n the last presidential election cycle, four distant years ago, Texas Democrats pursued an ambitious campaign to take control of the state House. Bolstered by millions of dollars that flooded in from the national party apparatus, Dems targeted as many as 22 GOP-held seats across the Texas suburbs. The strategy was built upon Beto O’Rourke’s near-victorious U.S. Senate campaign in 2018, in which he carried a narrow majority of the state’s 154 state House districts.   All they needed to do was flip nine seats that O’Rourke had carried. Democrats were so optimistic heading into Election Day 2020 that multiple state reps, having suffered in the minority for years, announced bids for the speakership in anticipation of their party taking control of the lower chamber for the first time in nearly 20 years. With the potency of the GOP’s gerrymandered maps having waned, and the next round of redistricting on the horizon, it was now or (possibly) never.  view article

Rates have jumped dramatically as extreme weather events have become more frequent  Although Hurricane Helene wound up unleashing its fury on Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, people elsewhere on the Gulf Coast know all too well that it easily could have been us—and it might be us next time. The toll living in such a disaster-prone region takes on its residents' mental health can be difficult to quantify, but it's real. view article

Multiple deaths have been reported in Florida from tornadoes, spawned by Hurricane Milton, that ripped through the state, downing buildings and trees and leaving millions without power.  The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office confirmed there have been “multiple fatalities” in the county after numerous tornadoes struck the area in quick succession, wreaking devastation.  Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed to Florida’s WPBF 25 News that there had been a “loss of life” in the Spanish Lakes Country Club community in Fort Pierce but did not state exactly how many fatalities had been reported. view article

John Ghrist used Snapchat and a school-approved app to message a 15-year-old girl, and police fear there could be more victims.   view article

A MacGregor Elementary teacher has been recommended for termination after reportedly getting into a verbal altercation with a parent shortly before dismissal Thursday, according to Houston ISD. view article

The Lorena Independent School District on Tuesday morning released all students early after several reports of smoke at three of its four schools. The Lorena Fire Department confirmed the smoke at the schools was caused by a city-wide power surge that damaged the schools’ AC units. According to the district, evacuations started sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. after students at the middle and high school reported smelling smoke. view article

MORGAN CITY, La. (AP) — Hurricane Francine slammed into the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening as a dangerous Category 2 storm that knocked out electricity to more than a quarter-million customers and threatened widespread flooding as it sent a potentially deadly storm surge rushing inland along the Gulf Coast. Francine crashed ashore in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center announced at 4 p.m. CDT. Packing top sustained winds near 100 mph (155 kph), the hurricane then battered a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. Morgan City Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said the hurricane quickly flooded streets, snapped power lines and sent tree limbs crashing down. “It’s a little bit worse than what I expected to be honest with you,” Cockerham said of the onslaught. “I pulled all my trucks back to the station. It’s too dangerous to be out there in this.” view article

As Hurricane Francine wheels through the Gulf of Mexico toward Louisiana, a new named system has formed in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean.National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasters announced Wednesday morning the formation of Tropical Depression Seven near the Cabo Verde Islands off the coast of Africa. The system is beginning to show signs of further organization, according to NHC meterologists, and is tacking to the west-northwest at 10 to 15 mph. There is a 90-percent chance of Seven strengthening into a tropical storm over the next 48 hours, according to the NHC. If this were to pass, Seven would become Tropical Storm Gordon, the seventh named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which has seen wild swings in activity since its beginning on June 1.There is a 90-percent chance of Seven strengthening into a tropical storm over the next 48 hours, according to the NHC. If this were to pass, Seven would become Tropical Storm Gordon, the seventh named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which has seen wild swings in activity since its beginning on June 1. view article

On America’s darkest day, September 11, 2001, innocent civilians were targeted and a total of 2,977 people were killed in what became the worst terrorist attack to ever take place on American soil.  Among the fatalities that day were 406 first responders, made up of 343 members of the New York City Fire Department, 23 members of the New York City Police Department, 37 members of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police Department and 3 members of the New York State Office of Court Administration. There was a catastrophic loss of life that day, and many more lives have been lost since. More than 100,000 people continue to suffer today from 9/11-related illnesses. Americans were driven to enlist in our military ranks to fight terrorism after September 11, 2001, and over 7,000 U.S. military members have died in the line of duty fighting the War on Terror.  The following materials are educational 9/11 resources that are verified by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, created from the tragedy of 9/11. Tunnel to Towers helps America keep its promise to NEVER FORGET the 2,977 people who gave their lives for us, including the brave first responders, those who continue to suffer with 9/11-related illnesses, those who made the ultimate sacrifice serving our communities and our country – and all who continue to. view article

The new list includes many right-wing priorities, and would escalate Republicans’ wars against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and review laws to keep noncitizens off voter rolls.  Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants the Texas Senate to reexamine how the state conducts runoff elections and recommend new laws aimed at stopping protesters from covering their faces when the Legislature meets next year. On Tuesday, Patrick — who oversees the Senate and has serious power over what bills it passes — released a second round of directives for Senate committees, building on a list of 57 items from earlier this year that focused on, among other things, housing costs, school vouchers, property tax relief and strengthening the power grid.The new list includes a number of right-wing priorities, and would escalate Republicans’ wars against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.  Last year, Texas lawmakers banned such programs at public universities — prompting layoffs and protests at some schools. Now, Patrick wants lawmakers to “examine programs and certificates” at higher education institutions that still have DEI policies, and then “expose” them as “damaging and not aligned with state workforce demands.” He then wants lawmakers to recommend “any needed reforms to ensure universities are appropriately educating students to meet workforce needs.” view article

New forecasts for the system show intensifying power and Tropical Storm Watches for the Upper Texas coast. view article

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Association of School Administrators, or TASA, on Wednesday released its list of finalists for the 2025 Teacher of the Year program, and two of them are from the Central Texas area. view article

The low-pressure system bringing nasty weather to the Bay of Campeche will likely become a tropical storm by Monday, according to forecasters, who are becoming more convinced it will impact the Gulf Coast as the latest named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.  The low-pressure system bringing nasty weather to the Bay of Campeche will likely become a tropical storm by Monday, according to forecasters, who are becoming more convinced it will impact the Gulf Coast as the latest named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.   view article

A Navarro County educator who was injured by a student earlier this month said she could lose her eye due to the incident — and she's calling on the Texas governor to make changes in the education system. Collins Intermediate School Assistant Principal Candra Rogers was airlifted to Parkland hospital in Dallas after a student threw a wooden hanger at her. view article

For years, Amanda Smith and her husband were jolted awake at night by a buzz-buzz-beep — an alarm warning that her blood sugar was too high or too low. She would reach for juice boxes stored in her nightstand or fiddle with her pump to release a bolus of insulin.  Smith, a 35-year-old nurse from London, Ontario, has Type 1 diabetes, which wipes out critical islet cells within the pancreas that produce insulin. Without them, Smith relied on vials of insulin from a pharmacy and constant vigilance to stay alive. “You have to pay attention to your diabetes, or you die.” view article

There was a regular dismissal at Collins Intermediate School on Monday after a turbulent start for its first week of school. On Friday, Aug. 16, the Corsicana Independent School District said that Assistant Principal Candra Rogers was attacked so severely inside a classroom she had to be airlifted to a medical facility in Dallas. "We need to protect our teachers. They’re rare and hard to come by, and we’re not protecting our teachers or our students," said Terry Garner, a parent at Collins Intermediate School. view article

A Navarro County educator is in the hospital Friday after the Corsicana Independent School District said she suffered severe injuries due to a disruption in a classroom. Gabriel Diaz, whose child is a fifth grader at Collins Intermediate School, expressed concerns after hearing about the incident at his daughter's school on Thursday. "The teachers and the students are under a lot of pressure, and I believe parents should make an effort as much as possible to help out," Diaz said. view article

A staff member at Collins Intermediate School in Corsicana, Texas was airlifted to the hospital Thursday after getting injured in a classroom disruption. According to a letter sent to parents by Principal Tiffany Boortz, there was a "disruption in a classroom" which resulted in an injury to the staff member. No other students or staff were in danger and the campus was placed on "Hold" status while the staff member was tended to, the letter stated. view article

As districts face an ever-increasing number of community “watchdogs” and social media warriors posting opinions on issues based on, at best, 50% of the actual facts, it is common to question what the legal remedies are for defamed districts, employees, and officials. On the other hand, districts may also question what recourse the public may have against them and their employees and officials when defending themselves in a public forum on a controversial issue. Below is a brief analysis of each of those situations.

Generative AI requires massive amounts of power and water, and the aging U.S. grid can’t handle the load  Thanks to the artificial intelligence boom, new data centers are springing up as quickly as companies can build them. This has translated into huge demand for power to run and cool the servers inside. Now concerns are mounting about whether the U.S. can generate enough electricity for the widespread adoption of AI, and whether our aging grid will be able to handle the load.  “If we don’t start thinking about this power problem differently now, we’re never going to see this dream we have,” said Dipti Vachani, head of automotive at Arm. The chip company’s low-power processors have become increasingly popular with hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft , Oracle and Amazon — precisely because they can reduce power use by up to 15% in data centers. view article

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted in favor of a 10-percent premium increase for residential and commercial policyholders.  The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted in favor of a 10-percent premium increase for residential and commercial policyholders. view article

Jessica Flores awoke her young son about 7 a.m. March 22. By then, she had made breakfast and driven her husband, Christopher Reza, to work in time for his 6 a.m. start as a stonecutter. She also had prepared her son’s lunch: a ham sandwich, cookies, water, juice, diced apples and a mandarin.  It was the first day Mauro was to be farther away than school. She felt a strong desire to keep him home. She called her husband.  view article

A fifth grade Lumberton Independent School District student reported "vulgar" language in the STAAR reading test last month, according to information from LISD.  view article

Vidor ISD superintendent Jay Killgo estimates the district has $12-13 million in damages from Harvey. Both Oak Forest Elementary and Vidor Middle School are unusable right now. Those students are going elsewhere, which is overcrowding some schools. view article

Burnet school district officials were probably expecting to get more than two years from the synthetic turf installed at Bulldog Field in 2015, but that didn’t happen and it’s now set the district back $150,000. Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Keith McBurnett, however, said the district is looking to get $105,000 back from one manufacturer. Last year, officials noticed some turf fibers sticking up higher than others, so they took a closer look, McBurnett said. “To most people, it probably wasn’t noticeable,” he said. “We had all the experts look at the field, and they looked at the backside. It needed to be replaced.” view article

North American Solutions (NAS), a leading provider of insurance and risk management services for public entities, is excited to announce that Michelle Faust, currently Director, Safety & Risk Management at Round Rock ISD, will be joining the NAS team in January. view article

A teen who was severely bruised in a "brutal and excessive" nightstick attack by a Pasadena ISD school resource officer has settled his federal lawsuit for $60,000. Cesar Suquet Jr. was 16 in May 2014 when he went to the principal's office at South Houston High School to retrieve his cell phone, which had been confiscated earlier that day. His request was declined and he was told to leave. view article

Garland ISD was one of just 10 districts statewide recently honored by The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). The district’s Risk Management Department earned a 2015 TASB Risk Management Fund Innovation Award for its creative safety video campaign. view article

Abilene ISD board approved the bid on Monday evening at its agenda review meeting. Construction coordinator for the district, Joe Humphrey, says Martinez Elementary took the brunt of the storm. view article

Three students from Stehlik Intermediate School in the Aldine Independent School District were taken to an area hospital Tuesday morning after a minor collision with a cement mixer. The wreck happened about 8 a.m. on West Road at Deer Trail Drive as the bus was transporting students to the school at 400 West Road, a school district spokeswoman said. The school is just west of Interstate 45. view article