured on video in a racist rant and assault on women of South Asian descent in a suburban Dallas parking lot.
Pregnant Texas woman cited for driving alone in HOV lane, claims unborn child counts as second passenger
Read full article: Pregnant Texas woman cited for driving alone in HOV lane, claims unborn child counts as second passengerA pregnant Texas woman got a traffic ticket for driving alone in the HOV lane. Now she’s fighting against the citation, claiming her unborn child should count as a second passenger.
How a Plano toy inventor helped push U.S. Rep. Van Taylor out of office
Read full article: How a Plano toy inventor helped push U.S. Rep. Van Taylor out of officeJosh Malone funded a super PAC that spent over $400,000 working to defeat the Plano congressman, who got forced into a primary runoff and then admitted to an affair and ended his campaign.
Delta variant, lax mask policies delay Plano family’s return to school
Read full article: Delta variant, lax mask policies delay Plano family’s return to schoolParents remain divided over whether to require masks in the classroom. For Carmen Campbell, there’s just too much uncertainty right now to feel comfortable sending her son back. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.
FBI: Texas shooter possibly inspired by foreign terrorists
Read full article: FBI: Texas shooter possibly inspired by foreign terroristsInvestigators are looking into whether a Texas man was inspired by foreign terrorists when he fatally shot a Lyft driver in a Dallas suburb and opened fire in the police station of another suburb where officers shot him.
North Texas authorities investigating if police station shooting, Lyft driver’s death are connected
Read full article: North Texas authorities investigating if police station shooting, Lyft driver’s death are connectedAuthorities are trying to determine if there is a connection between a confrontation at a Dallas suburb in which police officers wounded a man after he had opened fire inside a police station and the death of a Lyft driver at another Dallas suburb.
Gas leak in Texas home likely caused blast that injured 6
Read full article: Gas leak in Texas home likely caused blast that injured 6Fire officials say a gas leak in a suburban Dallas home was the likely cause of an explosion that destroyed the house and heavily damaged the two next door, injuring six people.
6 people injured after house explodes in Dallas suburb
Read full article: 6 people injured after house explodes in Dallas suburbAuthorities say six people were injured when a house in the Dallas suburb of Plano was destroyed in an explosion that also left the two homes on either side of it with major damage.
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex finally getting H-E-B stores
Read full article: Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex finally getting H-E-B storesSAN ANTONIOS – H-E-B is taking its Primo Picks up north with an expansion into the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The San Antonio-based grocery chain on Friday said two stores, one in Frisco and the other in Plano, are slated to open in fall 2022. Officials said details about the new stores will be given at groundbreaking ceremonies. This won’t be the grocery chain’s first presence in the North Texas Metroplex, though. Central Market stores opened in the area in 2001 and serve communities in Dallas, Plano, Southlake and Fort Worth.
Hospitalizations in Texas from COVID-19 continue to drop
Read full article: Hospitalizations in Texas from COVID-19 continue to dropFILE - Syringed doses of the COVID-19 vaccination sit ready for distribution at a senior living residents facility Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)AUSTIN, Texas – The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas has dropped below 4,000 for the first time since October. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported 3,980 hospitalizations. Johns Hopkins says that over 46,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Texas, the third-highest death count in the country. Greg Abbott ended the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, including the state mask mandate.
Official: 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines lost to winter storm in Texas
Read full article: Official: 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines lost to winter storm in TexasSyringed doses of the COVID-19 vaccination sit ready for distribution at a senior living residents facility Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)AUSTIN, Texas – About 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines were lost to disruptions caused by last week’s cold wave, which a top state health official said Tuesday was a relatively small number of doses. At a virtual news conference, she said that 3.1 million were first doses while 1.4 million were second doses. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported another 234 deaths from COVID-19 Tuesday. The state reported 9,704 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, pushing the total number of Texas cases past 2.6 million since the pandemic started to 2,606,275, an estimated 192,883 of which were active.
Charge dropped against Black man walking on icy Texas street
Read full article: Charge dropped against Black man walking on icy Texas streetPLANO, Texas – A misdemeanor charge has been dropped against a Black man who was arrested last week for walking home on a street during a snowstorm in Texas. Reese told KDFW-TV that he was walking home from his job at a Walmart and didn't stop for the officers because he didn't need their help. In the video, a brief scuffle is seen as officers attempted to handcuff Reese, who can be heard asking to be released. According to the Facebook post, the arresting officer noted that Reese resisted arrest but chose not to charge him. Plano Police Chief Ed Drain told KDFW-TV that the charge was dropped against Reese because the arrest wasn't consistent with why officers were called to investigate.
Texas’ COVID-19 hospitalizations dip below 11,000
Read full article: Texas’ COVID-19 hospitalizations dip below 11,000Syringed doses of the COVID-19 vaccination sit ready for distribution at a senior living residents facility Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)AUSTIN, Texas – The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas has dipped below 11,000 for the first time since late December. The Texas Department of State Health Services on Wednesday reported 10,827 hospitalizations. More than 37,650 people in Texas have died from COVID-19, the third-highest death count in the U.S., according to data from researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Texas has remained mostly constant around 20,152 per day, according to Johns Hopkins.
Texas again reports more than 300 new virus deaths
Read full article: Texas again reports more than 300 new virus deathsBetty Lou Wahlstedt, 88, right, receives the COVID-19 vaccination from pharmacist Jeffery Smith at a senior living residents facility Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Plano, Texas. The U.S. is entering the second month of the biggest vaccination effort in history with a major expansion of the campaign. (AP Photo/LM Otero)HOUSTON – Texas on Tuesday reported more than 300 new COVID-19 deaths for the fifth time time in the past week as the toll of the pandemic across the U.S. surpassed 400,000 deaths. Officials in the border city of Laredo say hospitals are at capacity and last week the Texas Department of State Health Services said the pandemic is “at its worst." More than 32,000 of those deaths have been in Texas.
Texas lawmakers offered vaccine despite ineligibility
Read full article: Texas lawmakers offered vaccine despite ineligibilitySyringed doses of the COVID-19 vaccination sit ready for distribution at a senior living residents facility Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)AUSTIN, Texas – Austin's top health authority is offering coronavirus vaccines to Texas lawmakers and their key staffers, regardless of whether they are currently eligible under state guidelines. Escott said he pushed, unsuccessfully, for the state to put lawmakers on a priority list for the vaccine. The Department of State Health Services has set up a multi-tiered system for vaccine distribution. On Sunday, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported that 13,728 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized across the state Sunday.
Texas dog accidentally shoots owner in the thigh, police say
Read full article: Texas dog accidentally shoots owner in the thigh, police sayPLANO, Texas – A dog accidentally shot his owner in Plano over the weekend after its paw got lodged in the trigger. According to the Plano Police Department, the owner had a pistol tucked in their waistband and was picking up the dog when the dog’s paw pulled the trigger of the weapon and shot the owner in the thigh. Know your weapon, how and when to use it, and be a smart and responsible gun owner. Plano police did not give an update on the condition of the owner. Imagine having your pistol tucked inside your waistband and while picking up your dog, a paw gets... Posted by Plano Texas Police Department on Monday, November 2, 2020Related:
Hacked software provider won't say if ransomware involved
Read full article: Hacked software provider won't say if ransomware involvedAn updated statement on Tyler's webpage did not address whether ransomware may have been involved. Customers' use of Tyler products for election data reporting appears limited. Nashville's information technology director said the city uses a Tyler “open-data” product, Socrata, to post unofficial election night results, among other uses. Tyler said Socrata data is hosted on Amazon Web Services, not on the network that was hacked. Hanna Pickering, director of information technology in Portland, Maine, said the city uses Tyler platforms for payroll, permitting, city inspections, city planning and human resources, among other things.
National Democrats add three more Texas congressional districts to target list
Read full article: National Democrats add three more Texas congressional districts to target listCredit: United States CongressThe Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding three more districts to its Texas target list, expanding an already ambitious battlefield in the state. The DCCC is now targeting 10 districts across Texas, or nearly half the GOP-held seats in the state's congressional delegation. "That consistent message and our 16-month long investment in Texas have put fast-changing districts like these ones in play and Democratic candidates in strong position to deliver in November." Taylor, Williams and Wright all won their races in 2018 by margins ranging from 8 to 10 percentage points. The National Republican Congressional Committee has argued that the Democratic candidates are too liberal for Texas and that the GOP is the party on offense with strong challengers against Allred and Fletcher.