The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 26, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Well, howdy folks. Today is Wednesday, August 26th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texan senior editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, State Representative Gina Hinojosa, this year's Democratic nominee for Texas governor, presented a fiscally focused message at a rally in Fort Worth on Tuesday night, mirroring the strategy of other statewide candidates this cycle. She said, quote, My agenda will be to secure the American dream. We will do that by saving Texas schools and putting money in your pocket.

Starting point is 00:00:42 Hina Hosa focused on property taxes and the cost of living in her stump speech, issuing social issues in an effort to outflank incumbent Governor Greg Abbott on affordability. In addition, Hinahosa, once ranked among the most liberal members of the Texas House, appealed to Republican voters and spoke optimistically about flipping Republican areas, such as Tarrant County. During a recent stop in Hood County where she spoke to self-identified former Abbott voters, Hina Hosa invited what she called hardcore MAGA Republicans to support Texas Democratic campaigns. She said, quote, we need them, we need everybody in this fight. That's how we win in 26. In other news, the Ross fire in Palo Pinto County has now spread across 80,000 acres and is 12%

Starting point is 00:01:31 contained as of Wednesday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The fire grew by more than 30,000 acres overnight after previously being reported at 50,000 acres Tuesday evening. An app from watch duty, a non-profit that provides alerts for wildfires and floods, shows 81, 990,000. 7.1 acres affected. Palopinto County Emergency Service District 1 fire chief, Danny Watkins, reported that the county sheriff's office received a 911 call at 1226 p.m. on Monday, reporting a grass fire two miles west of Palo Pinto on Highway 80. Within an hour, Watkins said, the department had reached a five-alarm fire status, a critical tier of emergency response that entails deploying dozens of fire companies, trucks, specialized support units, and high-level command staff to the area.

Starting point is 00:02:26 In a Tuesday press release, Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the state's request for a fire management assistance grant for the Ross Fire. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick highlighted State Senator Kevin Spark's Senate Bill 34 from last year in an ex-post, saying the bill, quote, Strengthens Wildfire Response by creating a centralized statewide database to track equipment, provides funding for rural volunteer fire departments and increases the annual funding cap for the rural volunteer fire department grant program. Last but not least, a high-speed rail line between Austin and San Antonio would cost about $13.5 billion to build, according to a recent feasibility study commissioned by Travis County Commissioner's Court.

Starting point is 00:03:14 The study, conducted by HNTB Corporation, assess the potential of a high-speed rail route between Austin-Burg, International Airport and the Amtrak station in San Antonio along State Highway 130 and Interstate 10. The proposed route would run about 125 miles per hour with a travel time of about one hour between the two cities. Travis County approved $125,000 to fund the feasibility study in October 2025. The proposed 89-mile route presents challenges because of the many cross-street overpasses and an existing right-of-way that has minimed. space to accommodate the rail route. These challenges contribute to the $13.5 billion price tag by requiring much of the route to be elevated.

Starting point is 00:04:00 The high-speed rail would also cost $190 million to operate and maintain annually, according to the report. The feasibility study did not include ridership or fair estimates for the proposed route. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan. News to get full access to all of our articles, news. articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - August 26, 2026

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