Columns

CAPITAL HIGHLIGTHS Gov. Greg Abbott late last week warned lawmakers to be prepared for several special sessions to pass a tax reform bill that he will accept, as well as a school voucher plan that failed to pass during the regular session. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are at odds over how to deliver…

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE “Dear Mr. Robertson,” the text read. “I am writing to offer you a unique opportunity to acquire a remarkable collection of live French snails.” Obviously I don’t know much about French snails, or how to tell them apart from, say, Belgian or Croatian snails. I suppose they’d have different accents.…

EDITORIAL By Jesse Booher May is National Foster Care Month, which is a time to celebrate the families who provide a vital role in the safety net for children who have suffered from maltreatment. Among organizations that serve children and families, there is growing emphasis on services to help families stay together so that foster…

CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS The Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton Saturday, only the third time in the state’s history that has occurred. The Austin American-Statesman and numerous news outlets reported the chamber voted 121-23 to remove Paxton, 60, from office while he awaits a trial in the Senate during a special session…

CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS   A key House education committee adjourned last week without voting on a school voucher bill that is Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority this session, the Houston Chronicle reported. Barring some unforeseen maneuver in the last week of the regular legislative session, the bill is effectively dead for now. The Senate had approved…

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE   Our school year in England stretched into mid-July, but the last week or so had been given over to a series of concerts, open-air theatre, art exhibits, fencing tournaments, antique bicycle demonstrations, and much decadent lounging on lawns and deck chairs. Exams were behind us, and our inky papers…

A VIEW FROM THE BRIGDE Parents were lined up down the street, cars jammed parking lots and intersections, and phones were probably ringing incessantly. This is the knee-jerk reaction in small towns when someone hears of a threat against a school, either locally or elsewhere, and district policies dictating lockdowns go into effect. Parents, of…

CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS It’s official. Fort Hood, named for a high-ranking Confederate officer in the Civil War, has been renamed Fort Cavazos, in honor of native Texan Richard E. Cavazos, the country’s first Hispanic four-star general. Fort Cavazos is the Army’s largest armored, active-duty military installation, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman. It is…

A WORD FROM THE MAYOR   On April 27, the city of Pearsall hosted a tabletop disaster training drill at the Frio County Conference Room. These drills bring key management personnel and emergency responders together in a room to discuss their roles should a disaster occur. The key is for all agencies to know as…