The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 26, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Well, howdy folks. Today is Friday, June 26th, and you're listening to The Texans' Daily Rundown. I'm the Texan's Senior Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the Supreme Court of Texas determined on Friday that a woman who regretted her gender modification surgery did not file her claims too late to take her providers to court. In a case centered on the state statute of limitations in medical malpractice cases, Sorin Al-Daco of Tarrant County sued her health care providers and counselors for fraud and negligence over their roles in obtaining gender modification procedures for her, including a double mastectomy at age 19, a procedure she later came to regret. After the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth rejected Aldaco's appeal in November 2024 on the basis that her medical claim had expired,

Starting point is 00:00:58 affirming the Tarrant County District Court's prior summary judgment, the Supreme Court accepted her petition for review and scheduled the case for oral arguments on February 11th. The High Court's opinion was then issued by Justice James P. Sullivan four months later on Friday morning, reversing the finding that her claims had expired on the basis that the clock began ticking once the injury occurred, not when her therapist recommended Aldaco for the procedure. Next, the felony conviction of elected Fort Bend County Judge K.P. George is leading to legal confusion, as the county's Democratic commissioners claim that a criminal court's appointment of Republican interim Judge Daniel Wong is invalid. A jury found George guilty on two counts of federal money laundering and tampering with his campaign finance reports in March.

Starting point is 00:01:46 George also faced a civil removal lawsuit, and prior to his sentencing, visiting Judge Jeff Jones in April had ordered George suspended from office and appointed Wong, the 26 Republican nominee for county judge, to fill the unexpired. term. Then on June 17th, the civil removal case was non-suited, which Democrats say now implies Jones' appointment of Wong is no longer valid. Wong was seated in the county judge's seat at the beginning of the commissioner's court meeting on Thursday. After a failed vote on a proposal to exclude him from the meeting, Democratic commissioners Grady Prestige and Dexter McCoy walked out of the meeting. McCoy, the Democratic nominee for county judge, is running against Wong, the Republican nominee, the November general election. In other news, data centers were the topic of conversation at a hearing on Tuesday of the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources, with lawmakers asking for

Starting point is 00:02:41 more information about how data on water use is collected in the state. Clarifying water use by data centers was among the key issues covered in the hearing on June 23rd. Texas Water Development Board Planning Director Temple McKinnon began her testimony by stating, quote, we've been paying a lot of attention to this growing sector of water use for several years now. The Texas Water Development Board tracks groundwater, surface water, and reused water usage. McKinnon stated that only 17% of operating data centers in 2025 agreed to be studied by the TWDB, and that 98% of those data centers responded that they purchased water from public water systems. Last but not least, the second fastest growing city in the U.S. located in North

Starting point is 00:03:28 northwestern Fort Bend County has partnered with flock safety for a drone-first responder program, employing drones for faster and multidimensional emergency response. Made possible by a state grant, the Fulshare Police Department's drone program remains in its testing stages. As an operator steers the craft 48 hours a week from a control room within an FPD facility, and a member currently manages the takeoff and landing from the roof. FPD patrol lieutenant William Henry told the Texans, that the drone technology was developed by Flock Safety, a company perhaps best known for its license plate surveillance technology that it provides to both private and public entities throughout Texas. Police can compare the data collected by Flock through automatic license plate readers

Starting point is 00:04:14 in relation to stolen vehicles, missing persons, or other crimes, which law enforcement has successfully used to solve cases. Flock has come under scrutiny in recent years after complaints surfaced in 2024 that it had been installing and operating automatic license plate reader cameras on private properties without a license since 2021. DPS has granted flock a license for private operations, which is set to expire this September. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the texan.News to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 26, 2026

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