November 8, 2018

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus: Texas and the Republican Party are "moving in opposite directions"

In a wide-ranging conversation with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith, Straus launched jabs at two fellow Republicans: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and President Donald Trump. He declined to weigh in on who should succeed him as the leader of the lower chamber.


By Alex Samuels, Texas Tribune


Republicans in the Texas House were dealt a big blow Tuesday night, losing 12 seats to Democrats and two in the Texas Senate.

Joe Straus, the Republican who has presided over the House for nearly a decade, said that's because win-at-all-cost politics may be effective at the state level, but "it creates carnage down-ballot in a changing state where a Republican Party and the state of Texas are moving in opposite directions."

The "small issues" that were popular among Republican primary voters didn't resonate in November, he said.

"Something had to give sooner or later," Straus said Wednesday morning.

In a wide-ranging conversation in his Capitol office with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith for the pilot episode of the Tribune's new podcast, Point of Order, Straus launched jabs at two fellow Republicans: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and President Donald Trump. Straus, who is leaving the House in January, declined to weigh in on who should succeed him as the leader of the lower chamber.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/07/texas-house-speaker-joe-straus-midterm-election-results/

November 8, 2018

In Texas, the "rainbow wave" outpaces the blue one

By Hannah Wiley, Texas Tribune


Fourteen of the 35 gay, bisexual and transgender candidates who ran for office in Texas during the midterms claimed victory Tuesday night — a 40 percent success rate in deep-red Texas — and national and state activists say they’re confident this election cycle carved a path for a future “rainbow wave” in Texas.

The historic number of Texas candidates who ran for offices from governor down to city council positions joined a record-shattering rank of more than 400 LGBTQ individuals on national midterm ballots this year.

“It shows that politics are changing and that more LGBTQ people feel comfortable to step out and run openly,” said Sean Meloy, political director at Victory Fund, a Washington D.C.-based LGBTQ group that fundraised for several Texas races.

LGBTQ candidates had plenty of fuel to inspire their campaigns and galvanize supporters, from Texas’ controversial “bathroom bill” to the Trump administration’s plans to eliminate "transgender" from legal terms.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/07/texas-midterm-election-rainbow-wave-lgbtq-candidates/

November 8, 2018

5th Circuit upholds feds' $33 million penalty for Texas decrease in special education funding

By Aliyya Swaby, Texas Tribune


Texas' decision to spend $33.3 million less on students with disabilities in 2012 will likely cost it millions in future federal funding after a Wednesday afternoon 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

According to the New Orleans-based court, the U.S. Department of Education was within its rights to try to withhold the same amount from Texas' special education grants, since a 1997 federal statute prohibits states from reducing their funding for kids with disabilities from year to year. Texas had appealed the department's decision, arguing that statute was vague and unenforceable.

A little more than a month after hearing both sides, and the day after a momentous midterm election, the three-judge panel effectively upheld the education department's decision to financially penalize Texas in an opinion that called the state's argument "unpersuasive." The 13-page opinion questions Texas' current system for funding special education, saying it could give the state reason to minimize the needs of kids with disabilities in order to save money.

The court also ruled that Texas must pay the federal government's appeal costs. Texas has not publicly indicated whether it will try to appeal the ruling.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/07/texas-special-education-funding/

November 8, 2018

State Rep. Ron Reynolds wins re-election from Montgomery County jail cell

By Jolie McCullough / Texas Tribune


MISSOURI CITY, Texas (Texas Tribune) - State Rep. Ron Reynolds is celebrating a re-election bid from a Montgomery County jail cell Wednesday.

Reynolds, D-Missouri City, won his re-election bid for State District 27 after running unopposed.

The Texas Tribune reported Reynolds turned himself in to authorities in Montgomery County back in September to begin serving his year-long jail sentence.

Reynolds was convicted in 2015 on misdemeanor charges for illegally soliciting clients for his personal injury practice and sentenced to a year in jail. He was out on an appellate bond for years while his case wound through the appeals process.

Read more: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/elections/state-rep-ron-reynolds-wins-re-election-from-montgomery-county-jail-cell/285-612216387

November 8, 2018

'We could fix so much': Madison Mayor Paul Soglin has plans for a Tony Evers administration

A day after Tony Evers secured a victory in the governor's race and energized Wisconsin’s Democratic base, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin is already making a to-do list for the new administration.

Soglin, who ran against Evers in the Democratic primary, said he paused a staff meeting three times Wednesday morning to add items to that list.

“There is eight years of pent-up dreams and Wisconsin values that have been contained and they’re all going to come up in the next 30 days even before (Evers) is inaugurated as governor,” Soglin said.

Soglin’s agenda for the governor-elect includes regulating electronic bicycles, addressing zoning regulations that allows unsewered condominium developments, changing voter ID laws and restoration of landlord-tenant laws. Most importantly, Soglin said Evers should address gerrymandering as the state approaches the 2020 census.

Read more: https://madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/we-could-fix-so-much-madison-mayor-paul-soglin-has/article_d33966b4-4ccb-5b7f-b361-683e513b4601.html

November 8, 2018

Madison School District investigating Hamilton Middle School teacher for calling a student the n-wor

Hamilton Middle School sent a letter to parents Tuesday night addressing an incident last week where a teacher allegedly used a racial slur against a seventh-grade student.

The Madison School District said in a statement that the teacher was asked not to report to school while officials investigate.

In the letter to parents, the school said it could not share details of the incident other than saying, "It involved the use of inappropriate racial language by a staff member, which has been reported in the media today." Madison365 first reported the incident Tuesday morning.

The student’s mother told the Cap Times the teacher intervened in a conversation between two students, and responded to the black student, “How would you like it if I called you a n-----?”

Rea more: https://madison.com/ct/news/local/education/madison-school-district-investigating-hamilton-middle-school-teacher-for-calling/article_db301c0c-eeb4-54d2-80cb-4fc031632fea.html

November 8, 2018

Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly approve ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana

Cannabis was the big winner in Wisconsin's midterm elections.

Cannabis referendums passed overwhelmingly in all 16 counties and 2 cities, with up to 88 percent support for medical and 76 percent support for recreational. While these referendums were only advisory, they show cannabis law reform to be more popular than many of the lawmakers who won in these areas. This should send a strong message to the incoming Wisconsin legislature that cannabis law reform — including medical cannabis, cannabis decriminalization, and cannabis legalization — must be a priority in 2019.

Another huge victory was kicking out staunch prohibitionist Gov. Scott Walker and prohibitionist Attorney General Brad Schimel and electing Tony Evers and Josh Kaul to replace them. Both Democrats are supportive of medical cannabis and open minded on recreational cannabis. The close margin in statewide races means they both owe their jobs to the hundreds of thousands of cannabis voters who came out to support the referendums.

U.S. Senate hopeful Leah Vukmir suffered a double-digit loss at the polls. As chair of the Wisconsin Senate's Health and Human Services Committee, she blocked all medical cannabis legislation. During a televised debate this fall, she claimed cannabis is more addictive than meth. Wisconsinites rejected her Reefer Madness-style fear-mongering on cannabis and they understand its safety and efficacy.

NORML plans to schedule meetings with Governor-elect Evers and legislative leadership to ensure the clearly demonstrated will of the people is quickly enacted.

Read more: https://www.wisconsingazette.com/news/wisconsin/wisconsin-voters-overwhelmingly-approve-ballot-initiatives-to-legalize-marijuana/article_e340f62e-e2f8-11e8-98e1-b78ef59e1e11.html

November 8, 2018

The Foxconn Con Just Keeps On Getting Better!

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a rather interesting article in their Business section this morning about another apparently unadvertised feature in the Foxconn deal negotiated by Governor Scott Walker on behalf of the State of Wisconsin. As you may remember, the state may be on the hook for $4 billion in incentives to Foxconn if they meet certain hiring requirements for the plant that they have under construction in Racine County. But Foxconn has already changed the size of the plant and the product line it is going to manufacture and the number of manufacturing employees they are going to need. Hmmmph!

Well here’s a few interesting NEW tidbits from the article:

Given some of the changes they have already made as briefly listed above and outlined in more detail in the linked article, I am not sure I want to take Terry Gou’s word over that of the Wall Street Journal. History has some relevance at times.

Read more: http://bloggingblue.com/2018/11/the-foxconn-con-just-keeps-on-getting-better/

November 8, 2018

Victoria man gets 27-month federal prison sentence for $1.3M wire fraud

A 48-year-old Victoria man received a 27-month sentence in federal prison and three years probation Tuesday for a 10-count wire fraud conviction.

Murray Wade Carson charged his employer from 2007 to 2015 by purchasing nonexistent products from Kirby Taylor Company, a company created by Carson himself. He pleaded guilty July 2.

“Carson admitted he submitted invoices from KTC for nonexistent goods, which he purchased using his employer-issued credit card,” according to the news release. “He then used his home computer to submit charges for these nonexistent goods.”

While handing down the sentence, Senior U.S. District Judge John Rainey noted that it was incredible that the crime went on for eight years until an auditor figured it out.

“That was the only thing that stopped you,” he said.

https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/victoria-man-gets--month-federal-prison-sentence-for-wire/article_df9d2eb8-e215-11e8-8f7f-dbdb7d7b9824.html

Related article:
Man accused of stealing almost $1.3M from employer
https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/local/man-accused-of-stealing-almost-m-from-employer/article_4c299f92-e194-5300-804d-b4aba90995ac.html

November 8, 2018

Party Chairs Reflect on a Night of Turnover in Dallas County

U.S. Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke’s near miss might be grabbing the national headlines, but Dallas County’s Democratic Party is in high spirits on Wednesday. The party helped young Democrat Colin Allred unseat long-running Republican Congressman Pete Sessions, saw wins in key state senate races, and ushered in a run of Democrats within the judicial system that includes a return to a blue district attorney.

“The blue wave was definitely here,” declared the party’s county chair, Carol Donovan. “We swept practically every race we had.”

It was a night of upsets. Allred, an attorney and former NFL player, knocked off Sessions, a name that’s become synonymous with North Texas politics, whose run in Congress dated back to 1997. “You believed in us when all the pundits didn’t,” Allred told his watch party at Dallas’ Magnolia Hotel Park Cities.

In a race we noted could be key for Democrats, Julie Johnson (D) knocked of D-115 incumbent Matt Rinaldi (R) by a sizable 56.7 percent to 43.3 percent margin. And, in one that Dallas County Republican Chair Missy Shorey singled out as one of the biggest surprises, Ana-Maria Ramos (D) took the seat from D-102’s Linda Koop (R), who Shorey called “an outstanding representative.” Those suburban districts span Irving, Addison, and Richardson. Overall, five seats in the Texas house turned blue among 11 flips across the state.

Read more: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2018/11/party-chairs-reflect-on-a-night-of-turnover-in-dallas-county/?ref=mpw