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COVID Metrics Improve Nationwide As U.S. Deaths Pass 700K

COVID Metrics Improve Nationwide As U.S. Deaths Pass 700K

New Texas House Maps Would Protect GOP Statewide

New Texas House Maps Would Protect GOP Statewide

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Trump Tells Texas Four County Audit Isn't Good Enough

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 30, 2021

Days after Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration hastily announced a partial audit of Texas’ 2020 election results, former President Donald Trump declared that the limited audit wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him or the legions of MAGA diehards in the Lone Star State. In a statement to the Texas Tribune Wednesday,...
Over 1.2 Million Marriage Licenses Added To Harris County's Website

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 30, 2021

Access to Harris County’s marriage records took a leap into the 21st century on Wednesday, as the Harris County Clerk’s Office announced it had added more than 1.2 million marriage license records to its website, making it possible to view copies of them and purchase them online. All Harris County...
GOP-Drawn Texas Congressional Map Gives Wesley Hunt A New Red Seat For The Taking

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 29, 2021

When the GOP Texas Senate on Monday unveiled its proposed new district maps for Texas’ seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the likely impact on greater Houston’s slate of congressmen and women was pretty clear. Local red districts would get redder and blue districts would get bluer under the...
Abbott Tells Fox News A Rape and Incest Exception To New Abortion Ban Won't Happen

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 27, 2021

In a recent Fox News interview, Gov. Greg Abbot didn’t flinch when questioned as to why Texas’ new “heartbeat bill” that’s effectively banned abortions as early as six weeks after conception doesn’t have any exceptions for rape or incest, and said he believes there’s no way the Republican-led Texas Legislature...
Trump-Backed Audit, a Hasty Senate and a Sleepy House Mark Week One of Texas' Third Special Session

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 27, 2021

One week into the Texas Legislature’s third round of overtime, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Senate has already cranked out plenty of GOP priority legislation and even a first stab at new Senate districts maps at a breakneck pace. Meanwhile, the biggest news to come out of the Texas House is...
Pro-Choice Groups Beg U.S. Supreme Court To Hurry Up And Rule On Texas Abortion Ban

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 24, 2021

Sick of being forced by Texas’ controversial “heartbeat bill” to tell Texans seeking abortions they’ll have to venture hundreds of miles out of state to have their pregnancies terminated, Texas abortion providers and pro-choice groups filed an emergency request Friday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to bypass the normal appeals...
Texas COVID Deaths Surge While Hospitalizations Fall As Delta Wave Continues

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 24, 2021

As public health experts predicted all along, the quick rise in Texas COVID-19 cases from the summer’s Delta surge has finally been followed by a dramatic uptick in deaths from the virus. While there are now thousands fewer Texas hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients than there were a few...
Exonerated Doctor Accused Of Stealing Vaccines Sues Harris County For Over $1 Million

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 21, 2021

Dr. Hasan Gokal was fired by Harris County Public Health for allegedly stealing COVID-19 vaccine doses in December. But after he was found to have committed no crime by a local judge, a county grand jury and the Texas Medical Board, Gokal — a Pakistani immigrant — has now sued Harris County...
Trial Shows Pfizer Vaccine Safe For Kids As FDA Panel Breaks With Biden On Booster Plan

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 20, 2021

Millions of parents with young kids breathed a collective sigh of relief across the United States Monday morning, as Pfizer announced its trial of its two-dose COVID-19 vaccine found the shots were safe and effective for children ages five to 11. While full authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine in kids five...
Over 14,000 Harris County Residents Are Overdue For Second Vaccine Dose

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 17, 2021

More than 14,000 people in Harris County are overdue for getting their crucial second COVID-19 vaccine shot, despite public health officials’ attempts to persuade folks who’ve received their first shot of a two-dose coronavirus vaccine how important shot number two is in granting maximum coronavirus protection. Those under-vaccinated residents coupled...
Over 80,000 in the Houston Area Still Lack Electricity Post-Nicholas

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 15, 2021

Nicholas may have weakened into a Tropical Depression and hightailed it out of Texas for Louisiana already, but for the tens of thousands of Houston area residents who still haven’t had their power restored, the storm's impact is still far from a memory. CenterPoint Energy reported that 83,878 of its...
Nicholas Exits Stage Right, But Plenty of Residents Remain Powerless

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 14, 2021

Tropical Storm Nicholas continued its eastward path out of the Houston area throughout Tuesday, leaving most of inland Harris County relatively dry but still struggling with widespread power outages and scattered debris. While the more southeastern reaches of Harris County saw significant rain totals and a healthy storm surge early...
Power Outages From Nicholas Likely To Last As It's Still Too Windy For Crews To Start Work

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 14, 2021

In brief remarks updating the public on Harris County’s response to Tropical Storm Nicholas, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday warned residents without power that they may not have their electricity restored any time soon, as CenterPoint crews will not be sent out into the field until the strong...
Hidalgo Asks Harris County Residents To Stay Put Monday Night Due To Nicholas

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 13, 2021

As the first bands of rain from the edges of Tropical Storm Nicholas continued to drop water across greater Houston, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo spoke Monday afternoon about the county’s response to the fast-approaching storm. “We could get 10 to 15 inches of rain over the next 24 hours...
Houston Area Leaders and Schools React As Tropical Storm Nicholas Zooms Toward Texas

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 13, 2021

As Tropical Storm Nicholas barrels toward the Gulf Coast, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a brief update on the city’s preparations for what’s expected to be a heavy rain event that could cause significant flash flooding in parts of the greater Houston area. Meanwhile, several local school districts responded quickly...
Turner Orders Mandatory COVID Tests For Unvaccinated City Employees

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 8, 2021

Amid anecdotal reports that only 50 percent or fewer of Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department employees had been vaccinated against COVID-19, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s communications director told the Houston Press last week that Turner was still considering issuing a vaccine mandate for city employees. But during Wednesday’s...
Are Mask Rules Why HISD Has Tallied Fewer COVID Cases Than Way Smaller FBISD?

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 8, 2021

One, two, three, four — Those aren’t just the first four numbers Houston ISD’s youngest students are taught. Throw them all together in a row and you end up with 1,234, the total cumulative number of COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday afternoon among HISD students and staff members since the...
Abbott Signs Controversial GOP "Election Integrity" Bill Into Law

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 7, 2021

After Labor Day weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott got right back to work by signing into law Senate Bill 1, the Republican-backed slate of election changes that he and his supporters proclaim as a defense against voter fraud and critics say is nothing but a way to make it harder for...
Citing Low HPD & Fire Department COVID Vaccinations, Turner Considers City Worker Mandate

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 3, 2021

Given anecdotal reports that only 50 percent or fewer of Houston Police Department and Houston Fire Department employees have taken a COVID-19 vaccine, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is considering issuing a vaccine mandate for city employees, Turner's communications director has told the Houston Press. When answering a question about tracking...
Election Bill Hits Abbott's Desk While Fights Over Other GOP Priorities Heat Up

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 1, 2021

With less than a week left in the Texas Legislature’s second straight overtime round of lawmaking this summer, state Republicans have finally delivered Gov. Greg Abbott the “election integrity” bill he and the GOP base have been clamoring for, the one that will supposedly prevent Texas from falling victim to...

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