Hill Country News 3161
University of North Texas names health school president Michael Williams sole finalist for system chancellor
BY KATE MCGEE at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 8, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The University of North Texas Board of Regents unanimously approved Michael Williams, current president of the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, as the sole finalist
Public invited to Kerr County Sheriff’s Foundation kickoff
A new nonprofit that was formed to provide additional resources to the sheriff’s office will hold its first fundraiser Tuesday evening in downtown Kerrville. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Foundation Kickoff Event, free and open to the public, will be 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Arcadia Live theatre, 717 Water St. There will be an auction,
Crowd again asks court not to accept ARPA funds
Residents who spoke at Monday’s meeting of the Kerr County Commissioners Court unanimously opposed the use of federal funding assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act, citing concerns it would be used to unduly enhance federal control over local affairs under the guise of helping locals deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most
Delta-8 is legal in Texas — for now — after Travis County judge blocks state from criminalizing the cannabis extract
BY KEVIN REYNOLDS at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 8, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Delta-8, the popular cannabis extract that was recently and suddenly outlawed in Texas, is temporarily legal again. State district court Judge Jan Soifer on Monday granted
Unvaccinated Texans make up vast majority of COVID-19 cases and deaths this year, new state data shows
BY KAREN BROOKS HARPER at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 8, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. New data from the Texas health department released Monday proves what health officials have been trying to tell vaccine-hesitant Texans for months: The COVID-19 vaccine dramatically
Gov. Greg Abbott tells state agencies to develop standards to block books with “overtly sexual” content in schools
BY CASSANDRA POLLOCK at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 8, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday told state education officials to develop statewide standards preventing “pornography” and “other obscene content in Texas public schools,” citing two memoirs about
More Texas voters unhappy than satisfied over power grid, abortion and property taxes, UT/TT Poll finds
BY JAMES BARRAGÁN at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 8, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Texas voters have a net disapproval for how state leaders have handled the reliability of the electricity grid, abortion and property taxes, according to a new University
U.S. reopens land borders with Mexico to vaccinated travelers
BY URIEL J. GARCÍA at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 8, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. EL PASO — After 19 months of closure, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday reopened its ports of entry to vaccinated travelers from Mexico,
Joe Biden’s popularity continues to plunge with Texans on issue of economy, border security and COVID-19, UT/TT Poll finds
BY ABBY LIVINGSTON at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 8, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s popularity among Texans has taken a precipitous slide in recent months, according to the latest Texas Tribune/University of Texas poll. The survey
Biden's COVID-19 vaccine rules for big businesses temporarily blocked by federal appeals court
BY KAILYN RHONE at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 6, 2021 Texas Republicans on Saturday claimed an early victory after a U.S. federal appeals court temporarily blocked the Biden administration from mandating that companies with more than 100 employees require workers to get coronavirus vaccines or submit to weekly testing. In a two-page order, the U.S. Court of
Sara Stapleton Barrera, 2020 primary challenger to state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., announces comeback bid as he retires
BY PATRICK SVITEK at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 6, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Sara Stapleton Barrera, who last year forced longtime state Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, into a primary runoff, has decided to run again now that the incumbent is
TribCast: How worried should Texas Democrats be about 2022?
BY MATTHEW WATKINS AND MICHAEL REY DE LEON at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 5, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Patrick, Reese and Neelam about Tuesday’s special election results, poll numbers in the governor’s race and oral
