Amid personal conflict, Hays County clerk turned to Republicanโs โrogueโ prosecutor law to oust fellow Democrat
Personal conflict between two newly elected Democrats briefly escalated into public view. An attempt to remove one from county office came in the background of university, state and federal impeachment attempts.
Why some Texas cities and counties had to return millions of dollars meant to help renters during the pandemic
For some local relief programs, a lack of staffing, political support and effective community outreach got in the way of spending federal funds to prevent evictions, a new report found. More than $30 million went unspent and had to be returned.
Murder suspect arrested after leading Houston police on chase, striking several vehicles
HOUSTON โ Investigators said a man with a violent history is in custody following a chase in Houston where he struck several vehicles on Tuesday. The constableโs office said Chambliss had removed an ankle monitor and was out on a PR bond for a murder charge in Hays County, which is southwest of Austin. After roughly two years behind bars, Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau said Chambliss requested his $250,000 bond be reduced. Court records show a judge granted a PR bond with GPS monitor in 2019 โunder extreme protestโ from the prosecutor. Investigators said Chambliss could face additional charges in Harris County for the chase, but those details have not been released yet.
Biden camp cancels multiple Texas events after a "Trump Train" surrounded a campaign bus
On Saturday night, Trump tweeted a video of the Trump supporters following the Biden bus saying, โI LOVE TEXAS!โWhen reached for comment, the Texas GOP Chairman Allen West dismissed questions regarding the incident. According to the Biden campaign, multiple trucks pulled in front of the bus and appeared to try to slow it down. During that time, the person said, the group of Trump supporters fell back behind the police. โAll involved parties are being referred to the San Marcos Police Department should they desire to file any type of report with law enforcement. Democratic officials say Trump supporters created a dangerous situation on Interstate 35 and continued following the bus into Austin.
Swamped with voter requests, the Texas secretary of stateโs office has become a focus of frustration
The office is set up primarily to mail voters forms they need to fill out and send to their appropriate county election office. But, like other state agencies, the secretary of stateโs office is hobbled by work restrictions because of the coronavirus. Many of the ballot application requests are being handled from employees' homes, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed. Itโs just, it is negligent.โWhile the stateโs deadline to request a mail-in ballot application is Oct. 23, the U.S. You can print out your own application, contact your local elections office to receive one or request one from the secretary of stateโs office.
How a local Texas politician helped a serial entrepreneur use COVID-19 to boost his business
The leaders worked, sometimes vigorously, to persuade their local governments to buy COVID-19 tests from a company Hayungs was hoping to partner with. Villalobos, the Hays County chief of staff, said in a statement that Republicans were blocking access to COVID-19 tests. โApproved to Re-Vamp / Re-Brand Hays County Indigent Healthcare Program.โThe county commissioners had not approved him to do anything. He did so without input from key Hays County medical leaders or approval from his fellow commissioners, as county rules require. Hayungsโ company falsely claimed in a letter that it was the FEMA-designated COVID-19 response team for Hays County.
Trump scales back landmark environmental law, saying it will help restart the economy
To spur economic growth, the Trump administration wants to remove processes meant to protect the environment that some large-scale infrastructure projects go through. Trump and his allies in business and industry argue that the law has proved costly and cumbersome to developers. He wants to exempt some projects and activities from environmental review altogether while speeding up the time frame for reviews for other projects. In January, Trump faulted the laws lengthy review process as one of the main reasons the nations infrastructure had fallen into disrepair. Kym Hunter, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in email that it made no sense to scale back the law at a time when marginalized communities were demanding greater input into decisions affecting their public health.