The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 13, 2024

Episode Date: May 13, 2024

Want to support The Texan and help us continue providing the Lone Star State with news you can trust? Subscribe today: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/The Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick recap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Be sure to visit The Texan and subscribe for complete access to our in-depth articles, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review!

Howdy folks, today is Monday, May 13th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Marketing and Media Manager Daniel Friend, and here's the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First, in the increasingly heated Democratic primary runoff for Houston's Texas House District 146, Dallas area Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett endorsed challenger Lauren Simmons over incumbent Representative Sean Thierry. Crockett said at a campaign event that Texas House Democrats held a private meeting with Speaker Dade Phelan to discuss their breaking quorum in 2021, saying her colleagues won't snitch and tell the story.

She added that Phelan was asked if he would remove Democrats from their committee seats as a punishment. Thierry later said that Crockett completely made up that story that Theory asked in particular about committee assignments. Republican Representative Nate Schatzlein claimed that Phelan had, quote, made a deal with House Democrats to break quorum, which Crockett countered, claiming that Phelan, quote, didn't want us to break quorum at all. Next up, the University of Austin, or UATX, is seeking to continue to pave the way for academic freedom since its inception in 2021, and now they are looking to the future with a new partnership with an Austin innovation hub. UATX and Capital Factory, an early-stage startup investor and

entrepreneur community, are partnering to offer, quote, a unique blend of tradition and innovation. Capital Factory has connected entrepreneurs and innovators in Texas with some of the largest companies in the world, including Oracle, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and the U.S. Army. It hosts over 900 annual events and connects entrepreneurs with mentors and other innovators through networking events. Kerry Waters, chief innovation officer at UTX, told the Texan that the partnership with Capital Factory will be just the beginning and kickstart future innovation. Innovations in entrepreneurship and sectors related to the defense industry,

space technology, and the oil and gas industry were all reasons why Waters says Texas, and Austin particularly, is attracting people from all over the country and why students and faculty are choosing to come to UATX. Turning to North Texas, the May 7th meeting of the Tarrant County Commissioner's Court was an eight-hour affair full of protest and frustration. Many citizens attending the meeting over controversy regarding County Judge Tim O'Hare and Commissioner Alisa Simmons. Others came to speak on the issue of deaths within the Tarrant County jail system. Tuesday's meeting also included a briefing from County Administrator Chandler Merritt on behalf of the Sheriff's Office regarding deaths in the county jail,

and a briefing from the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office on its decision to appeal a voter fraud case from the Second Court of Appeals. The controversy regarding O'Hare and Simmons started with the last Commissioner's Court meeting, which occurred on April 16th. The discussion devolved into an argument between O'Hare and Simmons, with both talking over each other trying to control the argument. At one point, O'Hare said, quote, I'm the one talking now, so you'll'Hare said, Before the sentence was finished, Simmons said, Later during the same meeting, in the middle of a discussion on voting ballots, O'Hare asked Simmons to have a semblance of class.

Finally, despite opposition and the decision of an administrative law judge, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voted Friday, May 10th to approve the City of Wichita Falls permit to move forward with building an additional reservoir in Clay County. Lake Ringgold is part of the State Water Plan for Region B in north-central Texas. Currently, the estimated cost for Lake Ringgold is about $443 million. The plan came about after the severe drought in Wichita Falls from 2011 to 2015. The reservoir would be built by damming part of the Little Wichita River to fill a 16,000-acre site. Deborah Clark, who owns the Birdwell and Clark Ranch that would be impacted by Lake Ringgold, was one of the Protestants to the case. She was disappointed

with the DCEQ's decision. We were disappointed, but not defeated, Clark said, but it was gratifying to see more than 40 people show up in support of the Protestants. She said the affected landowners planned to continue fighting through an appeal in district court. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.