July 1, 2022

What's next for Russia? - ABC News

Is Russia on the verge of becoming a pariah state after invading Ukraine or will it be welcomed back by the international community?

July 1, 2022

Three Austin-based advocacy groups sue TxDOT over I-35 expansion through Central Texas

Three Austin-based advocacy groups are suing the Texas Department of Transportation over plans to expand 28 miles of Interstate 35 through Central Texas, claiming that the agency improperly split the project into three parts and has failed to properly study its overall impact.

Rethink35, Texas Public Interest Research Group and Environment Texas filed the lawsuit, which asks the court to require TxDOT to reassess the entire project, consider its environmental impact and present meaningful alternatives to the current proposal.

TxDOT’s current plan — which calls for expanding 28 miles of I-35 from the south end of Round Rock to just north of Buda — has been in the works for years, with funding approved for parts of the project in 2019.

Adam Greenfield, executive director of Rethink35, said his group's position is that the project can't legally be split into north, central and south segments because all three are connected as part of a larger single project.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/06/29/austin-advocacy-groups-sue-txdot-i-35-expansion-traffic-congestion/7757674001/

July 1, 2022

Grand Prairie man requested public records -- and got $406,386 bill from school district

The request is overly vague and would take employees more than 22,000 hours to fulfill, Grand Prairie ISD says


Malcom Chakery is no stranger to Grand Prairie politics.

Chakery is editor of the online Grand Prairie News and founder of a 26,000-member Facebook page dedicated to all things Grand Prairie.

He is also a frequent critic of the school board for Grand Prairie ISD, where his two children attend school.

So when Chakery received an anonymous tip about a discrimination complaint involving a district employee, he shot off a public information request.

The school district’s reply? The records would cost Chakery $406,386.

“Receiving that cost estimate wasn’t all that shocking. Disappointing, yes, but in past dealings with Grand Prairie ISD, I have come to expect curveballs,” Chakery told The Dallas Morning News.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/06/30/grand-prairie-man-requested-public-records-and-got-406386-bill-from-school-district/

July 1, 2022

Without authority, Attorney General Ken Paxton declares an 'agency holiday'

Watchdog Dave Lieber: Paxton’s whim could cost taxpayers a half million dollars in lost work.


The one time I’ve seen embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was when I was leaving a luncheon and he was walking in. His face was familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I thought that he’s a Dallas Cowboys assistant coach or something.

When I got in the car, my wife Karen said, “That’s Ken Paxton.”

To me, he looks like a little man in his photographs, but he’s actually much taller than I imagined.

He’s still a little man.

The chief state law enforcement lawyer has faced legal troubles since before he took office almost eight years ago. My beef with him is he’d rather step into national politics (he spoke at the Jan. 6 rally before the attack on the U.S. Capitol: “We’re Texans. We’re Americans, and we’re not quitting,”) than work harder to protect Texas consumers from scammers and criminals.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2022/06/30/without-authority-attorney-general-ken-paxton-declares-an-agency-holiday/

July 1, 2022

Beau of the Fifth Column: Let's talk about finding your community network....