The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 11, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks. Today is Monday, August 11th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans reporter Cameron Abrams, and here is the rundown of today's news and Texas politics. First up, the Texas House lacked a quorum again on Monday, marking a week since Democrats first dragged the chamber to a halt, with many leaving the state and others remaining somewhere in Texas. House had 97 members present of the 100 needed to consider any business on the floor. Speaker Dustin Burroughs chided the absent Democrats stating, quote, the only thing standing between Texas and real disaster relief is whether our absent colleagues decide to show up tomorrow.

Starting point is 00:00:48 The House Calendar's Committee set five disaster and flood relief bills on the floor for Tuesday. Without a quorum, neither the flooding bills nor the congressional redistricting map can be taken up. Next, Odessa resident Wallace Dunn says he endured nearly three years of, quote, relentless and spiteful attacks from Oil and Gas Workers Association founder and president Matt Koday after leaving the board of directors and raising concerns about the group's legitimacy. Dunn filed an ongoing defamation lawsuit against Koday and OGWA, and now a state district court has dismissed Koday's counterclaim against him. Code A is a self-described truck driver turned political activist who rose

Starting point is 00:01:35 to national influence within the GOP, with his political assent largely propelled by his claim that OGWA has 47,000 members. That figure has been amplified by media coverage in major campaigns, despite warnings from former board members like Dunn, who have called the group a sham and financial records that indicate that number of dues-paying members did not exist when the claim began. According to the lawsuit, Dunn initially agreed to serve on OGWA's board to help get people to join his members. But from day one, he says he encountered irregularities, including being named to the board by Koday without any formal meeting or vote. After Dunn resigned from OGWA. He claims Coday launched a public smear campaign targeting him through OGWA's social media accounts,

Starting point is 00:02:32 the local newspaper, and direct communications. Also, Leanna Davis filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her next-door neighbor and father of her child, Christopher Cooper Rider, claiming he murdered her unborn child by dissolving chemical abortion pills in her drink without her knowledge. According to the complaint, Cooper Rider, quote, repeatedly brought the drugs to Davis's house when he came to visit. Sometimes Cooper Rider would leave the drugs behind at her house after he left in the apparent hope that Davis might change her mind and ingest the pills on her own initiative. After the haranguing failed to convince Davis, the lawsuit alleges that Cooper Rider took another approach. On April 2nd, when Davis was about eight weeks pregnant, he texted Davis about having a, quote, trust building night, during which he would make them warm tea and they could watch some television together.

Starting point is 00:03:29 On April 5th, Cooper Rider allegedly came to Davis's house for the quote, trust building and made Davis some hot chocolate to drink. Within 30 minutes of consuming the drink, Davis claimed she began hemorrhaging and cramping. Cooper Rider claimed he would go get Davis's mother to stay with the child, then take her to the emergency room. However, according to the lawsuit, Cooper Rider never picked up her mother nor took her to the emergency room. In other news, state rep Dennis Paul is again calling on fellow state lawmakers to reform and expand the Harris County Flood Control District to loosen the county's control over flood planning and expand the district to adopt a regional approach incorporating the San Jacinto River Basin. What's prompting this renewed push is the citizens of my district asking me to do it, Paul told the Texan. You can see mismanagement in Harris County and in the fact that they censured county judge Lena Hidalgo yesterday. So, internally, they've got all sorts of problems, and there's a chance they're going to lose matching funding for projects.

Starting point is 00:04:39 The Harris County Commissioner's Court currently governs HCFCD, but the district has come under scrutiny in recent years since the court adopted a new framework for the prioritization of flood control projects. It included a 20% weight for a social vulnerability index that awards higher scores to areas with lower incomes and higher minority populations. Paul's newly filed House Bill 253 would create a governing board initially composed of five members, four of whom would be appointed by the governor and one be appointed by the commissioner's court. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan. News and subscribe to get this. full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 11, 2025

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