You can also verify that you are registered to vote on that site.

The top two statewide races garnering attention are the U.S. Senate race, pitting the Republican nominee, Attorney General Ken Paxton, against the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico. Most polls show Talarico in the lead, according to The Texas Tribune. A Democrat hasn’t won a statewide race since 1994, when several Democrats won. However, that year, Republican nominee George W. Bush beat incumbent Democrat Ann Richards in the governor’s race, beginning a long drought for that party.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican seeking his fourth term, faces a strong challenge from state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin. That race remains tight, with the Real Clear Politics polling average showing Abbott with a slight lead, well within the margin of error.

There are several other statewide races on the ballot, as well as contested races for the U.S. House, Texas House and state Senate, municipal posts and referendums, again depending on where one votes.

ABBOTT RAMPS UP ATTACKS ON HINOJOSA Gov. Greg Abbott’s bid to become the longes t- ser v ing Texas governor in history is running into an unexpectedly tight race for a candidate who has won his last three races for governor by double digits. He told supporters that “polls don’t win elections, and polls are often wrong.”

His campaign recently announced a $12 million ad buy targeting Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, according to the Texas Standard. One ad claims that, as a state representative, Hinojosa voted more than 40 times for higher property taxes in the state, a claim she vigorously disputes.

“I have never, not once, voted to increase property taxes, and anyone who says otherwise is lying,” Hinojosa said.

Abbott maintains he will prevail.

“What I’m confident about is exactly where my campaign stands and the outcome — that I’m going to win this race,” Abbott said.

Meanwhile, Abbott outraised Hinojosa in the last reporting cycle, $20 million to $13 million. She raised her money from about 136,000 donors, more than 10 times the number who contributed to Abbott’s campaign, which had more large donations, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Abbott has burned through far more campaign cash, spending nearly $70 million since July 1, compared with Hinojosa’s $12 million. Abbott still has a comfortable bank balance of $17 million, compared with $4 million for Hinojosa.

FEW DEBATES SET SO FAR IN STATEWIDE RACES No debates have been scheduled to date in the governor’s race, although state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat, has repeatedly called for a debate against Gov. Greg Abbott of the GOP. The same is true of the U.S. Senate race, where state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign has promised to debate state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, but has not agreed to any proposed dates, The Texas Tribune reported.

The only debate among statewide candidates apparently scheduled so far is between Democrat Jon Rosenthal and Republican Bo French for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. Rosenthal announced that he and French have agreed to a debate on Oct. 22, but French has not publicly confirmed.

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, and state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, the Democratic nominees for lieutenant governor and Texas attorney general, respectively, have also urged their GOP opponents to debate. Spokespeople for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is seeking reelection, and state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, who is campaigning for the attorney general slot, did not respond to requests for comment.

In the past three gubernatorial elections, Abbott debated his Democratic opponent each time.

JUDGE HALTS BIG BEND AREA BORDER WALL A U.S. district judge in El Paso has halted all construction on the border wall project in the Big Bend border area, the Texas Standard reported. A coalition of opponents is suing the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over plans to build a border wall through the rugged area, which includes Big Bend National Park.

The pause in construction is in effect until the case goes to trial.

“The Court finds that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of at least one of the claims in suit, that there is a likelihood that they will suffer serious, irreparable harm without an injunction, and that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in their favor,” state the order from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone.

Opponents claim that, besides the environmental damage caused by building a wall and roads in the area, the Big Bend Sector has the least traffic across the border because of its extremely rugged terrain.

A CBP spokesperson said the agency is working with the Department of Justice on the next steps.

“We stand by our assessment and remain confident in our legal authorities to secure the border while preserving the unique landscape of the Big Bend region,” the spokesperson said.

TEXAS ACCOUNTS FOR MOST OF LIBRARY BOOK BANS Texas banned more school library books during the 2025-26 school year than any other state, accounting for 8,000 — or twothirds — of the 12,000 book bans documented by Pen America, a literature and free-speech advocacy group, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Florida ranked second with just more than 3,200 banned books.

PEN America, a nonprofit, attributed the high number of book bans in the state to legislation that expands the role of parents and school boards in overseeing what books students can access in public school libraries.

Leading the list of most frequently banned books included “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, “Crank” and “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “Looking for Alaska” by John Green.

DSHS RECOMMENDS GETTING FLU SHOT SOON The Texas Department of Health and Human Services is advising Texans to get immunized against the flu as soon as possible as flu season gets underway.

“We recommend everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu shot as soon as possible because we usually see cases start to rise at this time of year,” said DSHS Chief Medical Executive Manda Hall. “Small children and older adults, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions often suffer the most severe effects from flu illness.”

People with flu are most contagious in the first few days of their illness. DSH advises those with flu symptoms to stay home and avoid contact with other people.

To find out where to get a flu shot, go to Vaccines. gov or contact your local pharmacy or health care provider.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park.

This year marks the 86th celebration of National Newspaper Week.

Since 1940, Newspaper Association Managers — nammembers.com — has sponsored and supported National Newspaper Week, a week-long promotion of the newspaper industry in the United States and Canada.

It runs Oct. 4-Oct. 10.

ROOTED IN COMMUNITY, COMMITTED TO TRUTH

In small towns, suburbs and cities across America, local newspapers are there for the moments that matter — elections and ballgames, new businesses and school decisions, celebrations and tragedies.

How we deliver the news has changed. Why we do it hasn’t.

Newspapers inform their communities, hold government accountable and tell the stories no one else will. That commitment is at the heart of National Newspaper Week 2026 and this year’s theme: “Rooted in Community, Committed to Truth.”

WHY NEWSPAPERS MATTER Local journalism is just that — local.

It’s the city council vote that affects your taxes, the school board decision involving your children, the state championship team and the new business opening on Main Street.

Newspapers put reporters in the room, ask questions and provide accurate, verified information when facts matter most.

They also connect communities. Newspapers celebrate accomplishments, honor veterans, publish obituaries, cover emergencies and record the everyday moments that become a community’s history.

A COMMITMENT WORTH SUPPORTING

Strong local journalism doesn’t happen by accident. Subscriptions, advertising and community support help keep reporters covering the people, institutions and decisions that matter.

National Newspaper Week is also a time to recognize the journalists, publishers, photographers, advertising teams, press operators, carriers and others who make that work possible every day.

Every newspaper serves a different community, but together we share the same purpose: keeping people informed, preserving the public record and protecting the public’s right to know.

The platforms will change. Technology will change.

The need for trusted local journalism won’t.

Lance is the executive director of the National Newspaper Association

STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

U.S. Senate candidates Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee, and Democratic nominee James Talarico traded jabs last week over rising gas and diesel prices, The Texas Tribune reported.

At a gas station in Carrollton, Talarico called on Paxton to condemn the Iran war and join his call to suspend federal gas and diesel taxes. Hours later, Paxton said the gas tax should be permanently eliminated.

Talarico first called for pausing the gas tax in April until prices fell below where they were when the war began in February, when the U.S. and Israel conducted joint air attacks against Iran. He has urged Paxton to join his call several times since.

He has termed the war a “disaster” and blames it for exacerbating affordability issues for Texas families.

“Ken Paxton supports this disastrous war in Iran that’s driving up our costs,” Talarico said. “Today, I am calling on him to oppose this war and support my plan to suspend the federal gas tax and the federal diesel tax so we can provide Texans some necessary relief.”

Paxton responded by saying he supports suspending the gas tax permanently.

“Repealing those taxes would put money straight back into drivers’ pockets every time they fill up, and Washington should fund roads by cutting waste, not by taxing Texans at the pump,” he said.

The federal gasoline tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel. Nearly all the tax collected goes in the Highway Trust Fund for federal highway and mass transit spending.

The average price in Texas last week was $3.94 per gallon for gasoline and $5.90 a gallon for diesel, according to AAA.

ABBOTT LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON DYED DIESEL Gov. Greg Abbott has lifted restrictions on dyed diesel usually allowed only in off-road and industrial equipment to lower diesel prices, the Houston Chronicle reported.

He issued a disaster proclamation last week expanding its use. Dyed diesel is exempt from fuel taxes. Abbott also requested a waiver to the Clean Air Act from the Environmental Protection Agency to get around federal limits on which diesel can be sold.

“Texas agriculture and freight run on diesel,” Abbott said in a statement. “Record prices put both industries at risk and raise costs for every Texas family. Farmers and truckers can now use dyed diesel on Texas roads, and fuel, crop, and timber loads can move at a higher weight.”

The three-term governor is locked in a close reelection contest in the Nov. 3 midterm election dominated by cost-of-living concerns. His Democratic opponent, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, had earlier called for suspending all diesel taxes, which Abbott said is not in his power to unilaterally do.

VOTER SNAFU HIGHLIGHTS DIFFICULTY IN REGISTERING A Texas backlog of at least 200,000 voter registration applications and updates was caused by a state error. Now election officials are scrambling to respond before voting begins.

Texas is one of only eight states that doesn’t have universal online voter registration. The state Department of Public Safety’s web portal is the only option for registering online or updating a voter registration. That option was ordered by a judge after a six-year legal battle.

Votebeat and The Texas Tribune recently reported a flaw in the system where DPS failed to send counties thousands of voter applications and updates submitted through its web portal, dating back to October 2025. There have been bipartisan calls for an investigation into what went awry. State officials so far have provided few details.

“We live in a system that has been designed to make things harder for voters,” said Sarah Chen, the senior supervising attorney at Texas Civil Rights Project. “We don’t have online voter registration, except for this teeny little carveout, and because of the teeny little carveout, now we have these technical glitches resulting in this backlog.”

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election is Oct. 5. Early voting starts Oct. 19 and runs through Oct. 30, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

The last day for an application to vote by mail must be received by Oct. 23. Voters can visit votetexas. gov to confirm they are registered to vote, see what is on the ballot where they live and get other election-related information.

That site is maintained by the Texas Secretary of State.

Meanwhile, The Texas Tribune reported an unknown number of voter registration applications were delayed because of an error by the Texas Department of Public Safety.The agency failed to forward the applications, submitted online through its driver’s license portal, to county voter registrars.

Texas Democrats have called on Gov. Greg Abbott to investigate the problem.

With the Oct. 5 deadline approaching, the delayed registrations from DPS could add to processing backlogs at affected counties. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office said affected voters can still have their ballots counted as long as they submitted their registration before Oct. 5.

The DPS portal accounted for about 6 million voter registrations from 2020 to 2024. Texas has more than 18 million registered voters.

JUDGE: TEXAS MUST AIR_CONDITION ALL PRISONS BY END OF 2029 A federal judge has ordered the state to air-condition its entire prison system by the end of 2029, the Austin American- Statesman reported. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has estimated that could cost the state $1.5 billion.

Nearly two-thirds of the 143,000 prisoners now held in Texas prisons do not have air-conditioning. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman said the prison agency had “minimized and misled” the court about the seriousness of the heat problem.

“The data that TDCJ does not collect also paints a picture of an agency that is not attempting to meaningfully understand or document the dangers and impacts of heat,” Pitman wrote.

A TDCJ spokesperson took issue with the judge’s characterization.

“TDCJ has robust heat-mitigation efforts in place to protect the safety of its population and staff,” Amanda Hernandez said in an email.

The state will appeal the ruling.

CAMP MYSTIC UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION Camp Mystic, the Hill Country girls’ summer camp where 28 people died in the July 2025 floods, is under criminal investigation by the Texas Rangers, kut.org reported.

Fourteen search warrants were served on family and staff members who ran the camp. KUT News obtained a copy of the affidavit filed against Tweety Eastland, whose husband, Dick, was one of the 28 who died.

The affidavit states the Rangers have probable cause to believe the camp’s leaders committed several criminal offenses, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, injury to a child, deadly conduct and abandoning or endangering a child.

“These offenses were committed against child campers — including both deceased victims and surviving campers of the flood event,” Brant Johnston, an investigator with the Texas Rangers, wrote in the document.

The affidavits are intended to allow the Rangers to obtain electronic data from Eastland and other members of the family who own the camp, as well as camp staff members. A Kerr County state district judge approved it earlier this month.

Camp Mystic’s owners are being sued in civil court by more than a dozen families.

LAND COMMISSIONER BACKS VIRTUAL BORDER WALL Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told the Houston Chronicle a virtual border wall makes “the most sense” for much of West Texas, where federal plans to build a physical wall have drawn considerable opposition.

“The bottom line is there are places where physical barriers make sense, and there are places where they don’t. And we just want the solution that’s best for Texas,” Buckingham said in an interview with the Chronicle’s editorial board. “I think especially when you get to West Texas, a virtual wall, in my opinion, makes the most sense for most of that area.”

The Trump administration is moving to build a border wall across the more than 13 million acres the state agency controls, most of which is in West Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has previously questioned the logic of building a physical wall in “rugged, isolated areas like Big Bend.”

Buckingham sent a cease-and-desist letter in July to U.S. Customs and Border Protection after a contractor for the agency was discovered clearing state-controlled land without permission.

Buckingham is running for reelection against Democrat Ben Flores, a former Bay City council member.

COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE FIRES DOZENS OF EMPLOYEES The Texas comptroller’s office recently fired 41 employees after agency leaders were told to submit lists of people to be terminated, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Comptroller Don Huffines, appointed to the post by Gov. Greg Abbott last summer and the Republican nominee in November, campaigned on shrinking the size of the state’s government.

In a recent interview, Huffines defended how he is doing his job since taking the helm.

“You’re going to hear a lot about how I’m changing the agency, consolidating different divisions,” he said. “I’m making it more efficient.”

The 41 terminations make up less than 2% of the agency’s nearly 3,000 full-time employees.

Huffines faces Democratic nominee Sarah Eckhardt, a state senator from Austin. Eckhardt was critical of the firings, saying they would have a financial impact on the state’s revenue.

“Not only does a reduction- in-force reduce the comptroller’s ability to collect lawfully levied taxes, but a reduction in institutional knowledge and expertise also significantly reduces their ability to collect,” she said.

RED TIDE REPORTED OFF THE COAST OF GALVESTON Biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have begun receiving reports of a red tide bloom off the coast of Galveston. They are monitoring fish kills and taking water samples around Crystal Beach and southern Galveston Island.

“Water samples indicate moderate to high concentrations of red tide cells, and beachgoers are reporting mild to severe respiratory irritation resulting from the bloom,” the news release said.

Red tide is a naturally occurring concentration of microscopic algae that produces a toxin. Dense concentrations are known as “blooms” and kill fish by paralyzing their central nervous systems. This can result in dead fish washing up on Gulf beaches.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@ texaspress.com.

Gov. Greg Abbott hailed the conclusion to the impasse.

“This funding is a major victory for Texas patients,” Abbott said in a statement. “It authorizes nearly $12 billion for hospitals, physicians, rural clinics, nursing facilities and behavioral health providers that serve patients in every region of our state.”

The funds were halted Sept. 1, with some hospitals losing as much as $27 million a day in Medicaid allotments. The fund assists hospitals in closing the gap between what Medicaid pays them and actual costs incurred for treating low-income Texans.

The dispute began last year over concerns about how the state raises more than $4.2 billion in taxes to access those federal funds. Abbott had previously referred to the holdup as an economic “gun to the head.”

REPUBLICANS POURING MONEY INTO TEXAS RACES Political action committees associated with Republicans have begun pouring money into the high-profile U.S. Senate race between GOP nominee Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Pres ident Dona ld Trump’s Super PAC spent nearly $10 million on that race just in September, while a Senate Republican leadership PAC will spend more than $60 million in ads running this month.

Elon Musk’s PAC is chipping in another $2 million for Paxton, who previously had been vastly outspent by Talarico.

“Nobody went into this race, if they had any sense at all, thinking that at the end of the day, Democrats would outspend Republicans,” said Matt Angle, a longtime Texas Democratic operative. “That was never going to be the case.”

The polls indicate a tight race, with Talarico holding a slim lead. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.

CORNYN, ROVE AMONG THOSE CONDEMNING FRENCH’S POST U.S. Sen. John Cornyn denounced GOP Railroad Commission nominee Bo French after he disparaged the racial diversity of fans shown celebrating the University of Texas team’s comeback win over top-ranked Ohio State, The Dallas Morning News reported.

French, a former Tarrant County Republican Party chair, has doubled down on his remarks. The nominee has repeatedly faced backlash for posts targeting racial and religious groups, often decrying an influx of “foreigners.”

Meanwhile, longtime GOP political consultant Karl Rove said he would vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal for railroad commissioner, only the second Democrat he has voted for. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, he called French’s post “raw, uncut bigotry.”

Cornyn was later joined by state House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Republican state representatives Jeff Leach and Lacey Hull in criticizing French.

PATRICK INTERVENES IN ERCOT CHIEF’S NEW CONTRACT A multimillion-dollar contract extension for Pablo Vegas, the CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, was put on hold after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the amount “shocking,” the San Antonio Express- News reported.

The six-year contract approved last week by the ERCOT board would provide Vegas with a base salary of $1.16 million. With potential performance incentives and other benefits, the total annual compensation could approach $6.5 million.

Patrick took to X to express his displeasure.

“During a time of increasing utility costs, this is not the time to give the CEO of ERCOT a multimillion-dollar pay raise on the backs of ratepayers,” he posted. “I am against this increase, and I think the Legislature will agree that the amount is shocking.”

Hours later, the grid operator’s board put the deal on hold. State rules require the Public Utility Commission, which oversees ERCOT, to approve Vegas’ compensation.

LAWMAKER THREATENS TO ABOLISH RRC OVER PUBLIC COMMENT SPAT The head of the House oversight committee for the Texas Railroad Commission threatened to abolish the agency after Commissioner Wayne Christian refused to appear at a hearing, The Dallas Morning News reported.

He had been called to testify in response to the commission’s recent decision to eliminate public comment from its meetings.

Christian notified the committee’s head, state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, that a prior commitment precluded him from attending. Darby was not happy with Christian’s response.

“A sitting commissioner absconding from his agency’s oversight hearing is nothing more than a mockery of the Texas Legislature and the legislative process,” he said.

He noted the Legislature could abolish the commission with a simple majority vote.

“The Legislature giveth and it taketh. That is not a threat. It is a fact,” Darby said. Christian called Darby’s comments “an attack on democracy.”

The commission decided in a split vote last August to remove public comment from its regular meetings. In its place, the staff would host “listening sessions.”

CRUZ FORGES AHEAD WITH COLLEGE SPORTS BILL Despite being loudly booed during an ESPN “GameDay” interview at Austin’s DKR stadium before the University of Texas-Ohio State game, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said he is pushing forward with his bill to limit player transfers and endorsement deals, a measure he predicts will pass the U.S. Senate.

The Dallas Morning News reported Cruz argues his legislation is needed to bring order to a chaotic environment.

“It cracks down on a booster in a back alley with a bag of cash and it ensures the system can remain competitive and vibrant,” Cruz said.

The measure would allow athletes one “free” transfer during their collegiate careers. It would place limits on any additional transfers, with exceptions for circumstances such as a coach leaving or an athletic program being terminated. Cruz said it has been endorsed by 24 conferences and professional sports leagues across several athletic disciplines.

Opponents of the bill say the talk of “chaos” is exaggerated and is being used to infringe on the rights of student-athletes while financially benefiting schools, conferences and business interests connected to college sports.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park.

A super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune last week purchased about $32 million in television broadcast ads across the state’s major media markets, The Texas Tribune reported. In addition, MAGA Inc., a PAC aligned with President Donald Trump, bought $10 million in ads.

Paxton is trailing slightly in the most recent polls. To date, he vastly has been outspent by Talarico and his allies.

Paxton spoke at the Republican midterm convention held last week in Dallas, according to the Texas Standard. He unveiled his economic plan, titled “Protecting the Texas Promise.”

“Everywhere I go, I meet Texans working harder than ever that still worry that they’ll never get ahead,” Paxton said. “Those are the people that I’m fighting for.”

Meanwhile, Talarico was slated to appear on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s network show, but the interview was pulled under concerns the Federal Communications Commission would take punitive action.

The interview was aired on YouTube instead. Several news outlets reported it received 5 million views in its first 24 hours.

Wildfire risk remains high as hunting season begins The Ross Fire in North Texas has become the largest summer wildfire recorded in state history, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. As of Sunday, it had consumed 90,400 acres and was 83% contained.

Active wildfires were reported in five other locations in the Hill Country, northwest of Austin and San Antonio.

With hunting season now underway, officials are urging sportsmen and sportswomen to be mindful of activities that could spark a blaze. In August, the forest service responded to 313 wildfires.

“The rapid onset of a flash drought increased fire occurrence and intensity statewide in August,” said Walter Flocke, Texas A&M Forest Service fire analyst. “Under flashdrought conditions, grasses, brush and timber fuels lose moisture rapidly and become susceptible to ignition.”

A flash drought appears and worsens quickly, often over a few days or weeks.

Equipment used by hunters, such as vehicles, trailers and ATVs/UTVs, is the second-most common cause of human-caused wildfires in Texas, behind debris burning.

“Even a small spark can quickly ignite a wildfire under the right conditions,” said Jared Karns, Texas A&M Forest Service fire chief. “Texans are encouraged to stay alert and be aware of hazards that can cause a wildfire while hunting this season.”

What’s new for the 2026-27 hunting season Dove hunting kicked off this year’s hunting season on Sept. 1, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has announced regulatory changes for the coming year. Among the alterations are updated identity-verification rules to combat residency fraud.

Texas residents must provide a valid driver’s license or a personal identifi cation certificate issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Non-Texas residents may be required to provide REAL ID-compliant identification.

Other regulation changes include:

• “Doe days” expanded in 21 counties from four to 16 days.

• Earlier start for the South Zone Dove regular season.

• Elimination of Special White-winged Dove Days.

• Matagorda and Wharton counties now closed to wild turkey hunting.

• Harvest of unbearded wild turkey hens now prohibited statewide.

• Definition of muzzleloader modified to allow for use of new muzzleloading technology.

Several season dates have been changed for the 2026-027 hunting season and can be found at tpwd. gov.

Texas SNAP application backlog skyrockets Applications to receive SNAP benefits, formerly called food stamps, have ballooned almost 4,000% since January, The Dallas Morning News reported. The backlog of pending applications now exceeds 150,000, according to data from the state Health and Human Services Commission.

“This is alarming,” said Diana Forester, director of health policy at Texans Care for Children. “It is very strange to me — I can’t believe it’s as big as it is.”

The federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in July 2025 heavily restructured Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility, including adding work requirements and requiring a state to fund part of the program based on its “error rate,” which calculates how much recipients were underpaid or overpaid in a year.

“New SNAP mandates require a thorough review of each case to ensure program integrity and accuracy,” state agency spokeswoman Jennifer Ruffcorn wrote in an email. “HHSC will continue supporting eligible Texas families as quickly as possible.”

About 300,000 Texas households have lost SNAP coverage since September 2025, with the total dropping to 1.33 million as of August, nutrition officials report. Food banks across Texas are reporting higher demand for services.

Guidelines designed to protect consumers from discriminatory pricing The Texas Department of Insurance recently reminded insurance companies that it is illegal to use factors other than insurance risk to set home and auto rates.

“In Texas, we take pride in looking out for one another. When families are feeling the weight of property- insurance costs, they deserve the confidence of knowing that their premiums are determined by genuine risk, not by pricing tactics that take advantage of customer loyalty,” said Commissioner Amanda Crawford. “Insurance is about pricing risk, not pricing the customer.”

Common factors used to determine premiums for home insurance include the home’s age, location, replacement cost and any prior claims.

Auto insurance rates are determined by claims history, locations and the customer’s age and gender. Insurance customers with questions can call the TDI help line at 800-25-3439 or visit tdi.texas.gov.

Cities push back on bid to disband power companies On the campaign trail, Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed dismantling cityowned utilities, saying it would save customers money by increasing competition.

Two cities that own electric utilities are pushing back, according to the Texas Standard.

San Antonio and Austin have the state’s largest city-owned electric utilities. Officials with both say they offer some of the cheapest electricity rates in the state because their utilities operate as nonprofit companies.

Abbott said his proposal would save 10% on the average electric bill for Austin and San Antonio residents. Among those disagreeing is Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. “Fundamentally changing our utility through deregulation would have broad and significant consequences to those we serve,” he wrote in a statement.

There are 72 municipally owned utilities that provide power to 5.1 million Texans, or 15% of the state’s population, according to the Texas Public Power Association.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress. com.

The tall, gray-haired man walked toward me from the house next door. I was copying the phone number from a “For Sale” sign on a lot at Lake Murvaul in East Texas.

I had no idea I was meeting one of the best neighbors I would ever have.

This was years ago, before the “art of neighboring” was killed by 5-inch glowing rectangles and buried under a pile of unread texts. Before phone screens replaced the loving attention we once gave to family, friends and folks living next door.

“Looking to buy a place on the lake?” the old fellow quizzed me. “Good fishin’ here.”

His thinning hair and weathered face revealed his age, but his smile, twinkling eyes and curiosity hinted at a much younger heart.

“I love this lake, wouldn’t live anywhere else. Retired and moved here from Dallas 17 years ago,” he said.

I bought the property and that summer while turning it into a new home, “Mr. Bill” made the time and the work tolerable.

“How ’bout a glass of tea?” he sometimes called out.

“Come on, sit down,” he always laughed. “I got a new joke for you.”

No one guffawed louder or longer at Mr. Bill’s jokes than he did.

Then he might offer, “Come over for supper later. Katherine’s fixin’ pork chops. I might save you one.”

After we moved in, Mr. Bill and Miz Katherine quickly “adopted” my children. He timed his afternoon coffee with the arrival of the school bus.

“Y’all better get over here,” he’d call out to my kids. “Katherine just made cookies.”

“Bug” was the name my daughter, Robin, selected for the terrier mutt she adopted, but Bill called the puppy “Bitsey.” The dog soon became Bill’s “bus alert.”

Good hearing was not a requirement for Bill’s fishing, however. You could hear his boat on many mornings, heading out at full throttle before the sun came up on the cove.

“Catch anything?” I’d quiz him later.

“Naw,” he would say with a laugh. “One tried to jump on my hook, but I talked him out of it.”

More than one Saturday morning, he was at my back door.

“Got any coffee? Katherine won’t let me have any more. Says I don’t need it. And if she calls, don’t you tell her I’m over here,” he’d tell me with a grin.

Miz Katherine eventually decided it was time to move closer to family in Fort Worth.

“Crazy woman,” Bill said, shaking his head. “I came to this lake to stay.”

He protested to all, except Miz Katherine, of course. Up went the “For Sale” sign. “Where ya’ going?” I asked one day, seeing him heaving suitcases into the car.

“To see the kids,” he replied. Looking around to make sure Miz Katherine wasn’t within earshot, he smiled and said, “If anyone stops to look at the house, tell ’em it’s eaten up with termites, the roof leaks and the plumbing’s shot.”

“Gotcha,” I said with a chuckle. “Have a good trip.”

The little place next door eventually sold, and they moved away. About that time, opportunity called me to Boerne in the Hill Country.

Even today, however, having been away from that lake for many years, when someone talks about how we used to have good neighbors, I still think about one who made my life richer — a neighbor always looking for another cup of coffee, laughing and saying, “I’ve got a new joke for you.”

STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

With the state’s new fiscal year beginning Sept. 1, Texas hospitals are expected to lose $27 million per day in additional Medicaid funding, according to the Texas Standard. The shortfall follows the Trump administration’s withholding of approval for about $9.8 billion in three programs under the Comprehensive Hospital Increase Reimbursement Program, or CHIRP.

The program provides additional funding to cover the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual costs hospitals incur when providing health services to Medicaid patients. Four million low-income Texans, most of them children, are enrolled in Medicaid.

“It is impossible for a hospital to take a huge loss on a Medicaid side of their portfolio and not have that impact services across the board, regardless of what type of insurance a patient has,” said Sara González of the Texas Hospital Association.

The federal government is withholding these funds as it questions how local jurisdictions in Texas calculate the taxes they collect from hospitals. Under CHIRP, the federal government matches those funds so the hospitals can cover their actual Medicaid costs.

Gov. Greg Abbott has called the funding holdup an economic “gun to the head.”

SEVERAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS FACE STATE TAKEOVER IN 2027 More than a dozen Texas school districts could be taken over by the state in 2027 if they do not improve student performance before next year’s A-F accountability ratings, according to The Texas Tribune.

At least 14 districts had at least one school campus with a failing grade, according to this year’s preliminary ratings. Under state law, the Texas education commissioner must take over any district that receives five consecutive failing ratings — or close that failing school.

After a takeover, the district’s elected board of trustees is replaced with an appointed board of managers for at least two years.

Campuses under threat of closure next year are in the following districts: Clarksville, Cleveland, Coldspring-Oakhurst, Elgin, Judson, Kingsville, Manor, Nacogdoches, Poteet, Runge, San Angelo, San Antonio, Spring and Waco.

Districts have until Sept. 11 to appeal a school’s grade rating.

NEW LAWS TOOK EFFECT IN TEXAS ON SEPT. 1

A bevy of new laws took effect Sept. 1, according to the Texas Standard, including changes to how consumers can repair electronic devices, greater regulation of residential solar sales, and the allowance of certain forms of gold and silver as legal tender.

State House Bill 2963 requires electronics manufacturers to provide owners and independent repair businesses with the parts, tools and documentation they need on “fair and reasonable terms.” That requirement applies to consumer electronics with a wholesale price of at least $50, but only to items offered for sale in the state after Sept. 1.

The measure contains numerous exemptions, including many motor vehicles, farm equipment, large home appliances and video-game consoles.

Another legal change requires residential solar system salespeople to register with the state and to work for a registered solar retailer. Consumer advocates said complaints about solar panels submitted to the attorney general increased by 818% between 2018 and 2023.

Another law recognizes qualifying privately produced silver and gold specie as legal tender in the state. The state comptroller is responsible for approving a system allowing electronic payments backed by bullion.

LAWMAKERS LOOKING TO FURTHER CUT SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES

A Senate analysis indicates that nearly 40% of Texas homeowners pay no school property taxes. Some legislators hope to increase that share in the upcoming regular session, which begins in January. The Houston Chronicle reported that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick directed a Senate committee to assess the impact of increased homestead exemptions in past years, with the possibility of raising them further next session.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, chairs that committee and has been at the forefront of efforts to expand homestead exemptions. Currently, the first $140,000 of a residence’s taxable value is exempt. For those over 65 or with disabilities, the exemption rises to $200,000.

Patrick hopes to raise the homestead exemption to $180,000 and to lower the age at which homeowners qualify for a senior exemption from 65 to 55. For his part, Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing a constitutional amendment that would eliminate school property taxes for homeowners.

“The state will fully fund public education without you having to pay for it in your homestead,” Abbott said. “The amount you get on your bill from the local school district that you pay in property taxes should be zero dollars for the rest of your ownership of that house.”

GOP SET TO GATHER IN DALLAS FOR MIDTERM CONVENTION President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders hope this week’s midterm convention in Dallas will help the party win roughly 35 races that could determine control of Congress, according to The Dallas Morning News. The Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and his Democratic opponent James Talarico is, by all indications, among the biggest.

Trump appeared on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s podcast to promote the convention being held at American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Mavericks. It is expected to draw 20,000 attendees over two days.

The first-of-its-kind midterm convention is intended to generate enthusiasm for the GOP candidates in what is predicted to be a tough election year for the party.

TALARICO ACCEPTS CNN DEBATE INVITATION; PAXTON MUM State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, last week accepted CNN’s debate invitation, marking the fourth time the U.S. Senate nominee has agreed to debate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee.

Both are seeking the seat held by John Cornyn, R-San Antonio. Paxton has indicated he would debate his opponent but hasn’t committed to a specific event, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

“I’ve accepted the debate because I answer to the people of Texas — (Paxton) won’t because he answers to his billionaire holders,” Talarico said.

Paxton has not debated an opponent since before he was elected to statewide office in 2014. His senior adviser said in mid-August Paxton would debate Talarico, and expected an announcement to be “forthcoming shortly.”

Borders is a veteran awardwinning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders @texaspress.com.

There was a time in America when veteran travelers agreed that one trusted clue clearly signaled “a great place to eat.”

That was any place where constantly rattling diesel engines and sporadic spewing of air brakes oddly harmonized amid a profusion of pumps on acres of asphalt, all under a sign declaring, “Truck Stop.”

On a cool fall morning some 40 years ago, when I was headed home to the East Texas pines in my 1956 Ford Thunderbird after a trip to Daytona Beach, Florida, I spotted a sign that said, “Truck stop and cafe ahead.”

That was my clue to stop for breakfast.

I pulled in, roosted my ‘Little ‘Bird’ with the cars and smiled at the glowing neon sign that shouted, “Open 24 Hours.” As if any truck stop cafe ever closed.

Inside, George Jones on the jukebox blended with the chatter of truckers. I knew I was in the right place.

Claiming the last open barstool at the counter, I was still eyeing the split in the plastic seat cushion when a white china mug landed just shy of my chin. I saw a name tag. “Bettie Lou” was pouring coffee without asking, dispensing it like a pro.

Hot joe was still rippling in the mug when a menu landed in front of me. Bettie Lou flashed a smile and offered, “Good morning, honey.” Then she strode away, turning every man’s head like a synchronized chorus line.

Blinking away the distraction, I lifted my mug. One gulp delivered that “good morning, inspiration,” waking me up faster than a country preacher’s altar call. Gotta love coffee with a little muscle — especially when it’s strong enough to hold up a spoon.

In a flash, Bettie Lou was back, packing an order pad and pulling a pencil from behind her ear.

“What’cha havin’ this morning, sweetie?” she asked.

“What do you think about the sausage and cheese omelet?” I asked.

“My favorite,” she said with a smile. It was the same smiling response I overheard her give the guy at the end of the counter when he asked about the pancakes.

Bettie Lou was back in a heartbeat, balancing an omelet as big as Big Tex’s hat, two biscuits the size of Cadillac hubcaps drowning in cream gravy and all of it accompanied by hash browns hanging over the edge.

I was still eating and debating whether I could finish more than half the plate when I caught a glimpse of an older couple coming through the door. I sized them up as having arrived in the big Coupe DeVille I just watched pull in beside my Thunderbird.

The silver-haired, sophisticated lady stepped inside with her welldressed husband following. She looked around the room, heard the music, took one look at the gimme-cap crowd and caught Bettie Lou’s “honey” and “sweetie” greetings.

Then, with a look of disgust, she whirled her hubby around in his shiny Florsheims, grabbed him by the arm and escorted him out the door.

I thought to myself, “How sad. They just missed the best omelet east of the Mississippi, the chance to collect a firsthand story about a truck-stop meal and a friendly waitress named Bettie Lou … sporting one of the tightest-fitting waitress uniforms south of the Mason-Dixon line.”

It just doesn’t get much better for breakfast than an old-fashioned truck stop cafe.

Dozens of legislators and state officials have been calling for scrapping the transmission buildout so the Legislature can reassess, while Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement of an audit of all data centers to be connected to the grid has forced the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to pause construction of the lines.

“Whatever the complexities of the policies engaged here — and the degree to which the deployment of these high-capacity power lines and the construction of data centers are distinct issues — in this moment, it’s the politics that matter at least as much as the policy,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Public Utility Commission approved a plan to build 765-kilovolt transmission lines across the state to meet transmission needs following Winter Storm Uri in 2021, which underscored the state’s grid vulnerabilities. Oil and gas operators in West Texas worry the region has far less generation capacity than the eastern half of the state.

“The world’s most important energy basin is currently running on a patchwork of portable generators that just are not equipped for longterm needs or production growth,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association.

The final decision on whether to build the lines rests with the PUC; the five members are appointed by Abbott. The governor has not taken a position on the issue.

WILDFIRES SWEEPING THROUGH NORTH TEXAS The Ross Fire in North Texas scorched 85,000 acres in just three days across Jack and Palo Pinto counties, with it doubling in size in a few hours last week, The Texas Tribune reported. As of Sunday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire was 31% contained.

No injuries have been reported, but some rural residents were advised to evacuate. With much of the state experiencing extreme dry heat, the Forest Service reported 10 active fires as of Sunday that have scorched more than 90,000 acres across Texas.

Fire severely damaged Worth Ranch, an 800acre historic Scouting America camp along the Brazos River.

JUDGE AGAIN BLOCKS DRAG SHOW BAN

A federal judge once again blocked a Texas law banning certain drag show performances, The Dallas Morning News reported. The judge said the law’s restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner last week ruled that Senate Bill 12 is an unconstitutional ban on free speech and permanently barred Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing the law.

The 2023 law, heavily backed by Republican lawmakers, prohibited “sexually oriented performances” in front of minors or on public property where children might see them. The law did not prohibit all drag shows. In a 36-page ruling, Hittner concluded that the law was both overly broad and unconstitutionally vague.

Paxton said he would appeal the decision “immediately.”

TRIBE OPENS TEMPORARY CASINO IN EAST TEXAS

The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe recently opened a new temporary casino in Leggett, just north of Livingston, with plans to build a much larger resort on the site, the Houston Chronicle reported.

“Naskila Casino Leggett is the beginning of new beginnings for the Alabama- Coushatta Tribe of Texas,” Ricky Sylestine, tribal council chairman, said in a statement. The new 24-hour facility features more than 300 electronic bingo machines as well as gaming rooms and a grill.

The tribe held a groundbreaking ceremony in June for a 685.000-square-foot casino with a large gaming floor, a 366-room hotel and other entertainment amenities. The first phase is planned to be finished in late 2028.

Tribal leaders say the casino will create new economic opportunities and become a significant economic driver for East Texas.

PAXTON’S NET WORTH JUMPS IN LATEST DISCLOSURE Lucrative real estate holdings have allowed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s net worth to increase by hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past year, according to a recent financial disclosure, the Houston Chronicle reported.

One property in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, rose in value from at least $100,001 in June 2025 to between $1 million and $5 million this month, according to Paxton’s disclosure. A vacant piece of land in Johnson County, valued between $15,001 and $50,000 last year, is now reported to be worth between $1 million and $5 million. The law does not require exact valuations; instead, it uses ranges of value.

Paxton is the GOP nominee in the U.S. Senate race this November. His opponent, Democrat James Talarico, reported much smaller financial holdings, with his income ranging from $84,000 to $97,000.

ABBOTT PUSHES THREE_YEAR COLLEGE DEGREES Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing Texas public universities to offer students three-year bachelor’s degrees, The Dallas Morning News reported. His proposed legislation is part of an effort to cut college costs for Texas students.

The legislation also requires universities to offer at least 10 degrees that can be completed in three years and 90 credit hours, down from typical bachelor’s degrees that require four years and 120 hours. “Every additional year means more tuition and fees, but also more in housing and living expenses. It’s also more time before students are able to go into the job that they are seeking while they’re in college,” Abbott said at a campaign stop at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches.

The Legislature will need to approve Abbott’s proposal before it becomes a reality. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board would work with universities to ensure that the reduced-credit degrees maintain “high academic standards.”

THECB has formed working groups to identify which degree programs and high-demand occupations would be best suited for the accelerated programs.

STATE TO END FUNDING FOR FLOCK LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS Gov. Greg Abbott last week ordered state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras, the artificial intelligence-powered license plate readers, The Dallas Morning News reported. Many Texas cities that use the cameras have relied on state money to purchase them.

The Texas Tribune reported that the state has devoted at least $30 million from a $1 auto insurance fee now imposed on Texans to fund the placement of cameras along the state’s streets and highways.

The cameras have drawn criticism. A Lufkin police officer has been charged with 100 felony counts of alleged misuse of Flock information. Other criminal investigations are also underway.

“To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government. To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras,” Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@ texaspress.com.

Faith is a verb.

Think back to early grammar lessons. A verb is an action word, it shows an event or state of being — which means exist.

The Greek word for faith, pistis, has multiple meanings, many of which describe a conviction or belief. An interesting detail, however, is the root of pistis comes from peitho — a primary verb which denotes certainty, confidence and action, such as to convince, trust, yield or obey.

That more readily describes the verb of faith I reference today.

How has faith been a verb in your life? Are there actions or decisions you’ve made because of your faith? With faith, we act because of our convictions. We take a stand and make choices that are costly at times. Following Jesus is a costly choice.

I’ve faced costs as a follower of Jesus. Like when people said sarcastic things or cutting remarks aimed at my faith, or criticisms made about my faith choices and actions.

Has this happened to you too?

The book of Hebrews, chapter 11, is an awesome account of what faith is and what faith does.

First, it clarifies what faith is: the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen. Ancient people believed God and their belief resulted in various actions and choices.

Brave actions, heroic choices, that we Americans know a little about.

Review the verb list with me: Noah built an ark although it had never rained.

Abraham led his family on a very long journey, to an unknown place, following God.

Abraham believed God would provide, as he walked with his son on the way to sacrifice. His action displayed his faith.

Moses’ mother hid him to save his life.

Moses and the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, on dry land.

Some conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness and saw people revived, while others experienced stoning, temptation and affliction.

Few of us are stoned or thrown into a den of lions, even though it may feel that way at times.

But we do encounter discrimination, sarcasm or snarky comments — job losses, threats or actions that hurt.

Yet, be encouraged. Dare to live your faith, because of your faith.

Always be ready to tell your personal story. Describe your life before you met Jesus, how you realized your need of a savior, and how life is different today.

Your faith encourages my faith. Until next week, Anita Onarecker, an Elgin resident, author of “Divine Appointment: Our Journey to the Bridge” and minister to women and adults, earned a Master of Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2007.

Watching drivers, for the most part, ignoring the rhythmically changing red, yellow and green colors of the traffic light at the intersection near the coffee shop recently reminded me of a trivia tidbit.

“The first electric traffic light in the country,” I informed my fellow caffeine consumers, “just marked an anniversary. It was installed at the corner of 105th and Euclid in Cleveland, Ohio, on Aug. 5, 1914. Read that in an article in Hemmings Motor News.”

They chuckled as I recounted a line from the story, something about how, “As near as can be determined, the noteworthy anniversary of traffic signal lights used at intersections was duly celebrated with the majority of American motorists continuing their recent tradition regarding traffic lights — ignoring them.”

I recently acquired an old traffic light; it was retired from Nacogdoches, according to the antique dealer who sold it to me. It now hangs from the ceiling in a corner of my “no stress zone” where it displays all the right colors, just like it did when it was commonly ignored and abused by drivers in a hurry to get nowhere.

It glows nicely among the time-honored random refugees: a 1955 Seeburg jukebox, a pair of drive-in movie speakers, oil-company signs, shelves filled with phonograph records and my guitar collection.

The traffic light topic was once teased by “Tonight” show host Jay Leno’s street interviews. Responses revealed intelligence levels far below minimum requirements for safe driving. They were, as Mom used to say, “More painfully true than humorous.”

The question, “What does the yellow light on a traffic signal mean?” evoked dumbfounded stares.

The answer: “I don’t know … hurry up and speed up to beat the red light …. maybe?”

About the only answer not heard was the correct one: “It is a warning that the light is about to turn red, giving drivers time to stop safely before it turns red.”

And that reminded me of a yellow-light experience years ago and what can happen if the yellow appears after the “stopping safely” option is off the table.

Christmas was close, and Yuletide tensions were peaking at home. To ease the strain one Sunday afternoon, I decided the perfect getaway was shopping alone in the neighboring big city.

Done and heading back toward home, I passed through one of the small communities south of Shreveport where each one has its own traffic light. I saw the yellow just as I entered the intersection and, with a millisecond’s debate, decided, “Too late to stop, I can make it.”

I celebrated too quickly when clearing the intersection and saw flashing lights behind me. So, I surrendered my license and insurance card to the nice officer, whereupon he asked if I was headed back to Center and inquired as to my business in Shreveport.

“Yessir, headed home,” I said. “Christmas anxiety at home was getting out of hand and I just thought it would be a good day for me to do some solo shopping in Shreveport.”

“So,” the officer said, “am I to understand that you left your wife at home to go Christmas shopping alone?”

Before I could formulate a reply, he returned my license and insurance card and said, “Next time you run away from home for some peace and quiet, stop by here and get me. I’ll go with you. Merry Christmas and drive safely.”

“So,” I concluded with the coffee klatch last week, “bad decisions made about a yellow traffic light can be costly. — Unless if you are stopped by an officer with a sense of humor.”

STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

What CEO Elon Musk says will be the world’s largest computer-chip manufacturing plant is planned for Grimes County, east of College Station, the Austin American- Statesman reported.

The Navasota Examiner has also carried coverage of the issue.

In a joint announcement last week, Space X and Tesla unveiled an initial $16.8 billion investment in a plant called Terafab. It is expected to employ at least 3,000 people. Many of those jobs are expected to go to residents of Grimes and neighboring Brazos counties.

“We’re now embarking on the most epic chip-building effort,” Musk, CEO of both companies, said in a statement. “The Terafab is bringing cutting-edge manufacturing to America, creating thousands of high-paying jobs in the Lone Star State and enabling us to produce AI chips at scale for use on Earth and in space.”

Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed last week that the project is receiving a $30 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant from the state. Grimes County has previously approved a property tax waiver in exchange for annual payments of $20 million.

The plant would eventually span 100 million square feet.

STATE FAIR OF TEXAS’ GUN BAN UPHELD BY APPEALS COURT 

A Texas appeals court upheld a handgun ban at the State Fair of Texas, rejecting the state’s claim that the city of Dallas unlawfully allowed a private operator to prohibit guns on city-owned property, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The 15th Court of Appeals affirmed a Dallas County judge’s dismissal of a case originally filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and three gun owners. It rejected the state’s argument the restriction on cities banning guns doesn’t automatically apply to private tenants operating on public property. The ban will remain in place unless the Texas Supreme Court intervenes.

“The decision to prohibit firearms on the fairgrounds is the correct decision to protect the safety of our patrons,” said Karissa Condoianis, a State Fair of Texas spokeswoman. This will be the third year the ban will be in place.

TALARICO VOTED USING PARENTS’ ADDRESS, REPORT SAYS 

Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico voted in five elections using his parents’ address after buying a nearby home for himself, according to The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, a practice that may have violated state voting laws.

The revelation comes weeks after Talarico accused Paxton, his GOP opponent, of voting from his estranged wife’s address despite not having lived there for two years.

Talarico has taken advantage of a state law that allows some public officials to redact personal information, such as home addresses. The news organizations pieced together the information from unredacted records provided by the Talarico campaign.

Texas law requires that residents register to vote where they live. The Talarico campaign declined to answer questions about his residency and voting history, saying “right-wing actors” have made threats about trying to locate the candidate and his family.

Talarico’s house is in the same county as his parents’ home. Both residences are located in the same state House district he represents, but in different jurisdictions for some local elections, according to The Tribune.

WILDFIRE DANGER INCREASING AS CONDITIONS TURN DRY August is typically the peak month for wildfires in Texas. The Texas A&M Forest Service expects wildfire potential to increase due to dry vegetation, particularly in the Panhandle and North Texas.

The state is deploying numerous wildfire response resources as a result, including the state’s mutual-aid system and assistance from a number of state agencies.

There were two active wildfires as of Sunday. The 200-acre Round Up fire west of Amarillo was zero percent contained at that time.

The service recently acquired three multimission aircraft, adding to its first dedicated, state-managed wildfire aviation fleet. It previously had acquired two wildfire suppression helicopters.

“Every wildfire is different, which is why a diverse aviation fleet is so important,” said Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Jared Karns. “Having multiple aircraft types available, including multimission aircraft platforms that can serve a variety of roles, allows us to respond effectively to the unique demands of each incident.”

SALMONELLA CASES LINKED TO JALAPEÑOS

 The popular jalapeño pepper has been linked to 345 cases of salmonella illness in 27 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The San Antonio Express-News reported three cases in Texas, stemming from peppers imported from Sinaloa, Mexico.

No deaths have been reported nationwide, but 36 people have been hospitalized, according to the CDC. Nearly all of the cases were reported by people after eating at a Mexican-style chain restaurant.

Two affected chains, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba, said they had taken steps to remove potentially contaminated peppers.

TALARICO UNVEILS HIS ‘AFFORDABILITY AGENDA’ 

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico last week unveiled an “affordability agenda” that would help Texans buy homes, cancel medical debt, raise the minimum wage and expand the child tax credit, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“The top 1% put the American Dream behind a paywall,” Talarico told about 1,300 people at an Arlington rally. “For too many of our neighbors, for too many Texans, the American Dream has become an American Nightmare.”

Talarico also touted the endorsements of former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, a Republican, and Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, a self-described independent.

“He’s the most corrupt politician that Texas has ever seen,” Whitley said of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee.

Paxton has faced numerous ethical and legal challenges during his time in office. He has denied wrongdoing and was acquitted by the Texas Senate in his impeachment trial.

At the Arlington rally, Talarico blamed both parties for economic policies that he said benefit the wealthy at the expense of working families.

“Republicans and some Democrats sold the false Gospel of trickle-down economics,” he said. “Trickle-down economics isn’t a theory. It’s a theft.”

DISTRACTED DRIVING PUTS SCHOOL CHILDREN AT RISK 

As the school year begins, the Texas Department of Transportation is urging drivers to pay special attention in school zones. More than 3,200 traffic crashes in school zones involved school buses last year. Distracted driving and speeding were the most common contributing factors in these crashes.

“School zones can be chaotic places, with people in a rush and children not always watching for cars while they hop on and off buses or in and out of cars. Drivers can become impatient or distracted, which leads to mistakes,” TxDOT said in a news release.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress. com.

Region 11 includes Corpus Christi and the southernmost part of Texas. Of the 106 lab-confirmed cases statewide, 48 were reported from that region — or 45%. Region 6/5S includes Houston and Harris County, and an additional 29 cases were reported in that region. Together, the two regions account for roughly 73% of the state’s cases.

The diarrhea-inducing parasite has hit other states hard. Michigan, for example, has reported thousands of cases. Texas thus far has seen cyclosporiasis cases at about the same level as in the past few years.

THC HEMP PRODUCTS ONCE AGAIN BANNED IN TEXAS Effective July 31, products containing cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC and THCP are banned in Texas, following a yearslong legal fight over state hemp regulations, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

The Texas Supreme Court on May 1 upheld the authority of the Texas Department of State Health Services to adopt rules that in effect ban those THC products.

The Texas Hemp Business Council warned businesses on July 15 to prepare for the change.

“Businesses should evaluate their inventory and prepare to remove or sell through products containing more than trace amounts of delta-8, delta-10, delta-6, THCP and other cannabinoids that fall within the reinstated definition before the July 31 effective date,” the council said.

Texas consumers are now largely limited to ingestible and topical hemp products made with compliant delta-9 THC. Gummies, edibles and beverages containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight remain legal.

PAXTON SAYS HE WILL DEBATE TALARICO Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said last week he will debate state Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock, in the state’s U.S. Senate race, though no date has been set, The Texas Tribune reported.

Talarico, the Democratic nominee, said he had accepted invitations from Texas media groups for three debates. The Paxton campaign confirmed it had received the same debate invitations and said the attorney general plans to debate but did not commit to specific dates.

“Of course, we are going to debate James Talarico, and we look forward to engaging with potential debate hosts,” Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement.

Talarico has agreed to televised debates on Sept. 22 in the Rio Grande Valley; Oct. 6 in Dallas; and Oct. 13 in Austin.

Maddux said the Paxton campaign was “close to terms with one outlet now and expect an announcement to be forthcoming shortly.”

Meanwhile, a new Fox polls shows Talarico with a slight lead, according to the Houston Chronicle. The poll shows him leading Paxton by three points, 51-48, boosted by strong leads among independent voters and other key constituencies.

MEASLES OUTBREAK REPORTED IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY The Texas Department of State Health Services issued a health alert after four cases of measles were reported in Montgomery County. All were members of the same family, were unvaccinated and became infected after a person with measles traveled to Texas from out of state.

Because measles is highly contagious, DSHS is warning that additional cases could occur among unvaccinated people in the area. The agency encouraged health care professionals and the public to remain vigilant to the signs and symptoms.

Measles is spread through coughing and sneezing. It can be caught by simply being near someone who is infected.

VOTERS WRONGLY FLAGGED AS POTENTIAL NONCITIZENS Election officials across Texas should immediately reinstate some voters who were incorrectly flagged as possible noncitizens through a federal program, according to The Texas Tribune. Christina Adkins, the state elections director, told county officials in a phone call that Texas Department of Public Safety records have confirmed the citizenship of some of the 2,724 registered voters singled out as potential noncitizens.

The voters were flagged after the state checked its voter roll through a federal program called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, that is used to verify the citizenship of registered voters.

Former Secretary of State Jane Nelson sent a letter in April to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that raised concerns about the accuracy of the SAVE program, after county election officials found citizens wrongly labeled noncitizens.

ABBOTT PLAN CALLS FOR LOWER HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS

Gov. Greg Abbott last week revealed plans to lower health insurance costs and drug prices by making it cheaper for small businesses to offer insurance to their workers, the Houston Chronicle reported. He said state mandates have made it too expensive for many small businesses to offer health insurance for their employees.

Abbott called for legislation that would allow those businesses to offer plans that don’t meet all state mandates that exceed what is required by the federal government. That generally would mean thinner coverage for employees.

“Small businesses want to provide their employees with healthcare insurance. It’s just good policy, it’s a good strategy, but also, it’s essential for them to be able to compete with other employers,” Abbott said at a campaign event.

The state leads the nation in uninsured people, with some 5 million Texans lacking health insurance.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park.

“Good people want to spend their time mowing the lawn and playing with the dog.” — Alan Furst

I’ve gone back and forth on lawn mowing over the years. It’s hard.

I’ve always enjoyed mowing and grooming my yard. And every time I’ve given it up in favor of hiring someone else to do it, I still enjoy my crop of good mowing memories.

I mowed two yards as a kid — our yard on Redbud Street in Mount Pleasant and my grandparents’ on Cypress Street in Pittsburg. Ours was a chore to earn an allowance—a necessity. But mowing the grass at my grandparents’ house? Now that was fun.

Funny how grandparents have a knack for always making the worst task seem like a blast.

Granddad’s lawn mower was an old Sears, Roebuck and Co. reel-type, early self-propelled power mower, the only one of its kind I recall seeing. The green mower with big yellow wheels and a wooden roller trailing the blade personified my grandfather. Both were outdated—even then. But both were hard-working and reliable to a fault.

One pull of the rope wrapped around the cranking hub on the old mower, and it came to life. Releasing the handle-mounted lever set the mower in motion, moving slowly around the yard and doing the job it was designed to do.

At home, mowing the grass was just one of many chores on the list that earned me a lofty allowance of 25 cents a week. It doesn’t sound like much today, but that quarter bought my way into the Saturday matinee at the Martin theater, plus a Coke and popcorn.

Chores in general never excited me much; I was in it for the money. And soon after making the connection between working and income, I figured out the shortest route to get a raise from that quarter a week was a summer job.

To increase my standard of living beyond the two-bit allowance, I started mowing yards. For at least a couple of summers, keeping yards around south-side Mount Pleasant neighborhoods neatly cut for $3 a pop not only raised my standard of living, but transformed my pocket money from the rattling kind to the folding kind—converting green grass to green in my pockets.

Thinking about lawn mowing also reminds me of how many lawn mowers I’ve owned over the years. I don’t have a number, but I always remember my first one. Not quite up there with my first car or first date, but a vivid memory no less.

It was also from Sears, yellow and it easily trimmed the thick carpet of San Augustine grass surrounding my first house on Dogwood Street in Mount Pleasant. It turned a chore into a labor of love.

Admiring the sight and smell of the newly mowed grass, I felt the pride my parents preached about a nice-looking yard.

And all that time, I thought it was a punishment.

Looking back now, I remember my dad trying to explain that theory long before I was old enough to understand it.

“Dad,” I asked once, “why do parents punish their kids by making them mow the grass?”

“It’s not punishment, son,” he said. “It teaches the value of working to earn money. And about pride in what you do; being proud of how nice your yard looks.”

“I’d be prouder if you mowed it,” I remember telling him.

“You’ll understand someday,” he said. “For now, let me see if I can better explain this. Remember that it’s your mother who is teaching pride in a job well done by authorizing me to pay your allowance for mowing her yard.”

So, once more, I’ve canceled my lawn service this summer, retrieved the lawn mower from retirement in the storeroom, and returned both of us to active duty.

I’m remembering the pride in a nicely mowed yard, and about good people wanting to spend time mowing the lawn and playing with the dog. And wondering … Does this mean I have to get a dog now?

STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

A massive amount of rain once again engulfed the Hill Country, causing widespread flooding in several counties including Uvalde, Kerr, Kendall and Gillespie. At least two fatalities were reported near Comfort and Uvalde.

More than 270 people were rescued. Damage was widespread from rains bringing as much as 25 inches to parts of Kerr County and 10 to 15 inches in other counties.

The death toll so far is much lower than the casualties from last summer’s flooding, which killed more than 130 statewide, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Officials and residents credit improved warning systems, including text alerts and flood sirens, and fewer people clustering on riverbanks, since it was not a holiday weekend — unlike the July 4, 2025, flood.

Law enforcement officials fanned out to campgrounds, hotels and recreational-vehicle parks as the floodwaters began to rise, though this time the flooding built up over a few days.

“We weren’t caught off guard by something nobody expected,” state Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady, said at a news conference July 17. “We had a lot of critical, key people that were in the proper locations that were very instrumental in helping us. Residents were very aware of the possibility of what’s going to happen when that river floods.”

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a major disaster declaration seeking federal assistance for rebuilding efforts in 28 affected counties.

STATE AGENCIES ASKED TO CUT SPENDING BY 3%

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced their top four priorities for the 2028-29 budget cycle last week, including requiring state agencies to reduce base spending requests by 3%. Other priorities include addressing affordability concerns, fully funding public education, supporting teachers and advancing property-tax reform.

In a news release, Abbott said the budget guidance “protects our historic investments in public education and teachers, delivers even more property-tax relief and makes the cost of living more manageable for Texas families through strict standards of efficiency and accountability from every state agency.”

The 90th legislative session begins in January.

MORTGAGE DELINQUENCIES UP AMONG FIRST_TIME HOMEOWNERS First-time homeowners in Texas are increasingly failing to make their mortgage payments on time, the Houston Chronicle reported. Rising homeowner insurance costs are the primary culprit, according to data from the Federal Housing Administration.

Most FHA borrowers are first-time homebuyers and typically have lower credit ratings and less money for a down payment, making them more vulnerable to rising monthly costs. Roughly 6% of FHA loans in Texas were at least 90 days past due, up from 3.7% a year earlier.

“This unfortunately positions Texas at the epicenter of the national affordability squeeze,” Scott Norman, CEO of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, told state lawmakers in June.

Home insurance rates have increased by an average of 80% since 2020, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Compounding the situation, homeowners with low credit scores are paying almost $3,000 more annually for home insurance than those with high credit scores.

Late payments on conventional mortgages have remained flat, with less than 1% of borrowers seriously behind on their payments.

HOWDEN NAMED TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE

Gov. Greg Abbott has named Robert S. Howden to succeed Jane Nelson as Texas secretary of state, according to the Texas Standard. Nelson left office on July 17.

Howden has served as Abbott’s legislative director since September 2024. He will work as interim secretary until the legislative session begins in January, when he will need to be confirmed by the Texas Senate.

“His experience in the legislative process and extensive public service have prepared him to protect the integrity of Texas elections and represent our state with strength on the global stage,” Abbott said in announcing Howden’s appointment.

The office’s primary responsibility is overseeing elections and voter rolls. It also oversees business filings, such as limited liability corporations and other entities.

TALARICO HOLDS FUNDRAISING EDGE OVER PAXTON With less than four months before the November general election, Democratic nominee James Talarico has vastly outraised his GOP rival Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race, the Chronicle reported.

The Austin-area state legislator ended June with a bank balance of $21.5 million, according to newly filed documents with the Federal Election Commission. After factoring in expenses, state Attorney General Paxton’s campaign was left with a balance of just $1.7 million.

Both candidates are heavily backed by super PACs. The Talarico-aligned political action committee has $21.6 million in the bank, including $10 million from LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. The Paxton-aligned PAC, which spent heavily in his successful runoff against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, was left with just $35,000 to start July.

Talarico hopes to break Texas Democrats’ 32-year losing streak in statewide elections. He has raised more than $68 million thus far, the most for any non-incumbent in a U.S. Senate race.

ABBOTT CAMPAIGN PAID $25K TO RENT ELEPHANT

Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign paid $25,000 to rent Paige the elephant for the state GOP convention from an exhibitor that failed to register with Houston officials before bringing the elephant to the George R. Brown Convention Center, according to the Houston Chronicle.

A campaign finance report revealed the amount the campaign paid to East Texas Elephant Experience to parade the pachyderm at the June convention. The city’s regulatory division said it had no record the company registered as a licensed exhibitor at least 20 days before the event as required by city code.

Klayton Rutherford of PETA said the payment rewards an exotic animal entertainment industry that has come under criticism over its treatment of elephants.

“The amount of money that is involved in this industry is staggering,” Rutherford said. “The most prominent elected official in the state arranged this exhibit and it was done apparently in violation of the city’s ordinances and that’s alarming.”

The Abbott campaign declined to comment.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders @texaspress.com.

That was the day of the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view event “Bash at the Beach” took place in Daytona, Florida. It also was the day Hulk Hogan became a bad guy AKA took a heel turn.

In professional wrestling, a heel is a bad guy, and a face is what the good guys are called. Prior to Bash at the Beach 96, Hogan was one of the biggest faces — if not the biggest face — in the professional wrestling world.

The main event for Bash at the Beach 96 was WCW faces Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Sting against two guys called “The Outsiders” — Scott Hall and Kevin Nash — and a mystery partner. Toward the end of the match, Hogan was revealed to be the third man on the Outsiders’ team.

In the three months prior to this particular pay-per-view, Hogan took a hiatus to film episodes of “Thunder in Paradise” and his box-office flop, “Santa with Muscles.” On May 27, 1996, Hall “interrupted” a match on WCW Monday Nitro to announce that he and two of his associates were declaring war on the wrestling organization.

Hall previously wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation — now World Wrestling Entertainment — under the ring name, “Razor Ramon.” Hall’s last appearance in the WWF at that time was May 19, 1996, at a house show at Madison Square Garden, which I’ll touch on later in this piece.

Two weeks after Hall’s initial appearance on WCW, Nash appeared. Like Hall, Nash’s last WWF appearance was at the same MSG house show, but Nash wrestled in that organization under the name, “Diesel.”

This gave WCW fans the impression that two wrestlers from the WWF were “invading” the organization. Between their initial appearances on WCW televised events, it certainly seemed that way.

Then came the Bash at the Beach main event. Hall and Nash walked to the ring without their mystery partner, but informed ring announcer Gene Okerlund the man would be ready to go when necessary.

Luger, Savage and Sting arrived at ringside and the fight was on. Two minutes into the match, Luger suffered a kayfabe (fake) injury and was wheeled off on a stretcher.

For the next 20 minutes, Savage and Sting fought Hall and Nash before all four men were laying down in the ring. That’s when Hogan arrived and was greeted with a hero’s welcome.

Fans assumed Hogan came to save Savage and Sting. However, Hogan delivered two leg drops across Savage’s chest and gave high-fives to Hall and Nash, revealing he was the third man on the Outsiders’ team.

In the fol lowing months, Hall, Hogan and Nash formed the New World Order. The NWO became one of the biggest heel factions in wrestling history.

Other former WWF superstars joined the NWO such as Syxx (1-2-3 Kid in WWF), Vincent (Virgil in WWF), Mike Rotundo (Irwin R. Schuyster in WWF), Ted DiBiase and Savage — to name a few. Because of this, fans were treated to dream matches such as Sting vs. Hogan, Savage vs. Ric Flair, Luger vs. Hall, etc.

As mentioned earlier, the May 19, 1996, WWF house show where Hall and Nash made their final appearance with that organization until 2002 had its share of controversy. The duo held a celebration in the ring with longtime friends Michael Higginbotham (Shawn Michaels) and Paul Levesque (HHH), which wouldn’t have been an issue except Hall and Michaels were faces while HHH and Nash were heels.

This incident infuriated WWF owner Vince McMahon, which he believed broke kayfabe. Five years after the incredible summer of 1996, McMahon bought WCW and many of its stars wrestled in WWE, which was renamed from WWF after McMahon lost a naming rights lawsuit against the World Wildlife Fund.

I’ll never forget the summer of 1996. It shook up the wrestling world.

Chlapek can be reached at jason.chlapek@granitemediapartners. com.

The Center Noon Lions Club annual banquet rolled out a couple of weeks ago and lived up to its reputation for fun, fellowship and reminding folks the local civic club knows exactly where it is going.

The official motto of Lions Clubs International is, “We Serve.”

Awards were made, new officers installed and, like the old-time columnists used to say about church socials, “A good time was had by all.”

My Lions Club journey began in Mount Pleasant in the early 1970s. Since then, the only place I’ve missed being a Lion was in Boerne.

In town just a few days, a dutiful member of the Boerne Lions was recruiting me.

“Sounds great,” I said. “Usual time — noon Thursdays?”

“We meet Wednesday nights,” he said.

“Oh, that’s sadly not going to work, I said. “I attend Bible study on Wednesday nights.”

The fellow looked at me with a pause.

“Are you Episcopalian?” he asked.

His question makes more sense considering Kendall County’s cultural breakdown — it is a region settled by mid-19th-century German “Freethinkers.” Stats state that 59 % of the county population is Catholic. Southern Baptists come in second at 19% and other factions claim tiny slices of the pie at 17% or less.

So, Boerne was not to be my opportunity for earning a Lions Club “Perfect Attendance” pin. The first and only remains as the year I served as president in Center. But even that was close.

Ferociously working on my attendance record that year, the message arriving from the newspaper’s home office in Fort Payne, Alabama, posed a problem.

“Annual review time,” it read. “Your appointed time is next Wednesday afternoon,” which meant in Alabama and 600 miles from Thursday’s Lion’s Club meeting at Center’s Lake Country Inn.

“It’s all right,” a friend consoled me. “You can make up with another club.”

“Not the same,” I growled. “As Yogi Berra said, ‘It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.’” Huddling with a travel agent, we mapped out a method. Fly Wednesday morning from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, connecting in Memphis. Hop a rental car and blast down to Fort Payne just in time for my Wednesday afternoon corporate interrogation. On Thursday, race back to Chattanooga and reverse the entire crazy course putting me in Shreveport at 10:45 a.m.

That would work if there were no hiccups to collapse the house of cards.

I made the meeting. Done. Headlights cut through the darkness toward Chattanooga at 5 a.m. Thursday, guiding me to the city’s Metropolitan Airport.

The Memphis connection went down as smooth as an Elvis Presley love song, and I watched Interstate 20 pass underneath the jet before it kissed the tarmac at Shreveport.

The Buncombe Road shortcut from the airport put me between Shreveport and Carthage, and the Tenaha city limit sign was in my rearview mirror at 11:46 a.m.

I slammed into a parking spot at the Lake Country Inn at high noon and walked into the meeting cool as a cucumber.

Just in time, I picked up the gavel at the podium, rang the bell calling the meeting to order, and asked, “Lion Joe Fomby, will you return thanks for our meal?”

During the prayer, I offered my personal silent appreciation for a safe trip home.

Then I smiled, thinking about yet another piece of Berra wisdom: “Make a game plan and stick to it. Unless it’s not working.”

Mine worked. I wound up where I wanted to be. And that is the story of my only Lions Club perfect attendance pin.

The governor had previously touted Texas as “the epicenter of (artificial intelligence) development.”

A recent poll by the University of Texas at Austin found that 62% of rural Texans, who vote heavily Republican, support the measure, the paper noted. Seven counties — Hays, Caldwell, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Somervell and Van Zandt — have now called for either a special session or for the issue of regulating data center construction to be a top priority at the next regular legislative session in January.

At a campaign stop in East Texas, Abbott reiterated the restrictions he has called for, including that new centers need to “bring their own power, reuse their own water and do it in a way that reduces electricity costs for residents across our state.”

More than 480 “large” data centers have requested permission to connect to the ERCOT grid through 2032, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates most of the state’s power grid.

MOST ARRESTED BY ICE IN TEXAS HAVE NO CRIMINAL CONVICTION A Houston Chronicle examination of immigrant arrest and detention data from February 2025 to February 2026 concludes that, despite President Donald Trump’s vow to deport the “worst of the criminals,” a plurality of those arrested in Texas did not have criminal convictions or pending charges.

Statistics from the Deportation Data Project, which uses the federal Freedom of Information Act to obtain internal government immigration data, indicate during that period, more than 38,100 immigrants with clean records were arrested in Texas, compared with 30,670 arrests of people with criminal convictions and about 22,720 with pending charges.

The number of arrests in Texas nearly doubled between February 2025 and February 2026, with arrests of non-criminals more than quadrupling during that period. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has often touted its arrests and detentions of criminal immigrants without providing proof of what crimes have been committed, according to the Chronicle report.

“ICE’s use of detainers to imprison people without due process and, in many cases, without any charges pending or probable cause of any violation has raised serious constitutional concerns,” the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a policy brief.

ABBOTT APPOINTS HUFFINES AS STATE COMPTROLLER Proving the adage that politics make for strange bedfellows, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed the man who ran against him for governor just four years ago to be state comptroller for the rest of 2026. Don Huffines, a former state senator, defeated Kelly Hancock in the GOP primary for the position.

Abbott had appointed Hancock, a former state senator, to the post when Glen Hegar resigned to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

The Texas Tribune reported that Hancock is stepping down, effective at the end of this month.

“Don Huffines brings the right mix of business experience and conservative principles to this vital office,” Abbott said in a statement announcing the appointment.

Huffines, a 68-year-old businessman from the Dallas area, faces state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, in the November general election. She blasted the appointment, saying Huffines “can’t win on his own.”

The comptroller is responsible for key financial duties, including collecting taxes, auditing state agency spending and administering the state’s new $1 billion school voucher program.

REPORT DETAILS ‘CASCADING FAILURES’ AT CAMP MYSTIC One year after devastating floods in the Hill Country claimed 139 lives, including 25 campers and three staff members at Camp Mystic, a report commissioned by state lawmakers describes a “cascade of failures” at the camp on July 4 of last year.

The report was prepared by investigators Casey Garrett and Michael Massengale, a former appeals court judge. Massengale said there was no written evacuation plan, no training for camp staff to prepare for an evacuation, and no practice drills, according to the Texas Standard.

“There were warnings, including early flood alerts leading up to the flood, that should have put the leaders of Camp Mystic on alert to be watchful and prepared,” Massengale said. The only member of senior leadership who awakened was Dick Eastland, the main leader and patriarch of the family-owned camp. He died during the flood while trying to evacuate a cabin of girls.

The camp did not open this summer, and its owners recently filed for bankruptcy.

GOP TO HOLD FIRST NATIONAL MIDTERM CONVENTION IN DALLAS Calling it a “rally like none other,” President Donald Trump announced the Republican Party plans to hold its first national midterm convention in Dallas in hopes of energizing voters ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Organizers said the event will blend elements of a traditional political convention with a Trump-centered program. Questions remain about the details, but a date and place have been set — Sept. 9-10 inside the American Airlines Center.

“We’re very excited about Dallas. We’re excited to work with the people in Dallas. It’s going to be a phenomenal event,” said Joe Gruters, Republican National Committee chairman.

BOATERS URGED TO ‘CLEAN, DRAIN AND DRY’ Texans are taking to the water in droves, as they do every summer. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is urging boaters, paddlers and anglers to help protect the state’s lakes from aquatic invasive species.

“While we want everyone to have a great time, we also want to avoid giving harmful invasive species free rides to new lakes,” said Brian Van Zee of TPWD. The best way to do that, he added, is to take a few minutes to clean, drain and dry boats after every lake visit.

State law requires boaters to do so and to drain all onboard receptacles, such as bait buckets.

Two of the biggest threats to Texas lakes are zebra mussels and giant salvinia, both of which continue to spread to new areas, biologists said.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email gborders @texaspress.com.

“We are bringing the Bible back into schools this week for the first time in 60 years,” SBOE member Brandon Hall, R-Aledo, said during a prayer session outside the hearing this week.

The new standards will be implemented in phases, starting with elementary schools in the 2030-2031 school year.

Republicans favor the new standards as a win for Judeo-Christian values and say the required lessons on Jesus, Abraham and Moses are intended not to evangelize but help children develop moral compasses.

Critics say the board is promoting Christianity at the expense of racial and religious diversity.

“Texas is telling millions of children that one religion deserves the government’s seal of approval, while everyone else is an afterthought,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

CORNYN: CLOSED PRIMARIES COULD BACKFIRE ON TEXAS GOP U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is warning Texas GOP leaders that closing party primaries would be “paving the way to minority party status,” The Texas Tribune reported.

The Texas Republican Party and its top elected leaders are pushing to require voters to register with a party, thereby prohibiting them from crossing over in party primaries. Texas is one of 17 states with open primaries.

Cornyn, who was defeated for reelection in a runoff by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, commented on an op-ed published in The Dallas Morning News, sharing its title — “Closed primaries are a threat to Texas voters.”

He added, “Exactly,” and “Democrats haven’t turned Texas blue; Republican’s (sic) might.”

Paxton has joined the GOP’s pending lawsuit to strike down open primaries in court.

SUPREME COURT RULING COULD AFFECT 147K TPS RECIPIENTS

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that the Trump administration can revoke Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Haiti and Syria means more than 147,000 migrants in Texas under the program face imminent risk of arrest and deportation, the Texas Standard reported.

Texas hosts one of the largest concentrations of TPS holders in the nation, and University of Houston constitutional law professor Seth Chandler said the ruling has dramatic consequences for them.

“It basically streamlines the ability of the Trump administration to revoke TPS status, not just for the Haitians and Syrians who were litigating in the case the Supreme Court decided today, but with respect to Hondurans, Nepalis, Afghans and, perhaps critically for Houston, potentially Venezuelans as well,” Chandler said.

The decision could have economic consequences, since many immigrants in the country under TPS work in sectors already experiencing labor shortages.

“If you look at our plaintiffs in the Syria case, for example, we have a highly sought-after pediatrician,” said Hussein Elbakri, attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project.

He added, “We have somebody who is a special- needs teacher by day and is training to be a nurse at night. We have construction workers. We have people in the food-services industry, and we have many, many people, especially in the Haitian community, who are home healthcare workers.”

TESLA ACCUSED OF ALLOWING TOXIN RELEASE FROM REFINERY Two Texas property owners have filed a class-action suit against Tesla, accusing the company of dumping toxins from its lithium refinery near Corpus Christi onto their property, according to the Houston Chronicle.

They claim that Tesla has violated its state-issued wastewater discharge permit by allowing contaminated water to flow onto their property.

The company’s permit allows it to discharge up to 231,000 gallons a day of treated industrial water into Baffin Bay, according to state records. A review of the water leaking into a drainage ditch by a lab hired by the Nueces County Drainage District revealed two toxic metals — arsenic and the carcinogen hexavalent chromium, as well as elevated levels of other chemicals.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

MAJORITY OF TEXANS OPPOSE DATA CENTERS IN THEIR COMMUNITY

A new poll from the University of Texas’ Texas Politics Project indicates a majority of Texans oppose having data centers in their community, according to the Texas Standard. The state has become the nation’s top destination for data centers, which provide the infrastructure for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining.

The poll found 43% of Republicans oppose data centers, while 42% support their construction. More than 60% of people who identify as Democrats oppose new data centers.

“I think people are objecting for different reasons,” said James Henson, director of the polling center. “On one hand, lots of environmental concerns about water and resource use. But if you’re living next to these data centers or in the region… they have a big impact on people’s lives.”

Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have made regulation of data centers a legislative priority in next year’s session.

TEXAS GOP ELEPHANT LACKED MANDATORY PERMIT When Paige the elephant made an appearance at the recent GOP state convention in Houston, its owner did not acquire the required city permit to bring wild animals into the city, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Public records acquired by the paper indicate Trunks and Humps, the elephant’s owner, has been cited repeatedly for federal animal welfare violations and failed to apply for a permit before bringing Paige to the June 12 convention.

The elephant arrived as the finale to Abbot’s speech. A video of the event went viral after the elephant urinated on the convention floor.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published communit y newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders @texaspress.com.

RCM Hill argued the county lacked the legal authority to impose the temporary ban, which came after the company had already secured contracts for more than 800 acres at a cost of over $80 million.

“You’re not going to see anybody else trying a moratorium at this point because they’ve seen what happens when you do it,” said Robert Paterson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in land-use law. “You basically just get clubbed with a ridiculous amount of money.”

In Hood and Somervell counties, both southwest of Fort Worth, at least nine proposed data center projects are under consideration. Concerned residents are filling county commissioner meetings, saying the projects could raise electricity bills, strain water resources and harm tourism.

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission to ensure new data centers reduce residential electric bills and proposed that new laws be passed during next year’s legislative session to further regulate the data centers.

TEXAS GOP PUSHES FOR CLOSED PRIMARIES

Gov. Greg Abbott and other state GOP leaders declared at the recent state convention in Houston they will push to require voters to register with a party to prevent crossover voting, The Texas Tribune reported.

“We are going to make clear that in the future, only Republicans will vote in Republican primaries,” he said at the Houston convention. The party has made closing primaries a top legislative priority. The state’s current open-primary system doesn’t require party registration, so voters can cast ballots in whichever primary they want — just not both.

The Texas Republican Party sued Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson last year and was later joined by Attorney General Ken Paxton in asking a federal judge to strike down parts of the election code allowing open primaries. Nelson, who is stepping down next month, opposed Paxton’s motion and argued it is up to the Legislature to change election law.

HIGH COURT SIDES WITH WEED USER BANNED FROM OWNING GUNS The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled last week a Texas man’s conviction for possessing both marijuana and a pistol under an existing law preventing “unlawful” drug users from owning guns was unconstitutional. Both gun rights groups and civil liberties advocates filed briefs urging the court to take Ali Hemani’s side. He challenged the law after being arrested in 2022 by federal agents who found a pistol and 60 grams of weed when his home was searched.

His attorneys argued the law violated his Second Amendment rights and was vague since it does not define “unlawful user.”

“Is someone who uses a controlled substance once a year, ‘an unlawful user’? What about someone who uses that substance every six months, or every two weeks?” they argued. “Does it matter how much one consumes, or only how frequently one does so? The statute does not say.”

Adding to the issues in the case is that marijuana is legal to some degree in more than 40 states. Texas has a limited medical marijuana program.

NEW WORLD SCREWWORM CASES UP TO 15

As of June 21, the number of confirmed New World screwworm cases totaled 15. The Texas Animal Health Commission has placed a quarantine on parts of Coke, Edwards, Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Schleicher, Sutton, Tom Green, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb and Zavala counties. All warm-blooded animals in a quarantine zone may not be moved without prior authorization from TAHC.

Federal and state agencies are working together to eradicate the NWS by introducing sterile male flies into affected areas. Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a statewide disaster proclamation in response. The pest lays its eggs in open wounds, then the eggs hatch into larvae that feast on living flesh. While it is mostly found in cattle, one case has been found in a dog.

TAHC is urging livestock and pet owners to stay vigilant, monitor their animals, and report any suspicions of NWS infestations by calling 1-800-550-8242.

STATE SAYS CAMP LEADERS HAD CHANCES TO PREVENT TRAGEDY

A state investigation has concluded the deaths of 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic last summer were not inevitable, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Investigators found the camp “failed to meet emergency planning requirements, train its staff or evacuate quickly despite multiple chances to prevent the tragedy.”

The report said as the Guadalupe River flooded, at least 39 adult staff members were within reach of the children and, for hours, could have safely assisted with evacuations. Camp leader Richard “Dick” Eastland died in the flood, along with as many as 13 children and counselors, according to investigators.

The 115-page report was presented to a joint legislative committee last week, as several parents of children who died in the floods listened. Lawmakers have created new regulations that require emergency address systems, ban camps from being in floodplains and mandate redundant internet access to improve awareness of weather emergencies.

“We owe it to the victims and their families to learn every lesson that’s possible, and to ensure that those lessons result in meaningful action,” said the chairman of the Senate flood investigative committee, Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton.

PAXTON’S PLATFORM SHORT ON SPECIFICS, EXCEPT FOR CRYPTO BILL State Attorney General Ken Paxton’s platform in his bid to be the state’s next U.S. senator is mostly devoid of specifics, according to the Houston Chronicle. The one piece of legislation he argues is critical is a cryptocurrency bill called the CLARITY Act. Supporters say it would bring stability to the crypto market, which uses a digital form of cash.

The law was passed by the U.S. House a year ago but is stuck in the Senate. Critics include some of the country’s largest unions and banks, who say it doesn’t provide sufficient consumer protections or safeguards against money laundering.

The bill is the only piece of legislation named on Paxton’s website. He also vows to “carry the torch for Trump’s agenda.”

He faces Democrat James Talarico, a state House representative and former teacher, in the Nov. 3 general election.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texas press.com.

— Frank Sonnenberg, The Path to a Meaningful Life

Sunday is Father’s Day. Previous pieces occupying this space have waxed eloquent on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, more often when my parents were still living. Partially because I knew they both read “Number One Son’s” column faithfully. It saved me from struggling to get a card in the mail on time, something at which I never excelled for any occasion.

Dad’s earthly journey ended in 2007, and Mom followed him in 2010. My parents were the pinnacle of role models I held in the highest esteem. Simply living by their goals and standards, being silent role models for my sisters and me, instead of talking about it.

How that usually plays out didn’t sink in with me, however, until years later. I had to grow older before fully realizing just who our heroes and role models were, and why. Sort of like hindsight.

My first hero was always my dad. He worked hard all his life, demonstrating how to love and care for a family, run a business, and treat others with kindness and courtesy. Numerous times since, I’ve thought about how he faced difficult decisions. Often I ask myself, “How would he have handled what I’m facing now?”

Alongside Dad, Mom added her own lessons by example. Watching her, I learned about silent stability, taking care of the home front, and the grounding effect of enjoying a mid-morning coffee break. Most important, however, I learned from her the strength of an unyielding faith in God to get through the game of life.

Beyond my parents, I was blessed with other role models — sort of “alternate moms” who helped shape me in ways I likewise did not fully understand until later in life.

“Granny ”— Dad’s mother — was unbelievably stern in matters of honesty, hard work and frugality, but she was equally soft in the areas of love and patience. Somehow, a couple of hours’ worth of her wisdom and philosophy stayed with you like the smell of her homemade biscuits in the morning.

“Alternate Moms” also influencing me were two of my best friends’ mothers. David Neeley, Oscar Elliott and I were so close that we also often shared moms.

Oscar’s “Momma,” Bobbie Jean Elliott, was a small, quiet woman with an easygoing but strong influence on neighborhood kids. We all knew what she expected of us.

David’s mother, Doris Neeley, had roots in “Old North Dallas.” An invitation to join her and David for a Saturday trip to Dallas was a unique treat, whether for shopping at NorthPark or for a taste of culture at Fair Park Music Hall.

She was refined, elegant and just classy enough to laugh when I ordered a hamburger with ketchup in a five-star North Dallas restaurant.

My silent role models… all gone now. I sometimes wonder if they knew they were leaving their fingerprints on the wet cement of my young life? I sure didn’t.

I doubt they did either. I suspect they were like all silent role models, just doing without saying a word. Silently handing down family recipes for a rewarding life written in good examples rather than with fading ink.

I know it’s Father’s Day, but I tend to celebrate my silent role models of all types these days: fathers, mothers and more, on every occasion I can.

I still wish they could read my “cheap card columns” about how much I miss and appreciate them all.

The results include evaluations in Algebra I, English I, English II, biology and U.S. history. The biggest improvement was in biology, with 71% of students meeting expectations, up 9%.

“These results reflect the hard work of Texas students, educators and families and demonstrate that focused instruction and high expectations continue to produce positive outcomes for students across our state,” said Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. “These results may also be reflective of the Legislature’s ban of cellphone use in classrooms, so that students are better able to stay focused on their schoolwork while at school.”

Parents and families can access their child’s individual STAAR EOC results through their school district’s family portal or by visiting TexasAssessment.gov and using the unique access code provided by their child’s school.

STAAR results for students in grades three to eight will be available this week.

Schools will begin phasing out STAAR end-of-year testing beginning in the 2027-2028 school year.

CHARTER SCHOOL BOOM COULD BUST

The pace of growth of charter schools in Texas slowed this past school year, with experts warning the enrollment drops facing traditional school districts could begin to affect charters, The Texas Tribune reported. With declining birth rates, the growth of vouchers, and increased immigration enforcement, experts say the growth of charter schools may soon reverse.

“They’re headed to a cliff, for sure,” said Bob Templeton, a senior consultant at Austin- based public policy firm STRIVE. “And I don’t know if it’s going to be next year, but it could definitely be within five years.”

Texas public schools this past year experienced their first non-pandemic enrollment decline in nearly 40 years, with 76,000 fewer students. The drop was primarily among Hispanic students in traditional neighborhood campuses. Charter schools still increased enrollment, but at a lower rate. They now educate roughly 446,000 students, or 8% of the state’s nearly 5.5 million public school students.

“It was the changes in immigration enforcement that caused the enrollment to turn the way that it turned this year, especially as it relates to the Hispanic community,” said Templeton.

ABBOTT, ROLLINS UPDATE TEXANS ON SCREWWORM RESPONSE

Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins briefed the public on the state and federal governments’ ongoing response to the threat posed by the New World screwworm. There have been 11 confirmed cases in Texas as of June 15.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is importing and dispersing sterile male flies to combat the invasion, and the Texas Animal Health Commission has designated five “infested zones” that include Coke, Edwards, Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Sutton, Tom Green, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb and Zavala counties.

Warm-blooded animals must pass an inspection before being authorized for shipment outside an affected area.

“Sterile flies are the well-established solution to the spread of the New World screwworm,” Abbott said. Ranchers and livestock owners are urged to remain vigilant by checking animals daily and treating wounds promptly. The screwworm lays its larvae in open wounds.

Texans are urged to report any suspected New World screwworm cases in livestock to the health commission at 1-800-550-8242 and report suspected wildlife cases to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at 512-389-4505.

TEXAS LEADS NATION IN SOLAR GROWTH

Texas is leading the country in new solar capacity, installing 50% more than any other state in the first quarter of 2026, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Across the nation, solar generation and battery storage accounted for 91% of new energy capacity.

“Texas is actually soon to overtake California for the most total installed solar capacity,” said Daniel Giese, state director for the Solar Energy Industries Association. California now has 55.5 gigawatts of installed capacity, barely exceeding Texas’ 53.5 gigawatts.

A separate report from a global energy think tank showed that nationally, solar supplied more electricity than coal in May for the first time. Solar accounted for 12.8% of U.S. energy last month, while coal dropped to 12.2%. In Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas expects solar to exceed coal for the first time later this year.

The growth in data centers is a major reason for the growth in new solar capacity in Texas, since it can come online quickly.

ABBOTT TAKES AIM AT TEXAS DATA CENTERS

Gov. Greg Abbott has directed electric regulators and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the agency that oversees the electric grid, to require new data centers to pay for the power and infrastructure needed to power their operations, The Dallas Morning News reported. The explosive growth in the centers is sparking fears they will drive up consumer electric bills.

The governor further ordered the Public Utility Commission to ensure that new data centers trim residential electric bills.

“Data centers must operate in ways that reduce costs for residential electricity customers, do not drain water needed for our communities and take into consideration the needs of our neighborhoods,” Abbott said in a statement.

He has also proposed new laws in next year’s legislative session that would repeal a data center sales tax exemption that could cost the state billions of dollars in tax revenue, require data centers to use water-efficient technologies, and report electric and water usage.

AGENCY TO SET RULES ON USING FRACKING WASTEWATER ON FARMLAND

Lawmakers have directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to lead the charge in setting water quality guidelines for using treated oilfield wastewater on Texas farmland, The Texas Tribune reported. As the state’s demand for water grows, lawmakers have invested millions of dollars studying ways to treat the billions of gallons of toxic wastewater produced from fracking operations so it can be used for irrigation purposes.

Each site where the water is to be used will require its own permit, including limits on pollutants before the water is released, and reporting requirements “as necessary to ensure protection of human health and the environment,” said Laura Lopez, a TCEQ spokeswoman.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com.

A Collin County jury in one of the state’s most heated and anticipated trials in recent memory reached a verdict Tuesday afternoon.

Karmelo Anthony was found guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf in April 2025 and received a 35-year sentence.

The verdict at the trial, which took place June 1-9, was the culmination of two days of jury-pool selection, four days of testimony and the final day of closing statements.

This situation divided our nation along ethnic lines — Anthony is Black, Metcalf was White. It also was a hot topic on social-media outlets.

At the time of the incident, Anthony and Metcalf attended Frisco Independent School District high schools — Centennial and Memorial, respectively. According to reports, Anthony was sitting underneath a tent “reserved” for Memorial track and field athletes during the District 11-5A meet April 2, 2025.

A group of Memorial students — Austin and his twin brother Hunter Metcalf included — asked Anthony to leave the tent since he was not a Memorial student or athlete. Anthony reportedly said, “Touch me and see what happens.”

After Austin Metcalf reportedly pushed Anthony, the latter brandished a pocketknife and fatally stabbed Metcalf in the chest.

Anthony was subsequently arrested.

This was a no-win situation. Although the trial went in favor of the victim’s family, they’ll never get to see or talk to him again.

Meanwhile, Anthony’s conviction is a huge blow to his supporters, particularly those in the Black community. His claim of self-defense was shot down, while people who have killed other African Americans including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Cyrus Carmack-Belton and more were acquitted in the name of self-defense.

But here is another issue raised by this tragedy: Where was the adult supervision?

Every track and field program I have covered in two decades of journalism has had numerous coaches on the scene and adult supervision where the athletes congregate.

Most of these schools were in Classes 4A-A, although I did cover a few 6A and 5A schools in my time. Adult supervision never seemed to be an issue, especially for Frisco ISD schools — all 12 high schools are 6A or 5A.

Where were the coaches, administrators, school district law enforcement officers, etc. on that rainy Wednesday?

Proper adult supervision in all likelihood would have prevented this tragedy from happening. Just imagine how things might have been if an adult had been around.

Anthony likely would have never been convicted of murder and would be attending college. Metcalf would be alive and would’ve walked across the stage to receive his diploma, then head to university.

In the midst of this horrific episode, the lack of adult supervision played a role. That was the real tragedy.

Chlapek is the area editor of the Elgin Courier, Manor Journal and Taylor Press. He can be reached at jason.chlapek@granitemediapartners.com.

God established meditation.

It is no recent cultural practice — and yes, other religions beside Christianity use meditation. The practice is common all around us, though my question is how does a Christian understand meditation?

Joshua 1:8 prompted my research. How God originated meditation when he told Joshua: “Meditate on (My book of law) day and night.”

In that verse, meditate means to muse, imagine, study and think about.

Meditation means to focus our thoughts, to contemplate a specific subject in order to discern meaning or significance. One effective way to do this is to read aloud to yourself.

The instruction from this verse includes follow- up actions, as well — to allow this information to affect our life and behavior.

I recall learning that cows demonstrate Biblical meditation. Cows ruminate, they chew their cud repeatedly.

That really is a great picture of meditation: to remember, reflect, strongly consider the things of God.

It was amazing for me to learn how our propensity to worry really is the same mental system as meditation. We tend to worry automatically. We worry with no focused premise, yet sooner or later we recognize our worry.

Well, meditation is a bit different, in that you must find the focus first.

God tells us to meditate upon His precepts, our behavior, His Word (Ps 119:15; 145); all God has done, His good/miraculous deeds (I Chronicles 16:9; Ps. 77:12 and many other passages).

One particularly good verse is Philippians 4:8, which directs us to meditate upon what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise.

If we follow these lists, we will have no trouble finding Godly things to ruminate upon.

Remember, the biblical meditation includes the practice of deliberation, clarifying facts, not mere suppositions. This word deals with reality … If I reckon that my bank book has $25 in it, it has $25 in it. Otherwise, I am deceiving myself.

As we take control of our thought life, God blesses our obedience. He graces us with peace amid chaos. He provides insight and clarity.

I’ve found it helpful to handwrite a list of God’s blessings and review that occasionally.

He is good, and His faithfulness never changes. Until next week, Anita

Onarecker, an Elgin resident, author of “Divine Appointment: Our Journey to the Bridge” and minister to women and adults, earned a Master of Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2007.

STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his allies began working to repair fissures among GOP voters after he routed incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the March 26 runoff, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Both Paxton and his general election opponent, Democratic nominee James Talarico, swiftly went on the attack in what promises to be the most expensive Senate general election race in history.

“The future of Texas and the future of America is on the line, and I intend to do everything I can to expand our movement,” Paxton told supporters in Plano.

Talarico is seeking to appeal to Republicans and independents who balked at supporting Paxton during the primary campaign. The attorney general has been embroiled in several scandals since being elected in 2014.

Talarico called his opponent “morally unfit” for office.

“This November, working Texans — Democrats, independents and Republicans alike — are going to come together to defeat the most corrupt politician in America and the broken political system that he represents,” said Talarico, a Texas House representative.

ABBOTT AGAIN ORDERS COLLEGES TO KEEP TUITION RATES FLAT

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all public universities and colleges to keep tuition flat for the upcoming academic year, the Austin American- Statesman reported. Abbott first mandated the tuition freeze in 2023. His order also applies to public health institutions and community colleges.

“Higher education must be attainable for Texas students and families,” Abbott wrote. “Access to affordable, high-quality higher education is essential to ensure Texans learn the skills needed to secure family-sustaining jobs and meet the demands of a growing workforce.”

Most Texas public universities charge between $10,000 and $12,000 for annual in-state tuition, according to Robert Kelchen, a higher education professor at the University of Tennessee specializing in finance.

“Overall, Texas is in a pretty enviable position for higher education funding,” Kelchen said, noting “the state funds higher ed pretty well, tuition is fairly modest, and then all the money coming from the oil fund.”

HILL COUNTRY RANCH TO BECOME SECOND-LARGEST STATE PARK Nearly 54,000 acres of a former Hill Country ranch will soon become the second-largest park in Texas, The Texas Tribune reported. The former Silver Lake Ranch features steep canyons and rolling hills about 150 miles west of San Antonio, between Rocksprings and Uvalde in Kinney and Edwards counties.

It is the first land purchase made under a $1 billion Centennial Parks Conservation Fund established by the Legislature and approved by voters in 2023. Previously, the ranch was partially owned by the Moody Foundation, which donated its 88% share. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department purchased the remainder of the property for $11.85 million.

“Silver Lake Ranch represents the natural beauty, history and spirit of our state, and we are honored to make this gift to Texas Parks and Wildlife to ensure it remains protected and enjoyed by all Texans for years ahead,” foundation trustee Ross Moody said.

The future park, to be named Silver Lake State Park, features a 30-acre spring-fed lake and miles of frontage along the West Nueces River.

The opening date has not been set.

FAA GROUNDS SPACEX STARSHIP AGAIN AFTER CRASH

The massive rocket Starship has been grounded again after the lower stage of the rocket plunged into the Gulf of Mexico a few minutes after liftoff, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered an investigation into what went wrong.

The May 22 mishap forced six aircraft to delay their departures and forced another five into holding patterns, the FAA said. No injuries or damages were reported.

This is the seventh grounding of 12 flights for Starship rockets. SpaceX has approvals to launch and land the craft as many as 25 times a year at its base near Boca Chica Beach in far South Texas.

“A return to flight of the Starship-Super Heavy vehicle is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety,” the FAA said.

RESEARCHERS: CITIES CAN CHANGE STORM BEHAVIOR

Researchers have examined more than two decades of climate data in Texas to understand how urban and rural areas interact with storms, according to the Texas Standard. State Climatologist John Nielsen- Gammon was part of the research team.

“Probably the biggest finding was how important urban areas were toward individual thunderstorms or smaller- scale collections of thunderstorms,” he said. “Every single city we looked at, the storms were enhanced there — both during the daytime and especially nighttime. There’s a bigger influence in those types of precipitation events.”

Nielsen-Gammon said that while storms are influenced by the presence of cities, often increasing their severity, the extent of that influence depends on the type of storm. The higher temperatures found in cities because of concrete and buildings can affect both the severity and the wind pattern, according to experts.

GOP LEADERS BACK FRENCH AFTER RUNOFF WIN Several GOP officials who opposed Bo French’s successful bid to unseat incumbent Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright now say they will back him in the general election, the Houston Chronicle reported. That includes Gov. Greg Abbott, Wright’s fellow commissioners Wayne Christian and Christi Craddick, and Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham.

“ Republ ic a n s are UNITED and ready to win in November to keep Texas, TEXAS!” Abbott’s campaign wrote in a post on X.

One notable exception so far is Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who was among French’s harshest critics. French, the former Tarrant County GOP chairman, has made several controversial statements, including calling for a ban on Islam in Texas.

French will face Jon Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat and oil and gas engineer, in the November general election.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published communit y newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texas press.com.

On the GOP side, the statewide runoffs are:

• U.S. Senate: John Cornyn and Ken Paxton

• Texas attorney general: Mayes Middleton and Chip Roy

• Texas Railroad Commission: Jim Wright and Bo French

• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Place 3: Alison Fox and Thomas Smith The statewide Democratic runoffs are:

• Lieutenant governor: Vikki Goodwin and Marcos Vélez

• Attorney general: Nathan Johnson and Joe Jaworski There are also runoff races for several House seats, the State Board of Education and Texas Senate District 19, which runs along the U.S.-Mexico border. Voters who cast ballots in the March GOP primary can’t vote in the Democratic runoff races, and vice versa. Registered voters who did not participate in the March primary can vote in either party’s runoff election, but not both.

TEXAS OIL INDUSTRY AT WAR WITH ITSELF

The GOP runoff race for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission is pitting oil industry leaders against each other. Many small-scale oil companies are supporting former Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French because of incumbent Jim Wright’s efforts to lead reforms at the commission, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Lance Thomas, manager of Albany-based Stasney Well Service, said he is not supporting Wright. His company is suing the Railroad Commission over new rules about how oil operators manage onsite waste pits. A political action committee associated with oil billionaire Tim Dunn, a conservative megadonor, has contributed at least $350,000 to French’s campaign.

On the flip side, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other major oil companies have contributed to PACs backing Wright.

French has drawn controversy for public comments he has made about Muslims and diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

PAXTON STEPS UP INVESTIGATIONS AS RUNOFF NEARS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has steadily increased his lawsuits, investigations and public threats around many of the conservative causes that energize Republicans, The Dallas Morning News reported. More than 100 news releases announcing such actions have been issued since early January.

Critics say he is using the Attorney General’s Office for political gain rather than enforcement. Supporters say Paxton is pursuing the issues Texas conservatives elected him to champion.

“He’s been suing the pants off people. I like that,” said Laura Oakley, president of the Grapevine Republican Club.

The topics since the March primary included immigration, Islam, China, visa fraud, election maps, birthright citizenship and foreign influence, according to The News report.

A spokesman for Paxton’s campaign called the review of Paxton’s investigations “garbage” and not “worth printing.”

LOTTERY COMMISSION, EX-DIRECTOR FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES

Former Texas lottery director Gary Grief and the Texas Lottery Commission have been charged with misusing their positions in a 2023 Lotto Texas drawing worth $95 million, the Austin American- Statesman reported.

The criminal charges assert the agency helped international gamblers engineer a guaranteed win.

Agency officials helped professional bettors purchase nearly every possible six-number combination — more than 25 million tickets — assuring they would win the $95 million jackpot, according to the charges. However, Grief’s attorney issued a statement saying, in part, “When all facts are revealed in court, the public will see that Gary’s leadership at the Lottery Commission generated millions of dollars for Texas schools and veterans and there was no crime.”

Grief and the commission are charged with abuse of official capacity, a broadly worded offense alleging “intent to harm or defraud another” by misusing “government property, services, personnel or any other thing of value belonging to the government,” the Statesman reported.

TEXAS’ MIGRANT DEPORTATION LAW LIKELY TO BE BLOCKED

A new law allowing state officials to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants took effect last week, but it appears likely a federal judge will soon move to block it, according to the Houston Chronicle.

U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra has previously called the law “patently unconstitutional,” but delayed making a ruling.

Senate Bill 4 has been stymied since its passage by legal challenges arguing that immigration enforcement is under the purview of the federal government, not state governments.

“Gov. (Greg) Abbott is the sovereign governor of the state of Texas. He is not the president of the United States,” Ezra said. “(Department of Public Safety) officers are not (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents.”

The GOP majority in the state Legislature passed the law during an immigration surge at the time of the Biden administration. That surge has since receded, and few GOP lawmakers have been pushing for the law to be implemented, according to the Chronicle.

GRIMES COUNTY RESIDENTS QUESTION PROPOSED CHIP FACILITY Elon Musk’s bid to build what he calls the world’s largest computer-chip manufacturing facility in Grimes County, southeast of College Station, is drawing opposition from some residents, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Musk is seeking tax breaks to build the facility, dubbed Terafab.

Supporters say the initial $55 billion investment would later double in subsequent phases, which is too good to pass up. Opponents question the track record of Musk’s businesses, such as SpaceX, and whether the huge company needs tax breaks.

“I believe it would be immoral to give this company tax abatement when we have serious concerns about health issues and safety issues,” resident Jacqueline Ross told Grimes County commissioners.

SpaceX was fined nearly $150,000 in 2024 for breaking clean water laws after a fuel spill at its South Texas launch site. It also was cited for illegally discharging wastewater into wetlands near its Boca Chica facilities.

The company is seeking a $1.75 trillion valuation when it goes public in a few months, prompting some residents to question why it needs a tax break.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texas press.com.

STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

Top Texas legislators are pushing to waive a new state law that requires camps to install broadband fiber optics to legally operate this summer, The Dallas Morning News reported. Scores of camps are struggling to meet the deadline. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows released a statement last week saying they support lifting the law.

Nearly 20 camps have sued to block the requirement, arguing it does not make their properties safer and would cost millions of dollars. So far only nine Texas summer camps are licensed to open, with fewer than two weeks before the season begins. Nearly 300 are still working to obtain licenses. The Department of State Health Services said last week camps will be allowed to operate under existing licenses while their applications are reviewed.

The laws were passed in the aftermath of last year’s July 4 flooding, which killed more than two dozen campers at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River. In addition to fiber-optic networks, camps must install emergency warning and public-address systems and provide safety training for campers.

PATRICK BACKS MIDDLETON IN ATTORNEY GENERAL RUNOFF Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is backing state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, in the GOP runoff for Texas attorney general May 26. Early voting runs from May 18 to May 22. In the runoff, Middleton faces U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin.

“Mayes Middleton has established a record as one of the most conservative senators in Texas history,” Patrick said on social media.

The Dallas Morning News quoted Patrick as saying Middleton will make the post “the strongest and most impactful AG office in the nation.”

Democrats Joe Jaworski, a former Galveston mayor, and state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, are in a runoff for their party’s nomination. Incumbent Ken Paxton opted not to run and is locked in a GOP primary runoff with incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

CORNYN, PAXTON IN TIGHT RUNOFF RACE Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is locked in a tight race against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for the GOP nomination, the Texas Standard reported. The Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston recently conducted a poll that showed Paxton leading Cornyn, 48% to 45% with 7% still undecided.

The poll of those indicating they were likely to vote in the GOP runoff had a 2.83% margin of error.

In the first quarter of this year, Cornyn raised nearly $9 million, including $3.4 million after the March primary. Paxton raised $2.2 million. Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock, raised a record $27 million in the first quarter, the largest-ever sum for a Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year in any state.

TEXAS HAS BIGGEST TEACHER WORKFORCE, BUT PAID LESS

Texas has the country’s largest teacher workforce but lags behind the national average in teacher pay and per-student spending, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman.

A National Education Association report said teacher pay in Texas is about $10,700 below the U.S. average. Texas public school teachers earned an average of $63,749 in 2024-2025, which put it 33rd among states and Washington, D.C. The national average was $74,495.

Texas had nearly 370,000 public school teachers in 2024-2025, the highest number in the country.

TEXAS LEADS IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION AS CROSSINGS PLUMMET

Texas continues to lead the country in the number of people held in detention centers, even as unauthorized border crossings plunge, the Houston Chronicle reported.

As of early April, the daily average in Texas was nearly 18,000 people. That’s more than twice the average number of immigrants held in Louisiana, the second highest, with about 8,100 per day.

Texas’ high numbers are partly due to the state’s numerous detention centers and a ruling from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the practice of holding immigrants until their removal proceedings conclude. “The 5th Circuit is not immigrant-friendly, and it’s easier to remove people who are detained in the Texas facilities,” said Zenobia Lai, executive director of the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said decisions on where detainees are held are made on a “case-by-case basis in accordance with U.S. law.”

TEXAS MOST AT-RISK STATE FOR HAIL DAMAGE Everything is bigger in Texas, including the hail, according to Cotal ity’s 2026 Severe Convective Storm Risk Report, published in the Austin American-Statesman. The state ranks as the most at-risk for hail damage, with 8 million homes exposed and a combined reconstruction value exceeding $3.1 trillion.

Four Texas cities rank among the top 10 for homes at greater risk of hail damage. Dallas ranks second nationally, behind Chicago, followed by Houston in third, Austin in ninth and San Antonio in tenth.

“Although most hailstones are typically peaor dime-size, hail can grow to as large as golf balls and baseballs. In extreme cases, hail can reach the size of a softball, grapefruit or even a pineapple,” Statesman meteorologist Mary Wasson wrote.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@ texaspress.com.

“It’s all crazy,” Victor Cortez, a 40-yearold Austin construction worker, said while filling up his pickup. “It depends on the day; some days I’m moving to three or four buildings and spending 100 bucks a day.”

The steep climb in prices comes as a result of the war with Iran, which began in February. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes, has caused a sharp increase in oil prices. The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the world benchmark, was $114 on May 3, up from about $70 a barrel before the war began.

The rise in diesel prices, which averaged $3.30 a gallon in early February, is affecting everything from shipping costs to farming operations. About half the truckers in Texas are independent operators who buy diesel at gas stations and truck stops and don’t receive the discount that large companies with their own trucking yards get for buying in bulk.

CAMP MYSTIC WILL NOT REOPEN THIS SUMMER

Camp Myst ic announced last week that it had withdrawn its application for a camp license for this summer, according to the Austin American- Statesman. The decision followed a week of hearings before a joint state Senate-House committee, which heard testimony from the loved ones of last summer’s flood victims. The July 4 flooding along the Guadalupe River killed 25 children, two counselors and the camp’s longtime owner, Richard “Dick” Eastland.

“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” the camp wrote in a statement.

The Texas Department of State Health Services, which is responsible for issuing camp licenses, conducted investigations. The camp has been planning to reopen its Cypress Lake campus, which was not damaged by the flash floods. More than 850 children have already registered to attend that camp.

Camp Mystic said it would continue to “fully cooperate with all ongoing investigations.”

TALARICO LEADS CORNYN, PAXTON IN LATEST POLLS

A poll shows Democrat James Talarico leading both the Republicans who are locked in a fierce runoff to determine who will face him in November, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Talarico led U.S. Sen. John Cornyn 40% to 33%, according to the University of Texas at Austin Politics Project survey. He holds a 42% to 34% advantage over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is challenging Cornyn in a GOP runoff May 26 since neither won a majority in the March primary. In both scenarios, 19% of voters said they were still undecided.

“While the Democratic candidate leading two established Republicans in these matchups is sure to raise some eyebrows,” the pollsters wrote, the results “reveal a Republican electorate still registering the effects of the months-long, bruising, negative campaigning by Paxton and Cornyn, and the GOP divisions the race has exacerbated.”

Early voting runs from May 18 to May 22. Voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary cannot vote in the GOP runoff. Only voters who participated in the GOP primary or did not vote at all can vote in the GOP runoff.

$56 MILLION IN FED FUNDING FOR RURAL HEALTHCARE The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is making $56 million in federal funding available to rural healthcare providers. The “Infrastructure and Capital Investments for Rural Texas” initiative will support modernization of rural health care delivery by funding new equipment and minor facility renovations.

Health care providers can use the funds to “update lab, CT scan, ultrasound, or mammography equipment; stretchers, wheelchairs, patient beds, telemetry units, nurse-call systems, generators, defibrillators, crash carts, medication dispensing units, sleep labs, vital sign monitors, oxygen tanks, and other allowable equipment,” according to the HHSC news release.

The state is expected to receive about $1.4 billion in federal funding over the next five years through the program supporting rural health care.

PATRICK AIMS TO CLOSE LOOPHOLE FOR PREDICTION MARKETS

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has directed state senators to explore ways to close gambling loopholes that allow online prediction markets to operate in Texas, according to The Texas Tribune. He is concerned state elections and sporting events could be manipulated for profit.

Prediction markets allow users to bet on outcomes of everything from sporting events to election winners, and even the weather. The Trump administration has blocked attempts by other states to regulate the prediction markets, such as Kalshi, claiming oversight belongs to federal agencies, not the states.

“We are regulated at the federal level, but of course, given now the popularity of prediction markets, we are doing a lot of educating on the state level,” said Sara Slane of Kalshi. “That’s the dialogue that we’ll envision having, certainly, in the state of Texas.”

While 39 state attorneys general signed on to a legal brief arguing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission doesn’t have sole authority to regulate the prediction markets, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declined to do so.

TEXAS CITIES DOMINATE ANOTHER ‘BEST’ LIST

Several Texas cities dominated the top spots in Livability’s new ranking of the most affordable, desirable cities to live in the U.S., according to the Austin American- Statesman. The list includes only cities with populations from 75,000 to 500,000 and median home values of $500,000 or less.

Factors considered include economy and housing; amenities and environment; safety, health and education; and transportation.

Texas cities in the top 10 were Sugar Land at No. 3; Plano at No. 5; Round Rock at No. 9; and New Braunfels at No. 10.

Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published communit y newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders @texaspress.com.

I’m a huge Will Rogers fan. But last Saturday afternoon, personal philosophies leaned toward: “A stranger is just someone standing between me and my easy chair.”

The mission was uncomplicated. Pop into the local supermarket, grab a prescription at the pharmacy, find a few pantry basics and retreat to the laziness of my living room.

I even found an empty checkout lane where a pleasant voice beckoned, “And how are you doing this fine Saturday?”

I recognized her immediately. A checkout regular at Brookshires, a genuine breath of fresh air in a retail world where most transactions are processed with the warmth and thankfulness of an IRS auditor. My guard dropped.

Acting on her cheerfulness, I dusted off one of my well-worn conversation starters: “ A s I sometimes say, I’m like Minnie Pearl—I’m just so proud to be here.”

Her expression lightened.

“I remember Minnie Pearl,” she said. “Her, Loretta Lynn, Porter Wagoner.”

I couldn’t help myself; the floodgates were open.

“The Wilburn Brothers, Ferlin Husky, Faron Young,” I added. “My mother used to clean house on Saturday afternoons. And she made sure every floor was scrubbed before her favorite country music shows came on.”

Then, in a sharp segue from the 1950s Nashville sound to pure Louisiana rock ’n’ roll, she uttered a name: “Dale Hawkins.”

“Suzie Q,” I thought, just as she said it aloud.

“Great song,” we agreed in unison.

“I knew Dale,” she continued, still beaming. It turns out she had lived and worked in Shreveport, Louisiana, back in the day.

For the uninitiated, Hawkins was the pride of Richland Parish, Louisiana, before landing in Bossier City, same state. He was playing the local clubs by 1956, and in 1957, co-wrote and released “Suzie Q.”

It was not only a charting success, but was covered by many artists including Creedence Clearwater Revival, and inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“You know who on ‘Suzie Q’ played that infamous guitar solo?” I asked.

“James Burton,” we said together, laughing again.

“He played with Elvis and Ricky Nelson,” she added, clearly enjoying the trivia match.

“Another legendary Shreveport musician,” I confirmed. “He played for others, too—Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers.”

I shared how I met James Burton through a car club in Shreveport.

“One of our members was Dick DeMoss,” I said. “Whose wife was James’s sister. I was lucky enough to sit and listen to him reminisce about his career several times.”

“And Stan Lewis...” she said before tallying up my purchases.

“Stan’s Record Shop!” I interjected. “I bought records there all the time at the downtown Shreveport location. Also, the home of the Paula Record label.”

She told me she still had records she’d bought there before the shop closed its doors.

“Great music, and even better memories,” I said, picking up my bags.

As I drove home, the easy chair didn’t seem quite so urgent. I had gone in for a prescription but left with a reminder that spontaneity is the best kind of adventure.

Once again, Will Rogers was right.