Seven residents launched a challenge in 2022 to the removal of 17 books, which included topics on race and gender. They won a reinstatement of the titles, but lost on appeal.
Llano residents are told to stock up on groceries. A Sulphur Springs church is renting its parking spots. And everyone’s watching the weather forecast ahead of Monday’s eclipse.
The withdrawn proposal would have allowed the dam’s owner to take nearly 4 million gallons from the South Llano River, the main water source for Kimble, Mason and Llano counties.
Texas has thousands of private dams, but a former oil executive’s application to build one on the South Llano River would be the first in the watershed for recreational use. Opponents fear it would harm the river’s health and encourage more private dams.
Libraries have been at the receiving end of book challenges, threats and new laws. Now, some worry a federal appeals court could chip away at long-standing protections.
A 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans heard oral arguments Wednesday for an appeal to overturn a judge’s order that Llano County officials return to shelves books they had removed. It was not clear how or when the appellate panel would rule.
Llano County commissioners had considered closing the three libraries in response to a ruling from a federal judge who ordered banned books returned to the shelves.
Local officials are appealing the order in a lawsuit that drew national attention. Seven library patrons say the book removals infringed their First Amendment rights.
A federal lawsuit claims Llano County leaders perpetrated a coordinated censorship campaign in how they limited the books that taxpayers could access.
A federal lawsuit claims Llano County public officials’ efforts to remove library books are a coordinated censorship campaign.