Did you know that many of Texas' most decisive elections happen in March — not November? These party primaries typically draw far fewer voters than the general election, even though many March winners face limited opposition in November. Our latest newsletter takes a closer look at who these voters are and why it matters for the future of our state. view article

The first small modular nuclear reactor could be powering an industrial plant in Texas early in the next decade. And the state is pushing to become the leading site for testing and building the technology. Less than three years after Gov. Greg Abbott announced the creation of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, Texas has become one of the main testing grounds in the United States for small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), a technology long discussed but with few real-world examples to show for it. view article

The 2026-28 alignments have been posted for volleyball, basketball and football. You can access this information HERE.  view article

Your one-stop shop for information on Houston public, charter and private schools. view article

Chinese national who spent three years researching cancer at MD Anderson while secretly working for a Chinese university has been sentenced to 364 days in the Harris County jail. view article

Omar posted the insults after the president asked for an investigation into her alleged role in Somali fraud. view article

Two Lorena High School seniors think a recent state law allowing parents more input in what books are in school libraries and classrooms leaves out an important voice: students.  Bethany Ryan and Megan Vrana, both 18 and avid readers, have put their argument together in "Every Voice Deserves a Shelf," a project submitted for competition organized by the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America student organization. view article

The day after the March 3 primary, President Donald Trump pledged to endorse either John Cornyn or Ken Paxton “soon,” and call on the other to drop out. He has yet to make an endorsement. view article

RAYMONDVILLE — Juan Rodriguez stood outside the El Valle Detention Center and watched as U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz escorted Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar, a McAllen teenager who had been detained there for 12 days.   Rodriguez was one of several demonstrators protesting Gámez-Cuéllar’s detainment. He took an interest in the teenager’s case because his fiancée is being held in the same facility and has a similar legal status.   The Gámez-Cuéllar family’s surprise detainment sparked nationwide outrage, propelled by the fact that they were detained while complying with a requirement to check in with the government — and because the brothers were part of an award-winning high school mariachi group who were invited by De La Cruz to perform at the U.S. Capitol last summer. view article

Today, Texas Values sent a letter to Austin ISD advising them that their scheduled Pride Week is against the law. Austin ISD is scheduled to have Pride week March 23-March 27. The letter explains how the scheduled Pride week violates a recent law Parents’ Bill of Rights law, Senate Bill 12, that was passed by the Texas Legislature in 2025. The Parents’ Bill of Rights prohibits references and activities regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. State Board of Education member Brandon Hall sent Austin ISD a letter last week requesting that the school district “immediately stop” Pride activities. view article

Marshall ISD has canceled classes for the day following a water main break, according to district officials. Parents are encouraged to either keep their students at home or pick them up if they are already on campus. District leaders say students who ride the bus may also be picked up by parents. view article

Brownsville may be getting a long-promised crude refinery, the nation's first new oil refinery in almost 50 years.  President Donald Trump announced the $300 billion project, to be funded by Reliance Industries, an Indian refining company owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, on Truth Social this week. But because of the more than decade-long attempt to get a light crude refinery built in Brownsville and the financial risk associated with such a project, the announcement has been met with some skepticism. view article

A plan to get more electricity to West Texas may come undone view article

JEFFERSON COUNTY — Bob Sanders bumps along the dirt roads of his 1,100-acre ranch in a beat up burgundy Chevrolet Suburban, the engine roaring as his sprawling cattle operation, known locally for its wagyu beef, stretches around him. A shotgun rides in the passenger seat and battered binoculars sit on the dashboard.  The sloping pasture where his rust-colored cows graze gives way to trees that flank a narrow ribbon of water. It doesn’t look like much, just a slow-moving channel threading through sweetgums and cypress, but this 2.6-mile stretch of the Big Cypress Bayou carries a lot of weight — it connects Lake O’ the Pines, the region’s main water supply, to Caddo Lake, the state’s only natural lake.  Water feels abundant in the area. But even in this lush corner of the state, water is increasingly top of mind. For Sanders and many of his neighbors, the bayou represents something increasingly fragile in Texas: water that still belongs to the landscape it came from.  The sloping pasture where his rust-colored cows graze gives way to trees that flank a narrow ribbon of water. It doesn’t look like much, just a slow-moving channel threading through sweetgums and cypress, but this 2.6-mile stretch of the Big Cypress Bayou carries a lot of weight — it connects Lake O’ the Pines, the region’s main water supply, to Caddo Lake, the state’s only natural lake.  Water feels abundant in the area. But even in this lush corner of the state, water is increasingly top of mind. For Sanders and many of his neighbors, the bayou represents something increasingly fragile in Texas: water that still belongs to the landscape it came from. view article

Lubbock ISD is revising the review process for its School Library Advisory Council as Texas lawmakers reshape what books can be placed on public school library shelves. Texas Senate Bill 13, which took effect this academic school year, establishes content guidelines for school libraries and allows parents, community members, and employees to challenge any book in a school library. view article

A program that grants taxpayer-funded stipends to families looking to send their children to private schools is expected to reach capacity in its first year, says acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock. Gov. Greg Abbott has long championed the “school choice” policy, which finally passed through the Legislature last summer after failing in the 2023 session. Critics have argued that the initiative will draw students away from public schools, which are already struggling to maintain class sizes. Because state funding for public schools is determined by attendance, opponents of the voucher system have warned that the stipends will undermine public education by diverting funds from the school districts that serve the majority of Texas children. view article

Democratic enthusiasm in the Valley’s four counties could foreshadow a November reversal of Trump’s historic 2024 sweep there — and signal that Latino voters have become swing voters. view article

A White Oak ISD committee voted 4-1 to move “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” from library circulation, citing concerns over student-appropriate content. view article

Liberty Hill ISD is planning to return to a five-day week next school year. LHISD's board of trustees approved the new academic calendar for the 2026-27 school year during its March meeting Tuesday night. The district says several factors affected the decision, including TEA requirements and staff development opportunities that are more likely to be approved for districts with five-day weeks. view article

Fort Bend ISD trustees voted Tuesday night to close seven elementary schools across the district after hours of debate, procedural votes, and emotional testimony from families worried about the future of their neighborhood campuses. The decision came as part of the district’s Long-Range Boundary Planning process, which leaders say is meant to address declining enrollment, underused campuses, and long-term financial planning. view article

Farrington Field could have some new neighbors. The Fort Worth school district is looking for a developer to buy and build up the land surrounding the 87-year-old stadium, according to a request for proposals released in January. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated the announcement on Tuesday, crediting Texas’ legal environment. Exxon has based its operations in the Houston area since 1989.   ExxonMobil is poised to move its legal headquarters from New Jersey to Texas in search of a more friendly business environment, the company announced Tuesday morning.   The board of directors for the largest U.S.-based oil producing company, which already runs its operations from the Houston suburb of Spring, unanimously recommended to its shareholders that they vote to redomicile the company in Texas.   Shareholders will vote on the change at the company’s annual meeting on May 27. If successful, it will move Exxon’s legal home for the first time since it registered in New Jersey in 1882 as Standard Oil Company — the company later changed its name to Exxon, then merged with Mobil Oil Corp. view article

Isaac Carrillo and Emmett Matthews each carefully guided a hoop along a metal path as they raced against their opponent.  The Azle High School seniors’ competition, though, wasn’t worried. In fact, it didn’t have feelings. It was a sleek, glossy white robotic arm conducting the same race albeit on one of its slowest settings.  The race was on at the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center’s table inside the TTI warehouse in north Fort Worth where more than 1,000 Tarrant County students attended the Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail’s third annual Career Expo on Wednesday.  Neither student, though, was interested in a manufacturing career. Instead, they want to pursue accounting. view article

Celina football is the epitome of Friday Night Lights: a powerhouse program built on championships and community pride. But that legacy has recently been overshadowed by a sex scandal involving a former middle school coach that sparked a police investigation and a district review. view article

Mansfield ISD sent a districtwide letter on Friday saying it has seen an increase in threatening language and inappropriate comments among students and is asking parents for help addressing the issue. A spokesperson did not respond to questions about what kinds of threats the district has seen but urged parents to talk with their children. view article

The TASBO Award of Excellence in Financial Management recognizes Texas school districts that demonstrate professional standards, innovative practices, and strong performance in financial management and reporting. Tomball ISD earns this honor for the second straight year, and is one of only 34 districts to earn this distinction. view article

Some of the Wichita Falls ISD’s oldest memories could soon be just a click away. The WFISD foundation is launching a new effort to digitize decades of school yearbooks. From pep rallies and school portraits, to clubs and graduation days, yearbooks capture moments that define generations of students. At Wichita Falls ISD, some of those memories go back more than 100 years. view article

Lawmakers are asking why a McAllen family that came to the U.S. legally was taken into custody during a meeting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers last month. Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and Caleb Gámez-Cuéllar, 14, are members of McAllen High School’s eight-time state championship Mariachi Oro band, and performed on Capitol Hill last June at the invitation of Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg. view article

Due to the district’s 2-hour delay caused by icy conditions in January, Leander ISD will make a minor adjustment to elementary and middle school bell schedules beginning March 24, 2026, when students return from Spring Break. A 5-minute change will recover instructional minutes lost during the late start and ensure the district remains in compliance with Texas Education Agency (TEA) requirements while creating the least disruption possible for students, families and staff. The adjustment will remain in effect for the rest of the school year. view article

The Austin Independent School District plans to find new non-education uses for five of the 10 campuses slated for closure this summer, but district administrators say they haven’t yet determined what they’ll do with the properties. view article

Spring Branch ISD directed campus leaders to remove a Ramadan display at Bunker Hill Elementary School, saying the decoration violated district policy.  A Ramadan display set up in the lobby of Bunker Hill Elementary School in Houston was removed earlier this week after Spring Branch ISD determined it violated the district’s policy on religious and political neutrality.  “Because the display was religious in nature, campus leaders were directed to remove it,” the district said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. A district spokesperson said the removal was prompted by a parent complaint.  he display was put up by the Parent Teacher Association’s cultural awareness committee. Casey Kaf Alghazal, the committee’s chair, said the school has had Ramadan-related decorations in past years, but this year’s display was larger than previous ones. It featured “Ramadan Mubarak” signage and crescent moon imagery in the school’s lobby. view article

Republican primary voters across Texas overwhelmingly supported a ballot proposition calling for the prohibition of Sharia law, according to unofficial results from the March 2026 Primary Election.  The measure—Proposition 10—asked voters whether Texas should prohibit the use of Sharia law. The proposition was one of 10 non-binding questions placed on the Republican primary ballot by the Republican Party of Texas to gauge grassroots priorities ahead of the party’s 2026 convention and the 2027 legislative session.  The propositions are advisory only but are often used by party activists and lawmakers to shape the party platform and future legislative priorities. view article

This Tuesday, Tribune reporters are watching two blockbuster senate primaries, an open attorney general seat, and more high-stakes, competitive races up and down the Texas ballot. view article

As companies look to build projects that consume more power than cities, ERCOT is trying to plan transmission. view article

Republicans on Capitol Hill are about to give President Donald Trump a major boost — a green light to conduct a war against Iran without worrying about Congress, at least for now.  The House and Senate are on track this week to vote down a pair of bipartisan war power resolutions aimed at limiting Trump’s ability to conduct the Iran campaign. Rank-and-file Republicans are prepared to back Trump, giving them co-ownership of a conflict that’s already unpopular with Americans.  The Senate is likely to vote Wednesday, with the House set to vote on Thursday. The House and Senate will receive separate briefings on Iran this afternoon from top administration officials.  Who to watch. In the Senate, previous GOP skeptics of Trump’s unilateral war-making authority say they’re comfortable with the president’s efforts on Iran. view article