The owner of the security firm hired to protect five Northwest ISD elementary schools is facing charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a child. 54-year-old Kirk Stanley Grable was booked into the Parker County jail this past Tuesday and charged with the sexual assault of a child and prohibited sexual contact. view article

HOUSTON (AP) — Pressure mounted Wednesday on Houston’s power utility as millions of residents still had no electricity nearly three days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall, stoking questions over how a city that is all too familiar with destructive weather was unable to better withstand a Category 1 storm. With frustration growing as Houston residents spent another sweltering day in search for places to cool off, fuel up and grab a bite to eat, a CenterPoint Energy executive faced a barrage from city leaders who wanted to know why it was taking so long to get the lights back on again. Mayor John Whitmire bluntly called on the utility to do a better job. “That’s the consensus of Houstonians. That’s mine,” Whitmire said. view article

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order Tuesday to provide a cell phone-free education in the state's public schools. “This essential action will promote a healthier and more focused educational environment where every child is free to learn. Creating cell phone and social media-free educational environments in Virginia’s K-12 education system will benefit students, parents, and educators,” said Youngkin in a statement. view article

Last year, when Jennifer Hernandez received notice that the mortgage payments on her Houston home would jump about $2,000 per month, she was stunned. Hernandez refinanced her home loan in 2016 using an adjustable-rate mortgage loan, which has a low introductory rate for a fixed initial period. Unlike the more popular fixed-rate mortgage loans, ARMs can offer temporary relief for homebuyers who want to avoid paying higher mortgage rates — however, they also come with risk. After the fixed introductory period ­— usually five, seven or ten years ­— the rate on an ARM loan adjusts periodically based on current market conditions. view article

Last year, when Jennifer Hernandez received notice that the mortgage payments on her Houston home would jump about $2,000 per month, she was stunned. Hernandez refinanced her home loan in 2016 using an adjustable-rate mortgage loan, which has a low introductory rate for a fixed initial period. Unlike the more popular fixed-rate mortgage loans, ARMs can offer temporary relief for homebuyers who want to avoid paying higher mortgage rates — however, they also come with risk. After the fixed introductory period ­— usually five, seven or ten years ­— the rate on an ARM loan adjusts periodically based on current market conditions. view article

Last year, when Jennifer Hernandez received notice that the mortgage payments on her Houston home would jump about $2,000 per month, she was stunned. Hernandez refinanced her home loan in 2016 using an adjustable-rate mortgage loan, which has a low introductory rate for a fixed initial period. Unlike the more popular fixed-rate mortgage loans, ARMs can offer temporary relief for homebuyers who want to avoid paying higher mortgage rates — however, they also come with risk. After the fixed introductory period ­— usually five, seven or ten years ­— the rate on an ARM loan adjusts periodically based on current market conditions. view article

With the input of thousands of delegates at their recent biennial convention now tallied, the Republican Party of Texas has announced its legislative priorities heading into the legislative session next year. During the convention, the legislative priorities committee narrowed down the priorities presented to 15. Delegates then voted to determine the top eight. These eight legislative priorities are meant to serve as directives for lawmakers on what party members would like to see accomplished during the 140-day legislative session beginning in January. Today, the Texas GOP announced the top eight priorities for the upcoming legislative view article

The board of trustees unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the proposed changes. Trustees for Carroll Independent School District passed a resolution denouncing President Joe Biden’s rewrite of Title IX. During Monday night’s meeting, the Carroll ISD board of trustees unanimously passed the resolution in a 6-0 vote. “The CISD Board of Trustees denounces the recent changes to Title IX regulations proposed by the Biden administration, expressing deep concern over the potential negative impact on our students and community,” reads the resolution. view article

The board of trustees unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the proposed changes. Trustees for Carroll Independent School District passed a resolution denouncing President Joe Biden’s rewrite of Title IX. During Monday night’s meeting, the Carroll ISD board of trustees unanimously passed the resolution in a 6-0 vote. “The CISD Board of Trustees denounces the recent changes to Title IX regulations proposed by the Biden administration, expressing deep concern over the potential negative impact on our students and community,” reads the resolution. view article

Despite Gov. Greg Abbott saying Texas would ignore changes to Title IX that would threaten female students and athletes, Texas A&M University is reportedly “scrambling” to comply. view article

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It's the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility. Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, says in an article in the Washington Post, "Dumbness, to paraphrase the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, has been steadily defined downward for several decades, by a combination of heretofore irresistible forces. These include the triumph of video culture over print culture; a disjunction between Americans' rising level of formal education and their shaky grasp of basic geography, science and history; and the fusion of anti-rationalism with anti-intellectualism."  view article

A Mississippi school district has been ordered to desegregate its schools after what the Justice Department called a five-decade-long legal battle. The Cleveland School District, about two hours northwest of Jackson, was told that it must consolidate its schools in order to provide real desegregation for students in the city of about 12,000. view article