Opinion

In January of 2023, the 88th Texas Legislature had just convened. The session launched with the hope of additional funding for public schools to cover the rising costs of essential goods and services and to increase compensation for educators, who like everyone else were struggling with unprecedented inflation. The session also began with Governor Abbott promising to deliver on “school choice.” Even though the legislature earmarked $4 billion in additional funding for public schools, twelve months and four special sessions later we are right back where we started last year with no new money and even more uncertainty.

Some of the earlier knights of the coffee table arrived just before daylight, flipping their cups to the upright and fillable positions, and were joined quickly by Dewey, which is an unusual occurrence. Doc was the only one of us downwind from Dewey, and we watched to see if any fainting took place, but evidently Dewey had not yet begun his job of transferring soil nutrients from the dairies to people’s yards.

The Texas Railroad Commission has suspended nearly two dozen permits that allow oil and gas companies to inject saltwater into the ground, which regulators say has contributed to increased earthquakes of greater magnitude in West Texas.

I drove my parents to their cabin this week. My mom is having some terrible pain in her jaw and wasn’t sure she was up to drive, and my dad doesn’t see well enough to drive anymore.

Dud was awfully quiet all through the daily dissemination of anything on page one of the Valley Weekly Miracle, which wasn’t like him at all. Just sucked down caffeine and silently shook his head now and then.

The deadline to register to vote in the Texas Democratic and Republican primary elections is Feb. 5. Voters on March 5 will choose their nominees for president, U.S. Senator, all 38 U.S. House members from Texas, and a number of other state and local offices, from the Texas Supreme Court to district attorneys, sheriffs and county commissioners.

Bells are ringing and children are singing. It’s finally Christmastime in Texas! There’s no better place to enjoy the merriment of the season than in the town of Grapevine — our very own North Pole. Located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Grapevine has been officially designated as the “Christmas Capital of Texas” for its annual community-wide effort to put on more than 1,400 holiday events in a 40-day stretch beginning after Thanksgiving.

It’s the time of year when I look back and see where I’ve been and wonder where I’m going. On the shortest days of the year, I like to do a little recalibration.

After the Texas Legislature spent much of 2023 in session, a bevy of new laws go into effect on New Year’s Day, though some have been delayed by lawsuits challenging their constitutionality. The Austin American-Statesman reported on SB 17, a new law that institutes a ban on programs and policies “designed or implemented in reference to race, color or ethnicity” at Texas public universities or colleges — commonly known as diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.