5/ A Houston crime lab employee told Democratic state Rep. Tracy King’s office that, without funds to allow for new lab testing, the legislation would “essentially legalize marijuana.” bit.ly/2HgmEka
6/ But lawmakers didn't listen, and the issue got almost no attention.
Now, district attorneys across Texas are dropping or delaying low-level marijuana cases — they say the law now requires a THC test to prove something is pot beyond a reasonable doubt. bit.ly/2HgmEka
7/7 And Republican leaders are chastising these prosecutors for halting pot prosecutions.
State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said these DAs are using the law as political cover to essentially legalize the drug in their districts. bit.ly/2HgmEka
In the past three years, Texas has spent $3.1 billion to build 50 miles of wall scattershot along the border. State officials have kept many details of the program confidential.
The Texas Tribune has for the first time identified where Texas has built its border wall. 🧵
By cross-referencing more than 3,000 pages of state contracts with local land records and mapping software, the Tribune identified locations of border wall segments in Val Verde, Maverick, Webb, Zapata, Starr and Cameron counties, as well as each parcel the state has secured for future use.
The 50 miles of border wall constructed by Texas to date is 6% of the 805 miles the state has designated for building.
It’s been constructed in dozens of fragmented sections, some a city block wide and others more than 70 miles apart. apps.texastribune.org/features/2024/…
On Friday, the Texas State Board of Education approved a state-authored curriculum under intense scrutiny in recent months for its heavy inclusion of biblical teachings.
Here’s what you need to know about the new lessons and how an Abbott-appointee became the deciding vote. 🧵
The new curriculum proposed by the Texas Education Agency inserts Bible teachings into K–5 reading and language arts lessons.
For example, a fifth-grade lesson on the Renaissance uses Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper to teach students about Jesus and the twelve disciples.
Religious and nonreligious groups raised concerns that the increased emphasis on Christianity could lead non-Christian students to face bullying and isolation, undermine church-state separation and grant the state too much control over how children are taught about religion. texastribune.org/2024/07/19/tex…
In Texas’ biggest purple county Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare is creating a playbook for local governing. From cutting social services to changing election rules, the far-right republican has pushed his agenda with an uncompromising approach.
Over the past two decades, O’Hare methodically amassed power in North Texas as he pushed incendiary policies such as banning undocumented immigrants from renting homes and vilifying school curriculum that encouraged students to embrace diversity.
He rode a wave of conservative resentment, leaping from City Council member of Farmers Branch, a suburb north of Dallas, in 2005 to its mayor to the leader of the Tarrant County Republican Party.
1/ Overnight, House managers published nearly 4,000 pages of evidence ahead of next month’s impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.
2/ Included in the 3,760 pages are 150 exhibits. These documents give granular details of how Paxton allegedly abused his office to help Austin real estate developer Nate Paul.
3/ 📃In an interview, Paxton’s former personal aid said he ferried documents to Paul on Paxton’s behalf and witnessed conversations about the renovations to Paxton’s home that suggested Paul had paid for it.
1/ Over the past quarter century, a war machine was constructed inside the Texas Office of Attorney General, designed to push conservative legal doctrine through the courts.
Here’s how Texas got here — and what it means for the country's future. bit.ly/3KjCMC1
2/ Under three attorneys general, John Cornyn, Greg Abbott, and Ken Paxton, the office began assembling an all-star team to barrage the federal courts with state-funded lawsuits born of increasingly overt right-wing activism. bit.ly/3KjCMC1
3/ In 1998, John Cornyn became the first Republican attorney general in Texas since Reconstruction.
One of his first acts was creating the Office of the Solicitor General to handle state and federal appeals, all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. bit.ly/3KjCMC1
1/On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed in the Robb Elementary shooting.
The shooting also caused emotional and psychological damage to a generation of children in Uvalde. The Treviños are one of many families adapting to a new reality.texastribune.org/2023/05/22/tex…
2/ Three of the Treviños’ kids — Austin, Illiaña and David James — have been diagnosed with PTSD.
The kids attended Robb Elementary and were on campus on May 24 for an awards ceremony. Their mom, Jessica, picked them up from school shortly before the shooting began.
3/ Illiaña’s best friend was killed during the shooting. While visiting her friend’s memorial, Illiaña suffered cardiac arrest from acute stress.
“Nana was born with a heart of gold. So when it breaks, that’s how she reacts,” her mom Jessica says.