May 29, 2020

State board issues final rejection to proposed new charter school in Tulsa

A last-ditch effort at sponsorship by proponents of a new charter school as part of a yet-to-be constructed housing development in northwest Tulsa failed on Thursday.

One Oklahoma State Board of Education member said he could not support the idea because it “feels like state-sponsored gentrification.”

The proposal called for a school called Harlow Creek Elementary to be built at the site of a future residential neighborhood development called “Evolving Communities,” located in the Osage Hills near Edison Street and 33rd West Avenue. Its plan was to open in fall 2021 and serve up to 80 students in kindergarten through third grade initially, then expand each year until it offers prekindergarten through grade five.

Scott Pardee, the would-be school founder and developer, had appealed to the state school board for sponsorship because the Tulsa school board denied the charter school proposal in late January.

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/education/state-board-issues-final-rejection-to-proposed-new-charter-school-in-tulsa/article_19d96d0a-240a-53c6-8036-3a6214af4c2d.html

May 29, 2020

Gov. Kevin Stitt and local officials make pitch for Tulsa during meeting with Elon Musk

Some state and local officials, including Gov. Kevin Stitt, got a chance to make their case for Tesla in Tulsa at a dinner in Florida this week with Elon Musk.

Musk and the Tulsans were guests of National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator Jim Bridenstine for Wednesday’s planned launch of a SpaceX rocket carrying two NASA astronauts into space.

The launch was postponed because of weather conditions, but the Tulsa delegation was able to make an in-person pitch to Musk for his new Tesla Cybertruck factory.

Musk is the CEO and product architect of Tesla and founder of SpaceX. The Associated Press recently reported that Tulsa and Austin, Texas, were finalists for the new plant.

Read more: https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/gov-kevin-stitt-and-local-officials-make-pitch-for-tulsa-during-meeting-with-elon-musk/article_3f72c855-4794-52d7-8439-6cc4870fd7c7.html

May 29, 2020

Jimmy Kimmel's Quarantine Monologue - Trump Wants to SHUT DOWN Twitter

May 29, 2020

Federal judge says Texas owes $6.8 million in attorney's fees for voter ID case

AUSTIN — The state of Texas owes nearly $6.8 million in attorney’s fees to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit over the state’s controversial voter identification law, a federal judge said Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of Corpus Christi ordered the state to pay a total of nearly $6.8 million to the 13 law firms that represented plaintiffs in the seven-year legal battle which began in 2011.

The case, which was at the forefront of the voter ID law battles in the country, touched every level of the federal court system. It was heard multiple times at the district court and appeals court level and even reached the Supreme Court where the justices rejected an appeal by the state to stay a lower court’s ruling that the law discriminated against African-Americans and Hispanics.

Along the way, federal courts found five times that the law discriminated against minorities. Gonzales Ramos, an Obama appointee, found twice that the law was crafted to intentionally discriminate against these groups.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/05/28/federal-judge-says-texas-owes-68-million-in-attorneys-fees-for-voter-id-case/

May 29, 2020

Texas Southern University gave $2 million in aid to unqualified students, review finds

by Shannon Najmabadi, Texas Tribune


An external review of admissions irregularities at Texas Southern University found that the school awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to students who did not meet its academic admissions criteria from fall 2017 through 2019, according to an executive summary released Thursday.

A significant number of freshman students — 4,141 of 8,273 — were also admitted despite not meeting academic requirements and were instead accepted “based upon a variety of undocumented scenarios" during those years. The university enrolls about 10,000 students, with a freshman class of around 2,000. Many of the underqualified students are no longer enrolled at Texas Southern, the summary says.

The full report, also reviewed by The Texas Tribune, says an anonymous complaint was sent to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in November 2018, alleging that the university, one of the country’s largest historically black colleges, “tried to increase enrollment by encouraging staff to admit all candidates, regardless of whether the candidate met the university's academic admissions criteria.”

The university’s office of internal audit issued a report about six months later, including the number of admitted students who did not meet the baseline academic admissions criteria. The figures were markedly lower than those found by the external reviewers, who recommended that the university reissue an updated report to “reflect a more accurate analysis.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/28/texas-southern-university-gave-2-million-aid-unqualified-students-revi/

May 29, 2020

The Castros say they'll work to beat Donald Trump, but they haven't made their support for Joe Biden

by Patrick Svitek and Alex Samuels, Texas Tribune


As the general election for president has come into focus, there has been no doubt whom the Castro brothers will support.

Julián Castro, the former U.S. housing secretary and mayor of San Antonio, reiterated that again this week.

“Everybody understands that the No. 1 goal has to be to replace this president,” he told “The New Abnormal” podcast Tuesday. “That is certainly my goal to replace the president, and I’m going to do whatever I can, whatever is asked, to do that.”

But with Democrats all but unified behind former Vice President Joe Biden as their presidential nominee, two of the party’s highest-profile members in Texas have not made their support official yet. Neither Julián Castro nor his brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, has formally endorsed Biden, though both insist they are committed to ensuring the defeat of President Donald Trump in November.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/28/julian-castro-joaquin-castro-joe-biden/

May 29, 2020

Texas will extend early voting period this fall, Gov. Greg Abbott says

by Patrick Svitek, Texas Tribune


Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday he will extend the early voting period for an unspecified amount of time during the November election as concerns continue to persist around in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Abbott has already doubled the time period for the primary runoff election July 14, calling it necessary so that "election officials can implement appropriate social distancing and safe hygiene practices."

In a TV interview Thursday afternoon, Abbott was asked if he believes Texas voters will be able to cast their ballots safely not only this summer but also in the fall.

"We do, and for this reason, and that is ... Texas has always had early voting, and what I did for the July time period and what we will do again for the November time period is we will extend the early voting period," Abbott said in the interview with KCBD in Lubbock. "And what that does — it allows more people to go vote early in settings that are not highly congregated. As a result, you can go vote without having to worry about a whole bunch of people being around you that you could contract COVID-19 from. That makes voting a lot safer [of a] setting than it would otherwise be with the shortened early voting time period."

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/28/texas-2020-early-voting-greg-abbott-coronavirus/

May 29, 2020

Ban hand-held cell phones while driving in Louisiana? House gives a resounding no

A bid to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving was rejected Wednesday by the Louisiana House.

The vote was 40-59, continuing a longtime pattern of lawmakers resisting major cell phone regulations.

The measure, Senate Bill 50, earlier breezed through the Senate on a 31-5 vote.

Backers said the change would trim the number of traffic accidents and fatalities, and that similar laws are already in place in 19 states.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_8a79fb80-a01b-11ea-a0c4-dff4e846c816.html

May 29, 2020

Judge sides with Louisiana governor in feud with treasurer

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana district judge has ordered state Treasurer John Schroder to transfer more than $32 million in unclaimed property money to cover government operating expenses, siding with Gov. John Bel Edwards in a lawsuit over the money.

Judge Richard “Chip” Moore said the Republican treasurer improperly withheld the money from the state general fund after lawmakers appropriated it in the budget for spending on state programs and services.

The Edwards administration hailed the decision Thursday, as the Democratic governor has been feuding with Schroder over the money for months.

“Treasurer Schroder’s unprecedented action to withhold these funds clearly violates the law, and we are grateful for Judge Moore’s decision,” Edwards' chief lawyer, Matthew Block, said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.americanpress.com/news/state/judge-sides-with-louisiana-governor-in-feud-with-treasurer/article_e07b940c-5f81-50f5-8b3f-8a0b8e2448c3.html
(Lake Charles American Press)

May 29, 2020

Louisiana Legislature approves major gambling expansion

Louisiana's Legislature has approved a major gambling expansion that will allow voters in each parish to decide whether they want to legalize sports betting.

The House voted 71-24 late Wednesday for Senate Bill 130 by Sen. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, the final legislative hurdle. Henry's bill now goes to Gov. John Bel Edwarrds' desk for his signature.

It will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot if Edwards signs the bill into law.

But even in parishes where voters approve the measure the ability to place a bet on their favorite college or pro sports teams could still be a year or more away.

Read more: https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/2020/05/28/louisiana-legislature-approves-major-gambling-expansion/5274089002/
(Monroe News Star)