Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Austin Rep. Gina Hinojosa on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics: ⁠https://youtu.be/S471DfitaQk?si=70WK-VmY5gW4Ccen⁠ The state is now issuing permits for oil producers to dump millions of gallons of toxic "produced water" into Texas rivers and streams: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/29/texas-treated-produced-water-disposal-di...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Travis County Attorney Delia Garza's office will not prosecute any of the 46 trespassing cases resulting from Wednesday's police crackdown at UT Austin: https://thehill.com/homenews/4622384-texas-prosecutor-appeals-ruling-that-tossed-crystal-masons-voting-fraud-conviction/ ...UT president Jay Hartzell releases a second statement:...

The week started badly enough - with small-town Republicans taking advantage of a newly-modified state law that allowed them to threaten to replace popular Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza with a stooge of their choosing. Then it got worse, with a dramatic overplay of police force as administrators at UT Austin called in militarized DPS troopers to crush a pro-Palestinian protest. What d...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Developments continue in the aftermath of the violent police stampout of a pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2024/04/24/ut-austin-campus-student-protest-arrest-pro-palestine-protests-walk-out/73425149007/ ...Governor Abbott stands by the crackdown: https://www.chron.com/news/article/greg-abbo...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The new law that has allowed an attempt by rural Republicans to oust Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza makes ALL DA's across the state vulnerable in the same way: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2024/04/why-is-someone-suing-to-get-travis-county-da-jose-garza-out-of-office-and-what-comes-next/ Ted Cruz stuck with a small...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Elected Democratic leaders are decrying Republican efforts to remove Travis County DA Jose Garza: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2024/04/22/lloyd-doggett-rogue-prosecutor-travis-county-district-attorney-da-jose-garza-texas-democrats/73412765007/?utm_source=statesman-newsalert-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsal...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Texas mom and reproductive rights activist Amanda Zurawski is on the trail with the Biden/Harris campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdBwynnn9HE Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza has been targeted for removal under a new state law by Comal and Bell County Republicans: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/20/texas-rogue-pros...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: This 4-20, we recognize that while over half of the United States now enjoys either legal recreational cannabis or at least generous medical allowances, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to take away even the inferior weed alternatives we have to settle for in Texas: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2024/04/18/texas-lt--...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: After a 9-0 unanimous loss at SCOTUS in a property rights dispute for Texas, Ken Paxton curiously claims it was actually a win: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4600506-lawyers-for-texas-rancher-blast-paxtons-claim-of-supreme-court-win/ Recent Biden administration expansion of debt cancellation will benefit almost 217,000 Texa...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A new poll shows Ted Cruz leading Colin Allred by less than the percentage of undecided voters: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/elections/texas-poll-cruz-allred-trump-biden-race/285-bcc3a200-0d18-448d-ba7a-90e8fa4996dd Texas Republican Congressmen Michael McCaul and August Pfluger are among the GOP gang who delivered the futile...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that protest organizers are liable for the actions of attendees, undermining the First Amendment right of gathering and demonstration: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/texas-right-to-protest-19403818.php ...While video of the death of another unarm...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Not only is it Tax Day here in mid-April, but we've also already started getting warnings of power failures from ERCOT: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-12/texas-warns-of-possible-power-emergency-next-week Hard right GOP Texas House lawmakers have written up a Contract On Texas, which would allow them to push through th...

Late last week, the Biden administration and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced a new rule designed to close the infamous "gun show loophole" - gaps in background check requirements that allowed basically anyone, regardless of criminal background or mental state, to buy a gun from a dealer outside of a brick-and-mortar shop. And - right on cue - our...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Those "I'm In Control" pro-adoption billboards are not only misleading about the realities of adoption as an abortion alternative - they're also being paid for by YOUR tax dollars: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/misleading-ads-no-remedy-cruelty-texas-abortion-19324750.php ...While San Antonio...

Any time a bright idea comes springing from the Republican-led Texas Legislature, alarm bells should go off for Texas progressives - and newly-created elected positions of oversight for county appraisal districts are certainly no exception. Should the GOP succeed in their plans to monkey-wrench the tax apprasal processes of large (and generally Democratically-run) cities, you can count on them to...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Two advocacy groups have asked the Federal Election Commission to look into Ted Cruz's podcast income, which may have been sent to a PAC supporting his re-election illegally: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/ted-cruz-podcast-campaign-finance-complaint/ The Texas Education Agency is planning to replace up to $20 million in human l...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: With new developments in Arizona against reproductive freedom, now's the time for Texas abortion rights advocates to redouble our efforts: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/04/immigration-abortion-texas-greg-abbott-migrant-border-crisis-stunts.html H-E-B stores are stocking a new over-the-counter birth control medication: https...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Yesterday's historic eclipse reminds us how far solar power infrastructure has come in Texas: https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/eclipse-overshadows-texas-solar-power-strength-2024-04-08/ A group of nine Houston-area state lawmakers are calling for a public hearing about potential violations of state law by Houstpn ISD, still under...

Stories we're following thi s morning at Progress Texas: Happy Eclipse Day! Careful with your glasses and good luck with the weather. Eagle Pass is missing out on a huge, rare windfall with Operation Lone Star occupying Shelby Park, where a big eclipse festival had been planned: https://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-gov-greg-abbott-already-managed-to-screw-up-the-eclipse A video of Texas Supreme...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: At a speaking event at the University of Texas yesterday, Republican and former House Speaker Joe Straus confirms that oil billionaire Tim Dunn told him during a 2010 meeting of his opinion that only Christians should hold positions of leadership in the Texas Legislature: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/04/tim-dunn-joe-straus-christi...

Progress Texas proudly endorsed Houston progressive activist and organizer Lauren Ashley Simmons in her race to replace fellow Democrat Shawn Thierry in the Texas House - and she came within half a point of unseating one of the least-reliable Democrats in that body in the primary last month. The runoff election is coming up on May 4 - one month from the publishing of this episode - and we're p...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Colin Allred on The Daily Show this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtnYzqWtIKE After yesterday's hearing at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, SB-4 remains blocked for now: https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/crime/texas-controversial-immigration-law-remains-on-hold-shelved-by-3-judge-panel/ar-BB1l1WlU ...Meanwhile a Texas National G...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: SB-4 will see a hearing at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals today, with a focus on its constitutionality: https://www.npr.org/2024/04/03/1242451969/a-controversial-immigration-law-will-be-back-in-court-in-texas ...While the Southern Poverty Law Center discovers that Operation Lone Star has been paying a Texas hate group millions of dollar...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Colin Allred trails Ted Cruz in some polls, but has beaten the odds against established Republicans before: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2024/03/qa-senate-hopeful-colin-allred-says-november-election-is-larger-than-our-own-problems/ ...Allred highlights Ted Cruz's lockstep support for Texas' abortion ban and the potential...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The chief judge of the Northern District of Texas says his court will not follow new rules from the Judicial Conference designed to curb "judge shopping": https://www.commondreams.org/news/judge-shopping-texas A Starr County woman has sued the Starr County prosecutor's office over false murder charges they pressed upon her o...