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BY: @MattMackowiak
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FRIDAY || 7/18/2025
Good Friday evening.
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P.S. Some personal news: Amy and I are expecting our first child!
“If something of importance is known in Texas, Matt knows it. With a decline in the number of credible news organizations, the Must Read Texas morning email is indispensable for anyone that wants to continue to be informed.” – Former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX)
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A GOOD CAUSE
Disaster Relief Available for Flood-Affected Residents
Our hearts continue to go out to everyone impacted by the devastating floods that swept through Central Texas over the July 4th weekend. We know many families—including some within our REALTOR® community—are facing difficult days ahead. If you—or someone you know—suffered damage to a primary residence during the July 4th weekend flooding, assistance may be available through the Texas REALTORS® Disaster Relief Fund.
Please click the button below for the Texas REALTORS® Disaster Relief Fund Application.
Who is eligible to apply?
Texas residents whose primary residence was damaged and who live in a county listed in the Governor’s disaster declaration: Bexar, Burnet, Caldwell, Gaudalupe, Travis, and Williamson. Only one application per residence is allowed.
What must be submitted with the application?
A valid photo ID
Proof of residence that matches the affected address
If insured, documentation showing the insurance claim, deductible, and payout amount
Application Deadline: All applications must be submitted by September 30, 2025.
To apply or learn more, please visit our website: Williamson County Disaster Relief
TOP NEWS
“Appeals court upholds Texas law limiting cities' enforcement of local ordinances,” Texas Tribune's Hayden Betts — “Two years after a district court declared that a new state law diluting the policy-making power of blue urban areas was unconstitutional, an appeals court on Friday overruled that decision.
Texas lawmakers in 2023 passed House Bill 2127, dubbed the “Death Star” bill by opponents, which aims to overturn cities’ progressive policies and prevent them from enacting future ordinances that aren’t aligned with broad swaths of state law.
The law prevents cities and counties from creating local ordinances that overstep state laws, such as those passed in Dallas and Austin mandating water breaks for construction workers.
The bill, long sought by Gov. Greg Abbott, marks Texas Republicans’ biggest attempt to undercut the power of the state’s largest metropolitan areas, home to the most Democratic-leaning constituents and leaders.
A month after the bill passed, Houston, later joined by San Antonio and El Paso, sued the state to block the new law, arguing that it deprived elected officials of the power to enact local ordinances on a broad range of issues, such as noise regulations and mask mandates. They also were concerned that the law made it so difficult for local leaders to self-govern that it would push them to propose fewer policy changes.
“What this means is that cities like the city of Houston cannot pass ordinances in these areas unless the state of Texas explicitly gives us permission to do so,” late Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in 2023. “That is a total reversal from the way things have been in this state for more than a century.”
A Travis County judge ruled in August 2023 that the law was unconstitutional, but on Friday the Third Court of Appeals overturned that decision.
In its ruling, the appeals court said it agrees with the state largely for two reasons: the cities failed to point to "sufficient concreteness” of how the bill would hurt them, and made a weak case for how the state is to blame for their concerns.
The San Antonio city attorney’s office, however, noted that the court dismissed the case because “cities don’t have standing to challenge” the law because “at this point, there have been no challenges to any of our ordinances under this statute.”
Texas Republicans and business lobbyists argued that the law works to untangle a confusing patchwork of local regulations that burden businesses and slow economic growth. After the bill passed, Abbott said the law prevents cities from being “able to micromanage businesses” which are “especially driving up the costs for local businesses.”
“We are going to have one regulatory regime across the entire state on massive subject areas that will make the cost of business even lower, the ease of business even better,” Abbott later added.
Earlier this year, lawmakers failed to pass Senate Bill 2858, which sought to add teeth to the 2023 law by giving the Texas attorney general the power to sue cities and counties for adopting local rules overstepping state laws.
The San Antonio city attorney’s office said it is in the process of reviewing legal options and is coordinating with Houston and El Paso to plan out next steps.
“While this decision dismissed the current case, it doesn’t prevent us from raising these constitutional issues again in the future if a specific challenge arises under HB 2127,” the office said." Texas Tribune
#TXLEGE
“DNC chair to meet with Texas Democratic leaders ahead of GOP redistricting,” Texas Tribune's Hayden Betts — “The chairman of the Democratic National Committee plans to meet Friday with state Rep. Gene Wu, the leader of his party's caucus in Texas, and others to discuss plans for battling the Republican-led, mid-decade redrawing of the state's congressional boundaries.
“If Texas Republicans want a showdown, we will give them a showdown," DNC Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement. "Right now, Americans all across the country are thinking of the victims of the terrible floods in Texas. You know who isn’t? Governor Abbott. He's taking orders from Donald Trump to rig the midterm elections. We’re not going to stand for it."
The meeting is scheduled to take place in Wu's hometown of Houston and comes ahead of Monday's start of a 30-day special session of the Legislature, where redistricting is part of a crowded agenda that includes addressing issues related to the deadly July 4 flooding.
Wu did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who sets the agenda, included the redrawing of at least some of Texas' 38 congressional boundaries after receiving notice from the U.S. Justice Department that at least four of them improperly relied on racial demographics when they were drawn by the Republican-led Legislature in 2021.
President Donald Trump this week said he wants up to five more GOP-leaning districts in Texas going into the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans now hold 25 of the 38 Texas districts and control both houses of the Legislature.
Democratic state lawmakers have yet to agree on a strategy for countering the Republicans on redistricting, but some have said several options, including a quorum-breaking walkout, are on the table." AAS ($)
Editorial: “After years of negligence, Texas lawmakers must address flood threat,” via San Antonio Express-News / Austin American-Statesman – "The scarred landscape here cast an eerie aura.
It had been days since the destructive power of the Guadalupe River — which in the predawn hours of July 4 became monstrous and punishing, fed by more rain in several hours than it had seen in decades — ravaged its way through Kerr County.
After flash flooding uprooted trees for miles along the riverbank, the greenery that once garnished Lowry Park, a favorite walking spot, was replaced by debris, gravel and occasional park benches, among other objects that shouldn’t be there.
The Opinion teams of the San Antonio Express-News and Austin American-Statesman visited last weekend to bear witness to the deadly flooding and speak with residents about the storm and what may come next.
A disturbing vibe permeated our day as we journeyed upriver, first to Ingram, and then to the unincorporated area of Hunt and the shore across the river from the ill-fated Camp Mystic, where 27 young female campers and counselors perished, along with the camp’s owner and executive director.
But more disquieting than what we saw was what we couldn’t see but knew was there. Somewhere, the Guadalupe River had hidden dozens of bodies of people taken in the storm — more than 100 people remain unaccounted for while 134 are confirmed dead. State and local leaders have vowed that the search will continue as long as it takes to find all the missing.
We hope they will. We fear they will not.
And that fear is tinged with dismay — and, yes, anger — at the thought that many of those swept away could have survived with adequate warning and a passable way out. If only those with the authority to allocate resources for such infrastructure had chosen to do so rather than be miserly.
Now, at the beginning of a calamity that will be felt for generations, the question is whether state and local officials will do enough to truly prevent future flooding disasters.
In theory, state and local leaders in Texas agree that it’s better to spend up front on infrastructure to prevent greater loss later. At least that’s the sentiment expressed in the 2024 State Flood Plan, which was crafted in accordance with legislation enacted in 2019 as a response to Hurricane Harvey.
“In the realm of flood planning, the truth of the adage that ‘prevention is better than cure’ can’t be overstated; resources spent to reduce the risk and impact of flooding goes much further than the cost of recovery efforts,” the document states. “Planning for floods is a proactive approach that prioritizes preparedness and mitigation over the costly, time-consuming, and potentially repetitive process of recovery. The cost of recovery from a large flood or storm event is often much greater than the upfront cost of reducing the potential risk and impact of flooding.”
That’s in theory.
In practice, the devastation and loss of life from the July 4 flooding in the Hill Country, particularly along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, shows how such proactive thinking has yet to take root.
Transcripts from Kerr County Commissioners Court meetings in recent years give voice to an unwillingness to pay for preparedness. That included balking at a flood warning system with sirens despite earnest pleas from emergency management personnel and at least one fellow commissioner.
After hearing from multiple people during a March 2016 Commissioners Court meeting about how an integrated network of river gauges and sirens could save lives, noting the danger to people in RV parks and summer camps close to the Guadalupe River, then-Commissioner H.A. Baldwin scoffed.
Instead, he pined for the days of a much lower-tech response to alert people to rising river levels: “The Criders would call the Merritts, and the Merritts would call the Baldwins, and the Baldwins would call the Priours, and on down the river.”
If there even were a time when such a rudimentary approach was effective, it had passed well before that ominous discourse. This should have been evident after a July 1987 flash flood on the Guadalupe River killed 10 teenagers fleeing the Pot O’ Gold Christian Camp near Comfort.
“They need to get serious with radar,” Philip Bedient, director of Rice University’s SSPEED Center, which provides severe storm prediction, modeling and evacuation planning, told us. “They need to add more gauges. They need to build some warning systems, and they definitely need to think about having (emergency) plans.”
And Kerr County isn’t the only local jurisdiction being scrutinized after multiple recent flood-related deaths. Several people died in the Austin-area flooding of Big Sandy Creek over the Fourth of July weekend, while hundreds more were stranded for days when the bridge out of their neighborhood became impassable.
And on June 12, 13 people died in flooding in San Antonio, most of them while driving near Beitel Creek on the Northeast Side, prompting questions — among others — about why the flood-prone and dangerous roads had not been barricaded. As with the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, this location had seen flooding deaths in 1998.
Sadly, however, Kerr County had to suffer a much greater loss of life before its lack of foresight would be the impetus for statewide action.
“Unfortunately,” Bedient said, “like everything else, it takes a major disaster with lots of deceased children to turn the political will to actually do something.”
And sometimes not even then.
On Monday, the Texas Legislature will convene for a special session. Among the 18 types of legislation “to consider and act upon” in Gov. Greg Abbott's call for the extra session are measures to improve early-warning systems and other preparedness infrastructure in flood-prone areas, and to strengthen emergency communications and other response infrastructure.
State lawmakers should focus the lion’s share of their attention on flood control, as it is the most critical, complex and, yes, expensive matter on the agenda.
And it may prove as political as any.
To talk about what is needed going forward implicitly entails acknowledging what has been needed and neglected all along. And that’s never comfortable for the neglecters.
Some state lawmakers have advocated reviving House Bill 13 from the recent regular session. The bill called for creating a government council to establish emergency response plans and for providing grants to counties for emergency communication equipment. The bill died in the Senate after it passed in the House, 129-18, with overwhelming bipartisan support.
All the “nays” in the House were from Republicans, including state Rep. Wes Virdell, R-Brady, whose District 53 includes Kerr County — and who recently conceded that “in hindsight, watching what it takes to deal with a disaster like this, my vote would probably be different now.”
Indeed. It’s time to stop looking back sorrowfully and start employing foresight.
HB13 represents low-hanging fruit that should be harvested, but it hardly would go far enough in addressing the needs throughout the state.
Beyond that bill, the Legislature needs to take stock in its still-fresh state flood plan, which puts stark but realistic numbers to Texas’ needs regarding flood prevention, management and response — including warnings and communications before and during such events.
It also addresses the needs for building and improving bridges and low water crossings to facilitate evacuations and emergency responses, as well as buying residential and commercial structures in floodplains — sort of reverse infrastructure.
The plan makes clear that Texans have chosen to live with significant risk. Roughly 2.4 million people live or work in a 100-year floodplain, while an additional 2.8 million people are in a 500-year floodplain. Combined, that equates to about 1 in 6 Texans.
So the state should not be shocked by the price tag reasonably associated with this pattern — nor should it be shocked by the tragic cost of inaction. Namely, the state plan reports that flood planning groups throughout 15 regions recommended 4,609 flood risk-reduction solutions in their regional plans. That includes:
> 3,097 flood management evaluations.
> 615 flood mitigation projects.
> 897 flood management strategies.
The total estimated cost to implement those recommendations is more than $54.5 billion. The recommended projects account for more than $49.1 billion of that estimate, and nearly half of that cost is associated with a surge protection coastal storm risk management project for Galveston Bay.
For those who balk at the price of such investments, Texas is slated to spend $51 billion in tax cuts over the next two years, pending voter approval. Damages from July 4 flooding will be many billions, and the loss of life is immeasurable. There is always a cost.
We’re not suggesting the Legislature, during a 30-day session, should commit to spending that much money. But it’s past time to start putting significant funding where priorities should lie.
If the state can allocate $1 billion for vouchers to fund private education and billions more for a dubious show of force along the Texas-Mexico border, then any claims it can’t muster the resources to protect its residents from foreseeable disasters ring hollow.
And when we speak of foreseeable disasters, flooding is not the only threat. The impetus for HB13 was not flooding. It was fire, as the bill was authored by state Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, in the wake of the devastating February and March 2024 wildfires in the Texas Panhandle.
More than 1 million acres burned, including part of King’s property, and three people died.
Similarly, addressing infrastructure related to flooding prevention and response should not be limited to sirens.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is now talking about how the state should help communities like Kerr County pay for flood warning systems. What a shame he didn’t recognize the need earlier this year, when HB13 died in the Senate he controls.
At the same time, not all leaders are shielding their eyes from the spotlight shined on Kerr County’s past refusal to invest in preparedness.
County Judge Rob Kelly intimated it would have been unpopular to approve paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a siren-based warning system. He shifted the onus to a fiscally conservative public that “reeled at the cost.”
But fiscal conservatism can’t be an acceptable excuse for being cheap and shortsighted. We hope the lessons of recent tragedy are not overcome by such excuses again.
Many years from now, Lowry Park and other sites along the Guadalupe River will recover their beauty. There will be many more storms, and it would be awful to see such a majestic place revisited by the horror that comes from inaction and a refusal to invest in preparedness." SAEN ($)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“San Antonio ISD has a new board president. Who is it?” San Antonio Express-News' Melissa Manno — “The San Antonio Independent School District board has named a new president to lead trustees in setting educational policy and improving outcomes for 44,000 students.
At a meeting on Monday evening, the board voted unanimously to appoint trustee Alicia Sebastian as president. Sebastian will succeed Christina Martinez, who led the board for four years.
The SAISD board selects its officers every two years and traditionally rotates the role of president, which involves leading discussions, running meetings and often serving as the board’s spokesperson. Martinez said she supported Sebastian for the position at a meeting last month.
“Thank you for your trust and support the last few years, but if I’ve learned anything about leadership, it’s that succession planning is important, and a good leader lifts up other good leaders,” she said.
Sebastian is the senior director of development and communications for AVANCE San Antonio, a nonprofit that supports low-income families through early childhood education programs. She previously was director of marketing and communications and founding staff member at Essence Prep Public School.
A New Orleans native who relocated to San Antonio after Hurricane Katrina, Sebastian was first elected to the SAISD board in 2019 to represent single-member District 2, on the city’s East Side. She has served as vice president since 2022 and has focused largely on community initiatives supporting youth and life skills development, mentoring and career readiness.
According to her board biography, she is “committed to driving positive change and ensuring that all students and families have the tools they need to succeed.”
Ahead of Monday’s vote, Sebastian joined other trustees in celebrating Martinez’s leadership as board president.
“You have definitely led by example,” Sebastian said. “I think you are the epitome of what it is we expect from our staff and our students — to be thoughtful, considerate and just really put your heart into the work.”
Superintendent Jaime Aquino commended Martinez for guiding the board through major decisions, including hiring a new superintendent, approving a five-year strategic plan, closing 15 campuses, merging three schools, and addressing districtwide HVAC issues.
“Your leadership as board president is a gift that will last this school district a lifetime, so I’m very grateful,” Aquino said.
Martinez, who still has two years on her current board term, was selected as vice president during the board’s reorganization. Trustee Jacob Ramos was appointed secretary." SAEN ($)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“Houston council member sought favors like personal home repairs from city contractor, records show,” Houston Chronicle's Abby Church and Mike Morris — “Houston City Council Member Tarsha Jackson is facing ethical and legal questions after she asked a prominent local developer and city contractor for favors for herself and her nonprofit.
Between early 2021 and late 2022, Jackson sent Horizon International Group Vice President Al Kashani a series of text messages requesting help with fixing broken water pipes at her home and purchasing a property on behalf of her nonprofit, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
The exchanges raise red flags and may violate the city ethics code and possibly state law, according to ethics experts. Jackson argues the favors were legal, ethical and something Kashani offered voluntarily. The release of the texts, she said, was to distract from trouble Kashani is facing in her district over a rundown K-Mart.
Jackson texted Kashani on March 4, 2021, that she still needed help and sent her home address. A follow-up text reads, “Hi Al, Someone came out and did assessment. Theres a break in my hot water heater line. A valve (needs) to be replaced.”
Jackson appears to also have asked Kashani to fix her aunt’s water pipes after the 2021 freeze. A screenshot shows a text that is cut off in which Jackson wrote: “…much for taking care of the pipe issue at my aunts house. God bless you.” No texts sent by Kashani in this 2021 exchange appear in the screenshots.
Jackson told the Chronicle Kashani did fix her aunt’s pipes as he worked to fix other constituents’ pipes in her district, but her son ultimately fixed the pipes at her home. After the freeze, she said, everybody was helping everybody.
“It was like, literally not trying to abuse my position,” Jackson said of her interactions with Kashani. “Al said, ‘If you need any help, this is what I do.’ And I asked him, I reached out to him. It was innocent.”
Jackson also asked Kashani in April 2022 to help buy a $250,000 property her nonprofit wanted to purchase in northeast Houston, writing, “I’m looking for someone to purchase for us and then we’ll buy it in two years.” The purchase did not occur.
The release of the texts, Jackson said, was Kashani "twisting ... facts" and trying to create a distraction. The notion that she was trying to “bully” him using her position was “completely wrong,” she said. Kashani was upset, Jackson said, because she had called attention to a dilapidated K-Mart he owns in her district that has long angered neighbors and was recently ruled "dangerous’ for a second time by the city.
“He's coming up on the deadline where the courts basically said he needed to have something done with that property,” Jackson said. “And so he's just trying to distract people and … put it all on me, and it has nothing to do with me.”
That building, at 9929 Homestead, appears in one of Jackson’s text exchanges with Kashani. In late 2022 Jackson told him she would not support an item he wanted the council to pass — a loan for a project in another district — “until we come to a resolution on the (H)omestead property.”
Houston Public Works spokesperson Erin Jones said Kashani has secured permits to repair the property, and work must progress by July 29 for him to avoid further city action.
Not addressed in the texts is that Kashani received a referral from Jackson to hire her brother under his company’s second-chance hiring program, she said.
“(Kashani) didn't have to hire him,” Jackson said. “Nobody put pressure on him.”
In a separate statement to the Chronicle, Jackson wrote that Kashani was retaliating against her because she refused to vote for the project, adding that offering a part-time job to her brother and making repairs at her aunt's house was "entirely legal, ethical and something he voluntarily provided."
Kashani told the Chronicle he was traveling on business and could not speak by deadline.
His company, Horizon, often works for local governments, and has earned more than $45 million on city contracts in the last decade, records show, not including its work as a subcontractor." Hou Chron ($)
“McKinney breaks ground on airport passenger terminal to add commercial flights,” Dallas Morning News' Lilly Kersh — “McKinney broke ground on a passenger terminal at its airport Friday, with city leaders and partners celebrating the start of construction in the next step to bringing commercial air service to Collin County.
The terminal marks a “new era in North Texas aviation history,” according to a statement from the city. Officials hope commercial service in McKinney will support the growing population north of Dallas and investment in Collin County.
Three of the country’s fastest-growing cities are in the county, which gained about 76,000 new residents last year, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments. The Texas Association of Business projects that by 2050, Collin County will outpace the 2024 real gross domestic product of several U.S. states, according to a recent study.
“With the growth that we have experienced … our forecasts show passenger service is needed. It’s wanted,” said McKinney Mayor Bill Cox. “We have citizens that don’t live here yet that will benefit from this. We have companies that aren’t located here yet that will benefit from this airport.”
The airport terminal is designed to initially serve 200,000 passengers annually; if expanded, it could support more than one million travelers a year, according to a city statement.
The $79 million project includes a 46,000-square-foot terminal with four gates and the possibility of expanding to six. The project includes food and drink concessions in the terminal, a ramp for planes, a new taxiway, a parking lot, car rental facilities and other infrastructure.
The city plans for the terminal to be completed by late next year.
McKinney leaders see the airport as an economic engine for the city. The airport has an annual economic impact of $299 million on the city and surrounding region, according to an economic impact study the city commissioned. City documents show in the last decade, the airport has generated $24.6 million in tax revenue for public services like the school district and the city.
The McKinney National Airport, referred to by airport code TKI, has served as a general aviation airport for more than 40 years for private and corporate planes, flight training and other uses.
Now the city hopes to turn it into a convenient choice for air travelers, a shorter drive for Collin County residents than to Dallas Love Field or DFW International Airport.
The city is negotiating to bring low-cost carriers to the terminal, and has received interest from Avelo Airlines.
In a statement, Sen. Ted Cruz congratulated McKinney.
“This project marks a major milestone, and it will bring jobs and help economic growth in North Texas,” Cruz wrote." DMN ($)
2026
“A second donor to Aaron Reitz’s attorney general campaign faces federal indictment,” San Dallas Morning News' Philip Jankowski -- "Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General Aaron Reitz took a second campaign donation from a federally indicted person, helping contribute to what he has characterized as a dominant haul.
Dallas spa owner Amir Mortazavi gave Reitz’s campaign $50,000. The Justice Department indicted Mortazavi in 2024 on accusations he helped manage a prescription drug kickback scheme in the pharmacy company he led that paid doctors for writing expensive and profitable prescriptions.
Mortazavi, 44, is the second federally indicted campaign contributor to Reitz that The Dallas Morning News has uncovered. Reitz, who refers to himself as the “True MAGA attorney” in campaign literature, also accepted a $100,000 donation from Dr. Anosh Ahmed, who fled the country prior to being indicted in Chicago on fraud charges.
When reached via text message Friday, Reitz offered a near identical comment as he did when The News first asked about his connections to Ahmed.
“Mr. Mortazavi’s contribution was completely legal and ethical under state and federal law. He has been accused of things that no court has adjudicated,” Reitz said. “In America—the country of which Mr. Mortazavi is a citizen—a person is innocent until proven guilty. I believe in that too, and reserve personal judgment until a judge or jury has spoken.”
He added again that the media’s efforts would be better spent investigating his Republican primary opponents, state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston.
Reitz topped his two Republican opponents in fundraising, according to campaign finance reports filed this week with the Texas Ethics Commission. The reports show a promising start to the former chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz who most recently worked under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
He raised $2.1 million from donations that include a $250,000 contribution from Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, who has given more than $12 million to Gov. Greg Abbott to bolster the governor’s campaign to pass a school choice measure.
Reitz also took in $250,000 from Gary Heavin, the founder of the women’s health franchise Curves, who supports Christian and conservative causes. The contributions from the two federally indicted donors amount to about 7% of his total campaign haul.
A grand jury indicted Mortazavi and 13 others in February 2024 in an alleged scheme in which a network of North Texas pharmacies sold nominal ownership of pharmacies to Dallas-area doctors. The doctors were then paid returns on their so-called investments based on how many prescriptions they wrote. Prosecutors described the returns as kickback payments and money laundering, according to federal documents.
“We will answer the opening bell in February 2026 and try the federal case against Amir Mortazavi before a jury of his peers,” Mortazavi’s defense attorney Paul Coggins said in an email, referring to the scheduled trial date for his client. “Because we are fighting federal charges in a federal court, the state AG has nothing to say or do with our case or the task before us.”
Mortazavi could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Two people pleaded guilty in 2018 to related charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The alleged scheme in this indictment included doctors who used their positions of trust to profit personally at the expense of their patients,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough in a 2024 news release. “Health care fraud affects all sectors of the economy and costs U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars each year.”
Mortazavi is the founder of Vitalyc Medspa, a wellness and anti-aging spa with locations in Highland Park, Fort Worth, Addison, Southlake, Oak Lawn and Houston, according to its website." DMN ($)
TEXANS IN DC
“No member of the U.S. House from Texas is raising money like Jasmine Crockett,” San Antonio Express-News' Jeremy Wallace -- "There is no doubt about who is the top fundraiser in the Texas Congressional delegation these days.
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, has become a fundraising juggernaut, raising $3.8 million for her re-election campaign in 2026 within the last six months, according to the latest campaign finance reports released this week. No other incumbent among the 38 members of the U.S. House from Texas has raised more than $2 million.
Crockett’s totals make her the 5th-best fundraiser among all Democrats in the U.S. House. The top spot goes to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, who has raised more than $15 million.
Crockett, who earned her law degree at the University of Houston, is in her second term in office, but has become well known for taking on Republicans during congressional debates and on cable television talk shows. It helped make her a featured speaker during last year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago and build a national fundraising network.
She’s had notable public bouts with U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, and more recently, President Donald Trump has been targeting her directly, calling her a “low IQ person.”
Crockett has used the president's verbal shot aggressively in fundraising emails since March, calling Trump a "thin-skinned crybaby."
“I have thick skin. He can call me any names he wants — it won’t deter me from my mission: Holding him accountable and defeating his cronies in Congress,” Crockett, 44, said in a June fundraising pitch to supporters.
So far, Crockett has one Democrat and three Republicans who have filed to challenge her next year in the 30th Congressional District in Dallas, which heavily favors Democrats. None of the challengers has raised much money or ever held elective office.
Here are the top 5 fundraisers from Texas in the U.S. House this year.
1. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas: $3.8 million
2. Jake Ellzey, R-Midlothian: $1.8 million
3. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg: $1.6 million
4. August Pfluger, R-San Angelo: $1.5 million
5. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock: $1.4 million" SAEN ($)
“Texas lawmaker proposes beefing up temporary worker program to ease farm labor shortages,” Texas Tribune's Berenice Garcia -- "U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz filed legislation Monday that would revamp a temporary worker program to help ease farm labor shortages largely provoked by the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration raids targeting undocumented workers.
De La Cruz, a Republican from Edinburg, introduced the Bracero Program 2.0 Act on Monday, a bill that makes changes to a temporary visa program for agriculture workers, known as H-2A visas.
The proposal would streamline the application process for employers and launch a regional pilot program that would allow workers to change jobs within a state without having to reapply for a visa.
"This will provide solutions desperately needed for hard-working immigrants. With workforce shortages challenging our communities, the Bracero Program 2.0 will bring stability and certainty for South Texas," De La Cruz said in a statement.
However, the program would also lower wages for H-2A workers in Texas. All H-2A workers would have to be paid a wage that matches the minimum wage of the state they're employed in, plus $2 per hour. In Texas, with a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, that would be lower than the current rate paid to H-2A workers, which is $15.79 an hour.
Farmworkers have been among those targeted by immigration enforcement officials since the Trump administration intensified deportation efforts.
Following raids in California last month, farmers reported that between 30% to 60% of their workers stopped showing up to work amid fears they could be arrested next.
Those fears are also pertinent in Hidalgo County — the majority of which lies in De La Cruz’s district — where about 80% of workers are undocumented, according to a report by the National Center for Farmworker Health. Only two workers surveyed in the report had an H-2A visa.
Amid rising concerns within the agricultural industry, President Donald Trump expressed support for reforming the H-2A program and announced a plan to streamline the issuance of temporary worker visas.
De La Cruz’s bill would create an online portal for agriculture employers to post job openings or file petitions to bring in temporary workers; extend H-2A visa worker contracts from 10 months to a year; and expand the program to include greenhouses and indoor farms as qualified employers.
It would also launch a six-year pilot program allowing workers to freely move between jobs within the same state while their visa lasts. A worker under this program would be known as a portable H-2A worker.
If their job ends, they would have 60 days to find another one with a registered agriculture employer or be required to leave the country.
The law would require that no more than 10,000 portable H-2A visas are active at any given time. However, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security could further limit the number of visas if there aren't enough registered agriculture employers or job openings.
Laramie Adams, government affairs director for the Texas Farm Bureau, said he supported a more streamlined application, saying the current process of matching up with H-2A workers is cumbersome.
Employers have to submit paper applications and supporting documents. If a state or federal agency requires more information from an employer, the agencies often mail their requests rather than sending an email, leading to a lengthy back-and-forth, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
And employers who need workers at different parts of a season must go through the entire process again.
"The main thing that we advocate for is a strong, legal agriculture workforce, and it's been hard to navigate the current H-2A process to ensure that we have a reliable workforce," Adams said. "At the same time, we have a lot more Texans who are using the program because it's their only avenue to be able to get seasonal agricultural workers."
The bill is named after a temporary labor program between the U.S. and Mexico that ran from 1942 until 1964. The Bracero program — meaning "arm man" or manual laborer in Spanish — was meant to provide a legal way to temporarily hire Mexican migrant farmworkers along the southern border.
"For decades, the Bracero Program created new opportunities for millions and provided critical support for Texas agriculture," De La Cruz said in a statement.
The program ended because of tensions with the farm labor unions, which accused agriculture employers of using bracero workers as cheap labor that put U.S. workers at a disadvantage, according to Mayra Avila, a lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
She said labor shortages in the agriculture sector have existed for years, but recent immigration arrests targeting immigrant farmworkers have magnified the need for labor.
But Avila questioned whether changes like those proposed in De La Cruz's bill would address the shortages, noting that the undocumented workers being arrested are not eligible for H-2A visas.
"You have to have a clean record," Avila said.
Lawmakers have repeatedly tried to reform the H-2A program over the years, including one attempt in 2021 that would have created a path to legal status for undocumented farmworkers. De La Cruz’s bill contains no such provision.
Though it’s unclear whether De La Cruz’s bill will garner strong support, the legislation signals a desire among Republicans to establish a framework to allow more migrant farmworkers to work in the country legally.
"The reality is that you're getting rid of a lot of farmworker laborers, and farm work is very hard work," Avila said.
She said the U.S. relies too heavily on farmworkers and that it would be difficult to fill those jobs with U.S. citizens.
"As a U.S. citizen, you would rather get a job at McDonald's with air conditioning, or a Walmart with air conditioning, than go work in the fields where, in Texas, it's 90 degrees," she said. "Why would you do this to yourself? It's back-breaking."" Texas Tribune
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
> TX TRIB: "1.7 million Texans could lose health coverage under expiring tax credits, ACA changes in GOP megabill" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "A guide to Texas’ special legislative session" TX TRIB
> HOU CHRON: "FEMA's quick Texas response was 'the exception' as backlog grows under Trump" HOU CHRON
> KXAN: "Democrat Joe Jaworski to run for Texas attorney general again" KXAN
> AAS: "Why a walkout on GOP redistricting could be very risky for Texas Democrats" AAS
> THE TEXAN: "Texas Sues U.S. Masters Swimming for Allegedly Allowing Biological Males to Compete in Women's Races" THE TEXAN
> TPR: "Texas temporarily expands SNAP benefits to include hot meals in response to flooding" TPR
> FWST: "‘Good Trouble’ rally in Fort Worth honors legacy of John Lewis" FWST
> AAS: "Is birth control accessible in Texas? New study ranks state policies" AAS
> HOU CHRON: "Marvalette Hunter announces run to unseat Wesley Hunt in Congress" HOU CHRON
> EP TIMES: "El Paso joins 1,600 ‘Good Trouble Lives On’ protest nationwide honoring John Lewis" EP TIMES
> THE TEXAN: "The 40: Congressional Coverup Claims, DOGE Demands, Redistricting Roundup" THE TEXAN
> HOU CHRON: "Exclusive: Most Kerr County homes hit on July 4 had no flood insurance" HOU CHRON
> SAEN: "Trump mired in Epstein controversy as Wall Street Journal reports on 2003 letter" SAEN
> AAS: "Strapped for cash? Texas is the most financially distressed state, 2025 study shows" AAS
> HOU CHRON: "Texans turn off phone alerts more than anyone. Did ‘alert fatigue’ cost lives in Hill County floods?" HOU CHRON
> DMN: "Texas flooding death toll jumps to 135, Gov. Greg Abbott says" DMN
> AAS: "Austin Pets Alive mobilizes to help in flood areas around the state, see photos from HQ" AAS
> SAEN: "Lenders offer $1.6M in funds to flood-ravaged Kerrville businesses" SAEN
> HOU CHRON: "5 questions facing the Astros as they start second half" HOU CHRON
> WACO TRIB: "Pam Tillis, Suzy Bogguss highlight Cindy Walker Days fundraiser" WACO TRIB
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Prosper officials consider new retail center at First Street, Legacy Drive" COMMUNITY IMPACT
EXTRA POINTS
Recent Texas sports schedule:
None.
Today's Texas sports schedule:
> 7:05pm: MLB: Detroit at Texas
> 9:10pm: MLB: Houston at Seattle
This weekend's Texas sports schedule:
Sat
> 6:05pm: MLB: Detroit at Texas
> 6:30pm: MLS: Austin at DC (Apple TV)
> 7:30pm: MLS: St. Louis at Dallas (Apple TV)
> 7:30pm: MLS: Philadelphia at Houston (Apple TV)
> 8:40pm: MLB: Houston at Seattle
Sun
> 6:05pm: MLB: Detroit at Texas
> 6:10pm: MLB: Houston at Seattle
DALLAS COWBOYS: "The latest on Micah Parsons’ contract negotiations ahead of Cowboys training camp" DMN ($)
TEXAS FOOTBALL: "SEC preseason poll: Texas football voted to finish first in conference" AAS ($)
HOUSTON ASTROS: "Houston Astros get some positive injury news. Chas McCormick is back after missing two months" Hou Chron ($)
TEXAS RANGERS: McFarland: "Five key Rangers that need to step up for Texas’ second-half playoff push" DMN ($)
TEXAS RANGERS: "Texas Rangers add veteran 1B Rowdy Tellez to their roster after All-Star break" AP
TEXAS RANGERS: "Adolis García’s last stand? Rangers may face tough decision if offense can’t get going" DMN ($)
TEXAS RANGERS: "Rangers acquire José Ruiz and cash from the Braves for Dane Dunning in swap of right-handers" AP
MLS ALL STAR GAME: "MLS All-Star Game: Will Lionel Messi play in Austin next week?" AAS ($)