Texas Public Radio, 321 W. Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX (2025)

08/06/2025

A coordinated quorum break in the Texas House is paralyzing the state's special legislative session — casting doubt over what, if anything, can be accomplished before the session ends later this month.

More than 50 House Democrats left the state primarily to block House Bill 4, a redistricting plan passed along party lines that would dramatically reshape Texas' congressional maps to create up to five new Republican-held seats, fulfilling a goal pushed by President Donald Trump.

Over the last few days, the House has convened briefly, only to adjourn after confirming there aren't enough members present.

Gov. Greg Abbott called the special session to address a range of priorities, including mid-decade redistricting, upgrading emergency alert systems after the July 4 floods in the Hill Country, regulating the sale of THC, eliminating the STAAR test and expanding the attorney general's authority to prosecute election crimes.

But without a quorum, the House is unable to debate or vote on legislation — effectively stalling every bill filed during the session, regardless of whether it passes the Senate.

Despite the uncertain future, the Senate has continued moving forward, passing Senate Bill 7 out of committee on Tuesday. The proposal would require people in public schools and government buildings to use bathrooms that match their s*x assigned at birth.

But even if the Senate passes SB 7, the bill can't advance without action in the House.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-08-05/texas-house-quorum-break-grinds-special-session-to-a-halt-leaving-legislative-future-uncertain?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754436204

08/06/2025

After the July 4 flash flood that turned the Upper Guadalupe River into a disaster area, Texas lawmakers came to Kerrville on Thursday to get answers about what went wrong.

The death toll from the Texas flood has reached at least 138, with 27 of those deaths occurring at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls.

Lawmakers on the Select Disaster Preparedness & Flooding Committee heard stories from the survivors of the flood and their demands for help in the region’s recovery, including that of Nancy Zdunkewicz of Hunt. She told the panel that she and her family fled their property on the Guadalupe River in the early morning of July 4 as the flood waters were rising, but it was too late. Their car was caught in the flood waters and they— including her 66-year-old mother— were forced to climb a tree to survive.

“Had there been early detection of the rising water and sirens, we may have been able to leave in time to get to higher ground safely,” Zdunkewicz said.

“I’ve heard someone else say, they didn’t think that was necessary or would save lives in Hunt, and they are dead wrong,” she said.

Zdunkewicz said she was concerned that Hunt would be overlooked in the recovery as most of the response funding could be dedicated to Kerrville.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/podcast/texas-matters/2025-08-03/texas-matters-the-kerr-county-flash-flood-hearing-and-redistricting?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754429639

08/06/2025

In the memoir, Love, Rita, the eponymous Rita is the older sister of author, Bridgett M. Davis.

Rita was four years older than Bridgett. Family lore tells that Rita once told a very baby Bridgett, “Shut your damn mouth.” The incongruity of a four-year old saying that to an infant can be unexpected and humorous. And maybe it spoke to a tiny seed of sisterly rivalry that was planted just then. But these sisters were also very close—with a bond that was fortified by their love for their family and each other.

Rita was “vivacious.” She blazed trails as the first in the family to go to college—at the age of 16. She was a car test driver, an amateur belly dancer, an MBA, and a beloved special education teacher.

And then, Rita was diagnosed with lupus.

What is it like to be a Black woman in America—in a country where implicit bias can be part of health care, where people of color are chronically exposed to social and economic disadvantages that pointedly affect the health of Black men and women?

Love, Rita is an emotional portrait of sisterhood–with the real challenges of rivalry and growing up with big dreams in a world not created to make our lives easier in realizing them. It’s a story about the persistent effects of racism in the lives of Black women and men.

It’s a story of heartbreak and loss. It's a story about the joys of sisterhood, too, and the abiding love Rita and Bridgett forged for each other through it all.

Bridgett M. Davis is the author of Love, Rita: An American Story oIn the memoir, Love, Rita, the eponymous Rita is the older sister of author, Bridgett M. Davis.

Rita was four years older than Bridgett. Family lore tells that Rita once told a very baby Bridgett, “Shut your damn mouth.” The incongruity of a four-year old saying that to an infant can be unexpected and humorous. And maybe it spoke to a tiny seed of sisterly rivalry that was planted just then. But these sisters were also very close—with a bond that was fortified by their love for their family and each other.

Rita was “vivacious.” She blazed trails as the first in the family to go to college—at the age of 16. She was a car test driver, an amateur belly dancer, an MBA, and a beloved special education teacher.

And then, Rita was diagnosed with lupus.

What is it like to be a Black woman in America—in a country where implicit bias can be part of health care, where people of color are chronically exposed to social and economic disadvantages that pointedly affect the health of Black men and women?

Love, Rita is an emotional portrait of sisterhood–with the real challenges of rivalry and growing up with big dreams in a world not created to make our lives easier in realizing them. It’s a story about the persistent effects of racism in the lives of Black women and men.

It’s a story of heartbreak and loss. It's a story about the joys of sisterhood, too, and the abiding love Rita and Bridgett forged for each other through it all.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/podcast/book-public/2025-08-01/book-public-love-rita-by-bridgett-m-davis?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754426006

08/06/2025

Bexar County commissioners on Tuesday voted to move forward to place a venue tax on the Nov. 4 ballot that, if passed, would support a Spurs move downtown from the Frost Bank Center.

The venue tax is also called a "tourist tax" because it's composed of a 2% tax on a car rental and 5% on a hotel room rental. No county property taxes would be affected by the Spurs relocation.

Precinct 3 Republican County Commissioner Grant Moody was the sole no vote among the commissioners because of a small hike associated with the venue tax.

The county would spend around $80 million of the venue tax revenue on a new downtown arena, and another $194 million would be spent for improvements on the Frost Bank Center and stock show and rodeo grounds to boost revenue from those facilities after the Spurs leave.

Spurs Chairman Peter J. Holt told commissioners the team will ante up half-a-billion dollars toward the arena. Another half-a-billion dollars from the Spurs would be applied to surrounding economic development around a new downtown arena.

"Under our proposed structure, the Spurs will commit close to half the funds. We're the 27th smallest market in the NBA. This commitment shows our belief in the city, the county, and having a fruitful partnership that benefits all."

Holt said 14 of the smallest NBA teams play in arenas 70 to 95% publicly financed. noting the Spurs were dunking more cash down on their proposed arena.

While property taxes are not affected, some opponents were against any tax dollars being applied to a new Spurs arena. COPS Metro Alliance leader Mike Phillips urged commissioners to not move forward on the arena project.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/economy-and-labor/2025-08-05/bexar-county-residents-may-decide-on-spurs-arena-venue-tax-in-nov-4-election?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754437241

08/05/2025

Kerr County commissioners approved salary increases for county employees but took no formal action again on setting the property tax rate for the coming year.

Budget talks came in the wake of last month's flooding disaster.

Commissioners on Tuesday approved a 2% wage adjustment for all elected county and precinct officials for next fiscal year. The county had been in discussions to approve a 1- to 2-and-a-half percent increase in employee wages.

No action was taken in setting the property tax rate to fund next year's budget.

The commissioners previously shot down talk of an 8% increase in the property tax rate to fund flood recovery, and they appeared to favor keeping the property tax rate the same as last year.

The county auditor is expected to prepare a third edition of the recommended budget to be posted later this week.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-08-05/kerr-county-approves-employee-salary-hike-but-doesnt-decide-on-property-tax-boost?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754436782

08/05/2025

President Donald Trump said the FBI "may have to" get involved to end a walk out by Texas Democrats over redistricting.

During an unrelated event, Trump was asked whether the FBI should "get involved" in the quorum break. He answered that "they may have to" and "it almost looks like [Democrats have] abandoned the state."

"I know they want them back. Not only the attorney general, the governor wants them back," Trump said. "So a lot of people have demanded they come back. You can't just sit it out. You have to go back. You have to fight it out. That's what elections are all about."

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for the FBI to help “locate and arrest” Texas Democrats who left the state on Sunday afternoon.

The Democrats absconded to blue states like California, Illinois and New York. Their absence means the House was unable to meet Monday or Tuesday to debate new congressional maps in Texas that would hand Republicans five additional seat. Trump asked Texas Republicans to redraw the maps ahead of the midterm election.

While the House has issued arrest warrants for their absence, and Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state troopers to arrest them on site, their jurisdiction applies only in Texas.

In a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel, Cornyn called this a “time-sensitive manner” since lawmakers are only scheduled to be meeting for another two weeks.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-08-05/john-cornyn-asks-fbi-to-help-round-up-texas-democrats-who-fled-the-state?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754434806

08/05/2025

As Canadian wildfires spread smoke across the U.S. the air pollution is dangerous to health. But there are ways to protect yourself. Here's what to know.

08/05/2025

In July and August of 2024 in Bangladesh, student protesters' push for change drove the authoritarian prime minister out of power. Hundreds of demonstrators were killed.

08/05/2025

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that he plans to seek a court ruling declaring that state House Democrats who have broken quorum and left the state have "abandoned their offices," opening the door for Gov. Greg Abbott to appoint their replacements.

Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows has given Democratic lawmakers who broke quorum until Friday to return and present themselves to the House.

"Starting Friday," Paxton said in a statement, "any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating their office. The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don't show up for work, you get fired."

Gov. Abbott signaled that he and Paxton would pursue this path late Sunday, a few hours after Democrats announced the quorum break. Abbott pointed to an opinion Paxton issued after Democrats last broke quorum during a special session in 2021. That ruling held that a court would have to determine if a legislator has forfeited his or her office by abandonment.

"That empowers me to swiftly fill vacancies under Article III, Section 13 of the Texas Constitution," Abbott said in his own statement.

Getting court approval for such declarations is not automatic and is likely to be time consuming. The current special session ends August 19, but the governor can call as many special sessions as he wishes under the state constitution.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-08-05/texas-ag-ken-paxton-will-seek-court-order-to-have-democrats-who-broke-quorum-thrown-out-of-office?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754422947

08/05/2025

Google's AI Overviews feature can deliver an answer to your question before you click a single link. But it spells bad news for the publishers that write the articles that power these AI summaries: their business models depend on site visits to sell ads. And some smaller publishers have already gone out of business as the use of AI summaries grows.

08/05/2025

A group of grassroots San Antonio advocacy organizations that formed the No! Project Marvel Coalition called on Monday for a delay in the ongoing downtown sports and entertainment district.

The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Pueblo over Profit, Domesticas Unidas, COPS/Metro, and the Coalition for Dignified Housing are all coalition members.

Members held a press conference in front of the Alamodome on Monday to publicize their demands.

“Citizens call on our mayor and councilmembers to postpone allocating any related expenditures to accommodate Project Marvel until after the residents of San Antonio have had the opportunity for a full public discussion of the merits and drawbacks of Project Marvel,” coalition organizer Annalisa Peace said.

The coalition called on the city council to delay the project so that an environmental impact study, racial equity assessment, and a new economic impact study could be conducted.

Community advocates have criticized a slideshow presentation version of a Project Marvel economic impact analysis the city released last week.

They said the presentation, created by consultant CSL International, lacked substantial information about how a new Spurs arena could generate $318 million in annual positive net economic impact.

Read More👉 https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-08-04/protestors-rally-near-san-antonios-alamodome-with-calls-to-postpone-project-marvel-development?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1754415546

08/05/2025

Democrats fled the state to stop Republicans' attempt to redraw congressional districts, but bills aimed at everything from a THC product ban to bolstering flood response are now in doubt.

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