Now in our 12th year on KPFT!

Going forward, new shows will broadcast on Sundays at 1PM (CT) broadcast and re-run on Wednesdays at 11AM.

AUDIO: 

TOPICS:

1. The next election is scheduled for May 3, 2025;
2. Bellaire launches food waste outreach program to reduce landfill waste;
3. Friendswood increases permit fees for residential, commercial buildings;
4. Tomball City Council hears presentation on drainage master plan draft;
5. For Baytown residents, a legal win after a 15-year lawsuit still doesn’t guarantee clean air;
6. Houston required to allocate $100M to street, drainage projects;
7. TEA teacher cheating ring probe snares another 60 people, including 24 in Houston area;
8. TEA warns 460 school districts about potentially illegal suspensions of homeless students;
9. Fetterman finds new ways to distance himself from the Democratic mainstream;
10. Here’s what we know about a commuter plane crash in Alaska that killed 10 people;
11. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to bypass the Fed to lower interest rates;
12. China lashes out at US ‘coercion’ after Panama declines to renew infrastructure agreement;
13. A bit of satire from Democratic Governor of Illinois, Jay Pritzker;

Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. 

Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) or Thursdays at 6PM on KPFT 90.1 FM-HD2, Houston’s Community Media. You can also hear the show:

1. Live online at KPFT.org (from anywhere in the world!)
2. Podcast on your phone’s Podcast App
3. Visiting Archive.KPFT.ORG

Except for timely election info, the extensive list of voting resources will now be at the end.

1. Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig on KPFT Houston at 90.1-HD2, Galveston 89.5-HD2, and Huntsville at 91.9-HD2. KPFT is Houston’s Community Media. On this show, we discuss local, state, national, and international stories that may have slipped under your radar.

   1. The next election is scheduled for May 3, 2025, with early voting beginning on April 22, 2025. Which, incredibly, is only about 10 weeks from now. The deadline to apply for a mail ballot is April 22.
      1. Voter registration applications or registration updates must be filled out and mailed at least 30 days before the election date, which in this case would be April 3^rd, which is only about 8 weeks from now. You have been warned.
   2. Bellaire launches food waste outreach program to reduce landfill waste; By Kevin Vu | 1:34 PM Feb 7, 2025 CST | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | Updated 1:34 PM Feb 7, 2025 CST. TAGS: City of Bellaire, Food Waste Drop-Off, Bellaire Environmental Sustainability Board,
      1. The City of Bellaire is launching an eight-week food waste drop-off outreach program starting March 2, offering residents a way to reduce waste while teaching them the importance of composting, according to a Jan. 29 news release.
      2. The program is a collaborative effort between the city’s Environmental Sustainability Board and Zero Waste Houston, a family-owned, sustainable business operating out of The Woodlands.
      3. … The food waste program will run from March 2 to April 20. Every Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., residents can drop off their food scraps and other organic materials at a temporary drop-off located in the Condit Elementary School parking lot, right across from city hall on South Rice Avenue.
      4. According to the news release, items that are accepted in the drop-off include: Food scraps (vegetable peels, fruit cores, coffee grounds, moldy foods, etc.); Meat, bones, seafood and shells; Compostable cups and utensils; [and] Paper napkins, towels and cut flowers
      5. A complete list of accepted materials can be found on the city’s website. All collected items will be transformed into nutrient-rich compost, according to the news release.
      6. … Composting is the process of breaking down food scraps to make compost, which can be used as fertilizer to build soil health and provide nutrients to plants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
      7. Elena Diiorio, a Bellaire Environmental Sustainability board member, said during a Jan. 6 City Council meeting that the program was created because Bellaire residents showed interest in what they should do with their food waste. Only a small fraction of Bellaire residents are educated on food composting, and very few use their own backyard composting methods, she said.
      8. “We know from our citizen survey that people are interested in recycling [and] they are interested in sustainability,” Diiorio said. “People are interested in what to do with food. You’re taking food waste, what you throw out on a regular basis, … where does it go? It needs to be diverted in a sustainable way.”
      9. … City Council unanimously approved the proposal to create the food waste program on Jan. 6.
      10. Council member Brian Witt said during the meeting that he has heard of a similar program done by West University and how successful it has been for the community. He said he hopes this is a program that continues beyond the initial eight weeks.
      11. “I think it’s a no-brainer because I do think there is a desire to have this option, and for the city to help facilitate that and make it easier, is a good thing,” Witt said during the meeting.
      12. Youth Board Advisory member Bella Kalra, who is a part of the environmental subcommittee, said that she appreciates hearing City Council’s support and positive comments on the program.
      13. “As a young person, we see how much climate change affects us, and hearing all your comments makes me so happy,” Kalra said.
      14. MIKE: I thought this was a really interesting story, and I think it’s an interesting and worthwhile experiment by the City of Bellaire.
      15. I’m going to repeat the list of items that can be brought to the recycling outreach, because it’s pretty comprehensive for most non-recyclable trash: Food scraps (including vegetable peels, fruit cores, coffee grounds, moldy foods, etc.); Meat, bones, seafood and shells; Compostable cups and utensils; [and] Paper napkins, towels and cut flowers
      16. MIKE: The city website for this event includes a graphic that is way more comprehensive than the list included in the article, so you might want to go to ThinkwingRadio-[dot]com to click on the story link, or you can go directly to the city site by using the link I’m including in my comments
   3. Friendswood increases permit fees for residential, commercial buildings; By Rachel Leland | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 5:15 PM Feb 6, 2025 CST/Updated 5:15 PM Feb 6, 2025 CST. TAGS: Friendswood City Council, Trade Fees, Inspection Fees,
      1. Friendswood property owners and visitors will now face increased fees for permits, inspections, solicitations and towing after the city decided to raise the charges.
      2. … Friendswood City Council voted unanimously to increase several fees at its Feb. 3 meeting, citing that many of the fees had not been updated in decades and that there was a need to pay for increased staff time spent conducting inspections.
      3. … The current fees were last updated in 1995, Director of Community Development Aubrey Harbin said. …
      4. City Manager Morad Kabiri said he felt increasing the fees could partially reduce the burden on taxpayers [saying,] “If we appropriately charge for the services by the users who are availing themselves to it then you’re able to offset the burden on property taxes.” …
      5. MIKE: The increased fees cover inspections and trades for residential and commercial, and cover electrical, plumbing, swimming pools, generators, reinspection, and towing.
      6. MIKE: The actual changes and amounts are listed in the article, so if this might apply to you, you can go to ThinkwingRadio[dot]com and click on the article link for more information.
   4. Tomball City Council hears presentation on drainage master plan draft; By Nichaela Shaheen | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 3:26 PM Feb 5, 2025 CST/Updated 3:26 PM Feb 5, 2025 CST. TAGS: Tomball City Council, Drainage And Flooding Master Plan, Infrastructure,
      1. Tomball City Council is moving forward with the city’s drainage master plan from Civil Systems Engineering, Inc., hearing updates about it during a presentation at a 3 workshop meeting.
      2. … The plan aims to develop a strategic plan to improve the city’s drainage infrastructure and mitigate flooding issues for both now and future conditions, Patrick Rummel, a systems engineer with Civil Systems Engineering, Inc., said.
      3. The plan’s development began in May 2023 using information from past flooding events like Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Harvey, as well as the Memorial Day flood in 2016. The engineering firm is also using the city’s 2019 future land use map, Rummel said.
      4. … The city will use the information from the drainage master plan to decide which plans will be used for capital improvement projects in the coming five to 10 years, depending on the city’s growth. Rummel said the main focuses include: Storm sewer expansion …; Detention basins …; (and) Infrastructure coordination …:
      5. [MIKE: Specific details these focuses are in the article, which you can read by clicking on the link included in this show post.]
      6. … Key projects outlined in the draft master plan include focusing on improving drainage infrastructure including channel/ditch enhancements, storm sewer upgrades and adding detention basins to mitigate flooding, Rummel said.
      7. These projects include: [the] M1 18 Basin project …; [the] North Cherry Street project …; [the] Southern Old Town Tomball project …; (and the) Tomball Hill Subdivision project … .
      8. [MIKE: Specific details of these projects are in the article, which you can read by clicking on the link included in this show post.]
      9. … City staff will work with Civil Systems Engineering, Inc. to make changes to the draft and will then finalize the plan to be presented to City Council during the Feb. 17 regular meeting, according to the Feb. 3 workshop agenda.
      10. MIKE: It’s always nice to know that municipal government is trying to stay on top of these important infrastructure issues.
   5. For Baytown residents, a legal win after a 15-year lawsuit still doesn’t guarantee clean air; by Keaton Peters | HOUSTONLANDING.ORG | February 6, 2025 @ 4:00 am. TAGS: ExxonMobil, Baytown, Clean Air Act, Known Carcinogens, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Pollution,
      1. For Sharon Sprayberry, the columns of pipes and rising smoke of ExxonMobil’s refinery in Baytown have cast a shadow over her life. When she was a kid, a job at the refinery was how her father put food on the table. She believes it’s also the reason that she developed asthma at a young age. Decades later, when she moved back to Baytown, she became part of a lawsuit against ExxonMobil under the Clean Air Act and after a 15-year wait, in December 2024, she got the news that her side won.
      2. “It was a great Christmas present,” said Sprayberry, now 75, in an interview with the Houston Landing. 
      3. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in December a lower court ruling that ExxonMobil committed more than 16,000 violations of its air permits at the refinery, incurring at least one violation each day for more than 8 years from 2005 to 2013. These occurred when the company expelled chemicals — including known carcinogens such as benzene and volatile organic compounds — into the air at levels above the legal limit allowed by the facility’s air pollution permits. 
      4. These unauthorized emissions totaled nearly ten million pounds of pollutants, with 90 percent being substances that the Environmental Protection Agency determined could endanger public health, court documents show.
      5. After multiple appeals, the full panel of 17 judges at the Fifth Circuit upheld a previous ruling to fine ExxonMobil $14.25 million for its violations. The case is the largest citizen-initiated lawsuit to enforce the Clean Air Act, and the decision has given hope to the plaintiffs and Baytown residents living near the refinery. ExxonMobil made $33.7 billion in earnings in 2024. If it chooses to continue the legal fight, the company has until mid-March to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal.
      6. [MIKE: $14.25 million dollars is chicken feed compared to the health issues that were no doubt caused by these emissions. I bet the fines weren’t even charged penalties and interest for inflation and intentional avoidance. Continuing with the story …]
      7. [An ExxonMobil spokesperson said in an email to the Landing,] “We’re disappointed in this decision and we’re considering other legal options.”
      8. The Environment Texas Citizen Lobby vs. ExxonMobil ruling demonstrates that although it may take decades, residents can challenge industry when pollution impacts their lives. Yet, it also underscores the challenges in the relationship between the Houston area’s petrochemical giants and neighboring communities.  Refineries and chemical plants across the shipping channel provide vital fuel to the local economy, but they often leave residents uneasy about the noise, abrasive smells and occasional explosions. 
      9. [MIKE: I’ve linked to the ruling in the story in case anyone is interested.]
      10. … The ExxonMobil Baytown complex stretches 3,400 acres along the shipping channel about 25 miles east of Downtown Houston, where the company directly employs about 2,000 people. In addition to the refinery that can process 584,000 barrels of crude oil per day, the complex also houses chemical manufacturing and advanced recycling plants.
      11. Sprayberry is not looking to get any money from the lawsuit personally. The $14.25 million penalty will go to the EPA. Instead, her motivations revolve around the precedent the case could set. She said, “The importance of the case is the legal standing for citizens to speak up and say, this air is not clean this, and this is why, and this is what needs to be done to rectify that.”
      12. Behind Sprayberry’s motivations are her own health challenges that she links to living in Baytown. 
      13. Sprayberry said, “I had lived in the area, moved away, and then come back, and I could see the changes in my health.”
      14. At only three months old, Sprayberry was diagnosed with asthma. Her breathing problems did not go away until age 18 when she moved from near the refinery in Baytown to Waco, where she attended Baylor University. She chose that location in part because she knew from visiting her great-grandparents in Waco that it was easier to breathe the air there. 
      15. [Sprayberry said,] “The day I moved into my dorm, I breathed wonderful, and I never used any asthma medication for the whole four years I was there.”
      16. She went on to have a career in the Navy and then as a technology officer for public school districts, which eventually brought her back to Baytown in 2004. Breathing in what she described as a “sulfur-like chemical smell,” her asthma flared up again after more than 35 years without any problems. 
      17. Around the same time Sprayberry was moving back to Baytown, Environment Texas, a nonprofit that advocates for clean air, water, parks, and taking action on climate change, was examining self-reported emissions data from ExxonMobil and other petrochemical companies in the area. They found numerous unintended emissions events exceeding legal pollution limits, which can be caused by equipment malfunctions, pressure build-ups, and natural disasters. But the state regulatory agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, would not take action against the company, Luke Metzger, Executive Director for Environment Texas said in an interview. …
      18. TCEQ fined ExxonMobil over $1.3 million for 36 air violations discovered at the Baytown refinery from 2005 to 2013. In an email to the landing, TCEQ described their enforcement process but did not respond to specific questions about the case. 
      19. Environment Texas, along with the Sierra Club, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the group’s members living in Baytown, including Sprayberry, using a section of the Clean Air Act that allows citizens to take legal action when they believe regulatory agencies are failing to enforce the law. 
      20. Environment Texas filed similar suits against Shell and Chevron Phillips for air permit violations at their facilities in the Houston area. Both of those companies agreed to settle the cases in 2009 and 2010, [paying] a combined $7.8 million and [installing] better pollution controls, which resulted in a 95% reduction in major unplanned emissions, Metzger said. 
      21. … Throughout the eight-year period covered by the lawsuit, court documents show that ExxonMobil did make investments to improve pollution controls in Baytown. The company spent more than $6 billion on facility maintenance and measures to better comply with environmental regulations. And by 2013, the amount of unauthorized emissions had decreased 95% from 2006 levels, according to a dissenting opinion signed by eight judges at the Fifth Circuit. 
      22. Lawyers for Environment Texas are skeptical of these amounts, but they acknowledge that ExxonMobil did make significant investments that lowered emissions. However, Metzger said that many investments occurred after the lawsuit was filed and overall air pollution reductions were only temporary. 
      23. Several key pollutants at the refinery have increased since 2013, according to EPA data. In 2021, the most recent year with facility-level data available, the amount of benzene emitted at the refinery was up 60 percent compared to 2013. Emissions of the compound 1,3-Butadiene, which along with benzene is listed as a carcinogen by the National Institute of Health, went up 78 percent over the same period.
      24. Emissions of toluene, which can cause eye irritation, trouble breathing, dizziness, and nausea, increased by a staggering 449 percent in the same period. 
      25. As the company looks to appeal the latest ruling, it also continues to expand its Baytown complex, and some residents and environmental groups believe ExxonMobil is still not doing enough to prevent excessive pollution.
      26. [Said Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston Jennifer Hadayia,] “Unfortunately, we have not seen a dramatic improvement in ExxonMobil being a good neighbor in regards to air emissions. Very little has changed.” 
      27. ExxonMobil’s Baytown complex was named by Air Alliance Houston near the top of its “Dirty Dozen” in a 2024 report that compared the largest sources of air pollution in the Houston area using the most recent five years of data from the EPA and TCEQ. 
      28. [Said a spokesperson for ExxonMobil in a statement to the Landing,] “Being a good neighbor is our priority. We remain focused on reducing emissions from our Baytown site and improving air quality in the community while providing the products that society relies on. We strive to comply with all applicable regulations across our operations.”
      29. Baytown resident Theresa Blackwood’s concern over air pollution has led her to keep a log of incidents — whether its strong smells, vibrations, or loud noises — that she notices from her home, less than a mile from the edge of ExxonMobil’s property. 
      30. If she goes outside at the wrong time, bad smells affect multiple parts of her body; [Blackwood said,] “Your eyes will burn. Your throat can burn. It’s not announced, so when you walk out, you don’t know what you’re walking out to.” 
      31. Blackwood, 58, had moved 27 times in her life before settling in Baytown, and she said she loves [the view from] her home on the shipping channel. 
      32. However, when foul odors overtake her home, Blackwood worries about long-term health effects because she doesn’t know what she is breathing in. Although she was not involved in the lawsuit, the court decision is exciting and gives her a sense of hope that standing up to ExxonMobil could be worth it. 
      33. [Said Blackwood,] “Exxon knows that the public is watching. They need to be more transparent.”
      34. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that from 2005 to 2013, TCEQ issued 36 violations and $1,358,745 in penalties against ExxonMobil’s Baytown refinery.
      35. MIKE: As a window covering installer, I made many trips into Baytown and other communities along “refinery row” in the 1980s and 1990s. I used to tell people how the air got so smelly in those areas that you could almost cut it with a knife. So this information of the air pollution in that region is not news to me.
      36. MIKE: $14.25 million in EPA fines and $1,358,745 in TCEQ fines are a drop in the bucket for ExxonMobil, which had $33.7 billion in earnings in 2024, and their legal fees were probably just the cost in-house of lawyers.
      37. MIKE: Sprayberry and other members of the suit should have gotten money for damages for the expense of treating their related health challenges, plus punitive damages, but maybe that would have to be a separate civil action.
      38. MIKE: You can bet that for the next four years of the Trump regime, there won’t be many of these victories, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Trump’s EPA forgives these fines.
      39. MIKE: But thank goodness for small victories, at least for now.
      40. MIKE: But this story does bring to mind an idea that’s been bothering me. At the end of the day, I don’t think that money ever really deters corporations from breaking the rules or injuring people.
      41. MIKE: People must be held to account. If in the course of civil discovery, it comes to light that responsible people knew that what their company was doing was not only harmful but illegal, there should be some sort of criminal accountability. This accountability can range from misdemeanor to felony, depending on the severity of the infraction, but business executives must have both figurative and literal skin un the game.
      42. MIKE: If legal penalties are supposed to have deterrent effects, then it’s obvious that penalties need to be rethought for civil cases so that there are better deterrents.
      43. MIKE: I might add that these same thoughts have occurred to me for political crimes as well.
   6. Houston required to allocate $100M to street, drainage projects; By Kevin Vu | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 2:59 PM Feb 5, 2025 CST/Updated 3:32 PM Feb 5, 2025 CST. TAGS: Mayor John Whitmire, Houston, Street And Drainage Projects, Texas Supreme Court,
      1. [MIKE: The details of this story really tick me off, and I’ll tell you why at the end.]
      2. Houston has to consider cuts to essential services or find new sources of revenue after the Texas Supreme Court denied Houston’s motion to appeal a 2019 lawsuit, requiring the city to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on street and drainage projects, according to the Jan. 31 case file.
      3. … The ruling is expected to increase the city’s budget gap for next year, City Controller Chris Hollins said in a Feb. 1 statement.
      4. [Hollins said in the statement,] “The city may be liable for over $100 million this fiscal year, and what was already a $230 million budget gap for next year is now $340 million. As such, the city government will be under pressure to consider painful cuts to essential services or find new sources of revenue.”
      5. Hollins told City Council on Feb. 5 that he’s concerned he won’t be able to certify the fiscal year 2026 budget, and that actions must be taken immediately. Hollins called for the creation of a “joint emergency task force” to address the situation.
      6. [Hollins said,] “I’m concerned about our ability to provide critical services in the face of our financial reality.”
      7. Finance Director Melissa Dubowski said the city is looking into receiving $50 million from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County to help offset the costs.
      8. … The 2019 lawsuit centers around a city charter amendment that required Houston to allocate 11.8 cents per $100 collected in property taxes toward street and drainage projects. However, engineers and Houston residents Bob Jones and Allen Watson sued previous Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration in 2019, alleging that the city has not been allocating the funds and that the city underfunded infrastructure funds by almost $50 million.
      9. The 14th Court of Appeals sided with Jones and Allen in April, but Houston appealed to the Texas Supreme Court in July. That appeal was ultimately denied Jan. 31.
      10. Mayor John Whitmire said in a Jan. 31 statement that he doesn’t disagree with the ruling and intends to comply with the court’s decision.
      11. [Whitmire said in the statement, “I was aware of the pending lawsuit from 2019 that I would inherit, and I knew it would impact our budget. This will allow us to collaborate with other levels of government and require a continued examination of all city operations to find savings, which is part of my commitment to eliminate waste, duplication and corruption.”
      12. Council member Sallie Alcorn said the city has a “very healthy fund balance” that can help the city bridge the budget gap, which she said is something the city has done before.
      13. [Alcorn said,] “There’s not a Houstonian in sight that doesn’t think we need to spend $100 million or probably more on streets and drainage, so I think this will be money well spent. And it’s just a matter of making sure we can make the rest of the budget work.”
      14. City Attorney Arturo Michel said during the Feb. 5 meeting that the city has until June 30 to move the $100 million to the streets and drainage funds, but there is an opportunity for a rehearing and clarification of the ruling.
      15. The $100 million is going toward the Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund, city officials said. As of Feb. 5, there has been no discussion on what projects will receive the extra funding.
      16. MIKE: On my 26, 2024 show item 2 and again on the October 10^th show items 3 and 4, I discussed this in some detail. In that story, I observed that Mayor Whitmire was taking the tax position of an old-style moderate conservative Republican. The type of conservative that is willing to cut services and shrink government by cutting — or at least not increasing — necessary taxes, even when there is a very real need to do so. Whitmire’s tax position was supported by conservative Council Member Amy Peck, who once worked as constituent services liaison for Dan Patrick when he was a Texas State Senator. That should say it all. (In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that Amy Peck is my ex-niece, although I’ve often wondered if there can really be such a thing.)
      17. MIKE: At one point in the September article I was citing, “[University of Houston politics lecturer Nancy Sims] noted … that council members [were] likely hoping the mayor will take the “rare window” of opportunity to take advantage of a tax hike for at least disaster recovery. …”
      18. MIKE: Well, he didn’t. Now those chickens are coming home to roost, and cuts in services and/or increases in user fees (another term for flat taxes) are likely.
      19. MIKE: If you want to feel further irked, consider his statement in today’s story from Whitmire: “I was aware of the pending lawsuit from 2019 that I would inherit, and I knew it would impact our budget.”
      20. MIKE: So, with advance certainty that this was coming, Whitmire still chose to cut government services for Houstonians by not using this rare tax window dictated by state government. I don’t believe that Whitmire’s certainty of this spending requirement was mentioned at the time that a tax increase was being considered. Isn’t that funny? In my opinion, this qualifies as not only fiscal irresponsibility and negligence, but lying by omission to Houston City Council and Houston citizens.
      21. MIKE: Whitmire then continues with the typical Conservative smokescreen for avoiding necessary taxes by making the BS claim that, “This will allow us to collaborate with other levels of government and require a continued examination of all city operations to find savings, which is part of my commitment to eliminate waste, duplication and corruption.”
      22. MIKE: This is always the claim, but even though there are always expenditures that might constitute “waste” in the opinion of some, that “waste” never balances a budget, or even comes close to balancing a budget.
      23. MIKE: I knew that John Whitmire would be a more Conservative mayor than Sheila Jackson Lee, and being more conservative typically means cuts and reductions in government maintenance and services in order to follow their tax-cutting ideology, whatever it takes.
      24. MIKE: People usually say, “I hate to say I told you so,” before saying exactly that. For me, I hate to have to say, “I told you so,” but I admit that it does at least give me some grudging satisfaction. I just wish it didn’t happen so often.
      25. MIKE: In any case, this is just another lesson: Progressives and Liberals need to make determined efforts to turn out to vote in elections, whether those elections are for presidential elections, off-year Congressional elections, or so-called off-off-year elections that typically are mostly for local and state government offices.
      26. MIKE: Turnouts for almost all elections in Harris County and elsewhere in Texas usually range from low to pathetic. I would love to be pleasantly surprised at high voter turnout in future elections.
      27. MIKE: Speaking of which, as mentioned at the top of the show, the next election is scheduled for May 3, 2025, with early voting beginning on April 22, 2025. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is April 22. Voter registration applications must be filled out and mailed at least 30 days before the election date, which in this case would be April 3^rd.
   7. TEA teacher cheating ring probe snares another 60 people, including 24 in Houston area; by Asher Lehrer-Small | HOUSTONLANDING.ORG | February 6, 2025 @ 5:22 pm. TAGS: Texas Education Agency (TEA), Cheating Ring, Fraudulent Teaching Licenses,
      1. The Texas Education Agency [TEA] is investigating 60 additional teachers, including two dozen from Houston-area districts, for possibly participating in a local cheating ring that prosecutors say allowed hundreds of educators to gain fraudulent licenses in recent years.
      2. TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky confirmed Thursday that the agency is now probing 160 teachers in connection with the cheating ring, up from the 100 educators identified in December 2024.
      3. The two dozen Houston-area educators include nine listed as working in Houston ISD, five from Cy-Fair ISD, three each from Aldine and Fort Bend ISDs, and one each from several other local districts. All districts have been notified by the TEA.
      4. Kobersky cautioned that the teachers may no longer work at the listed districts. Only six of the nine names of HISD teachers listed by the TEA match the names of employees in the district’s fall payroll records.
      5. In the past, Houston districts employing teachers identified by the TEA for possible involvement in the certification scandal have been put on paid leave until the investigation is complete. The examinations, which could result in teachers losing their Texas educator licenses, are separate from the criminal prosecutions of five people accused of orchestrating the cheating ring. Three of those facing charges were HISD staffers at the time of their arrest.
      6. Prosecutors announced the charges in October, alleging that the five defendants helped hundreds of educators [to] cheat on their state licensure exams. The scheme involved educators paying about $2,500 to have someone else take the test in their place. Teachers from across the state, including Dallas and Fort Worth, participated in the ploy, prosecutors said.
      7. The scheme netted its organizers $1 million, and the fraudulent licenses likely helped school employees keep their teaching jobs, secure promotions and increase their salaries, prosecutors said.
      8. MIKE: I’m going to take a little different spin on my commentary for this story. I think that in the realm of “crime doesn’t pay”, while a million dollars certainly still seems like a lot of money, as the saying goes, a million dollars isn’t what it used to be.
      9. MIKE: As an example, the million-dollar prize on “SURVIVOR” hasn’t changed since the series first went on the air in the year 2000. If that prize had kept up with inflation, it should now be almost $1.9 million based on the US Bureau of Statistics inflation calculator.
      10. MIKE: In the old 1955 series, “The Millionaire”, that million dollars would be worth almost $12 million dollars in today’s money. That’s when a million dollars amounted to real
      11. MIKE: For perspective, in 1955, while this isn’t a direct comparison given current technologies included in these items, you could get a decent middle-class home for under $20,000 and a new Chrysler Plymouth or Chevy car for about $2700.
      12. MIKE: Back in 1955, when the average salary was about $5000/year, earning the equivalent of a million dollars would take many lifetimes. That’s what a million dollars used to mean when that show was on the air.
      13. MIKE: Now consider what the ring leaders will be going to jail for. A million dollars today would buy 2 or 3 middle class homes. An average US family income would earn that in 10-15 years.
      14. MIKE: Is a million dollars still a pretty consequential amount of money? Sure. But the ringleaders of this fraud will probably have to disgorge their fraudulent earning, plus legal expenses, plus they may be fined, plus they will likely go to jail for years, when they could have simply earned this money while also having their freedom.
      15. MIKE: Like I said, crime doesn’t pay, and the perps will have lots of time to remember this.
   8. In other TEA-related news from Houston Landing — TEA warns 460 school districts about potentially illegal suspensions of homeless students; by Asher Lehrer-Small | HOUSTONLANDING.ORG | February 4, 2025 @ 4:00 am. TAGS: Texas Education Agency (TEA), Mike Morath, Homeless Students, School Suspension,
      1. [In mid-January, the Texas Education Agency (TEA)] warned about 460 school districts — including 19 of the 20 largest districts in the Houston area — … that they may have violated state law last school year by suspending students experiencing homelessness, according to agency leaders.
      2. The letters encourage leaders of the school districts to review their internal data, determine whether students received banned discipline and, if so, take steps to prevent schools from doing so in the future. The notice does not come with punishment or additional state oversight.
      3. [Brittany Wright, director of data for the TEA’s compliance and investigations department, wrote in the letter,] “If after analyzing your (district’s) data and practices, you determine that your (district) is not in compliance with statutory requirements, we strongly recommend you immediately implement corrective actions or improvements to your current policies and procedures.”
      4. The update represents the latest development on the issue after a May 2024 Houston Landing investigation revealed hundreds of districts have illegally suspended thousands of homeless students in recent years. 
      5. The count of districts, which the TEA provided to the Landing upon request, also provides new detail on the scope of the potential issue. The Landing has not published an exact count of districts that violated the law due to a quirk in state data that makes it impossible to definitively say how many districts illegally suspended students.
      6. Under a law passed in 2019, schools are not allowed to issue out-of-school suspensions to homeless students — who often rely on campuses for food and shelter — unless the students break rules involving violence, weapons, or drugs and alcohol.
      7. Following the Landing’s investigation, the TEA announced it would take new steps to track and prevent the illegal suspensions. In the fall, several Houston-area districts implemented new policies to crack down on the issue. And in late January, Alief ISD released a new state-mandated plan to address the problem, including changing procedures around how staff can suspend students.
      8. The mid-January warning letters went to all districts who submitted data to the state indicating one or more potentially illegal suspensions in 2023-24. The messages note that districts receiving the letters may not have actually suspended any students illegally. Children who became homeless after being suspended earlier in the year can appear in state data as illegally suspended, even though they are not.
      9. In an email, Conroe ISD spokesperson Sarah Blakelock said the district reviewed its internal data and found it had not suspended any students illegally. Regardless, the district added new training and information for employees to ensure schools continue to follow the law.
      10. [Blakelock said,] “The key message emphasized was avoiding out-of-school suspensions due to the unique challenges faced by homeless students.”
      11. Cy-Fair ISD spokesperson Leslie Francis acknowledged in an email that school staff illegally suspended four students last year due to “administrative errors.” Such errors are now flagged through an online software, and the district is planning more training for staff to address the issue, she said.
      12. Representatives from Houston, Katy, and Fort Bend ISDs, [which were] the rest of the five largest Houston-area districts on the list, did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment on the letters.
      13. In addition to the compliance letters, the TEA may investigate districts suspected of illegally suspending a larger number of students, and require them to address the issue with a corrective action plan, similar to [that of Alief ISD].
      14. The TEA declined to disclose which or how many districts could face those reviews, citing the “audit working papers” exemption of Texas’ open records law. The exemption allows government agencies to keep all information related to audits private.
      15. The Landing filed a public records request in December for documents that would show how many districts are facing scrutiny, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office ruled the records can be withheld as audit working papers.
      16. A letter sent by TEA officials to Paxton’s office indicates the agency’s special investigations unit, which can issue serious sanctions against school districts, may be involved in the probes of illegal discipline.
      17. MIKE: I understand why audits-in-progress should be kept private, but once conclusions are reached, they should be available to the public.
      18. MIKE: I think just the fact that this is a problem that needs addressing speaks to the inhumanity of homelessness affecting families with children, plus of course homelessness generally.
      19. MIKE: It’s good that the State has somewhat addressed the unfairness of suspending homeless students under certain circumstances, but the State should also be addressing homelessness generally in more fiscally substantive ways.
      20. MIKE: As I often remind you on this show, elections have consequences. If issues like this continually upset you, be better at showing up to vote in any and all elections.
   9. Fetterman finds new ways to distance himself from the Democratic mainstream; With each passing week, the differences between the old John Fetterman and the new John Fetterman become more obvious. By Steve Benen | MSNBC.COM | Feb. 5, 2025, 1:47 PM CST. TAGS: Senate Democrats, Cabinet Nominees, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania,
      1. Some Senate Democrats have been willing to vote for Donald Trump’s less outlandish Cabinet nominees, but Pam Bondi’s nomination for U.S. attorney general was a qualitatively different kind of case.
      2. The Florida Republican is a scandal-plagued election denier and former lobbyist for foreign governments, who, even during her confirmation hearing, refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
      3. Members of the Senate’s GOP majority were eager to confirm Bondi anyway, but there was no way that Democrats were going to go along with such a scheme. When the dust settled, the final tally was 54-46, with every member of the Democratic minority opposed to her nomination — with one exception.
      4. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted with Republicans.
      5. Around the same time, reporters started asking lawmakers for their reactions to Donald Trump’s apparent plan to “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, echoing the thoughts of many in his party, described the president’s proposal as “deranged” and “nuts.” The New York Times reported, however, that Fetterman had a different perspective.
      6. Outside the Senate chamber in the Capitol, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is known as one of the most staunchly pro-Israel Democrats in the Senate, called President Trump’s remarks “provocative,” but said that he would support a potential American occupation of the Gaza Strip, adding that Palestinians for years have “refused or have been unwilling to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves.”
      7. This came on the heels of the White House’s scandalous spending freeze, which the vast majority of Democrats were eager to denounce. Fetterman told reporters, however, that he wasn’t inclined “to freak out” about it.
      8. About a week earlier, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called for possible U.S. military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Fetterman quickly endorsed the idea.
      9. Circling back to our recent coverage, all of this appears to be part of a striking pattern. In the aftermath of the 2024 elections — a cycle in which his home state’s voters elected a new GOP senator and backed the Trump-Vance ticket — the Democrat has: offered positive comments about Trump’s goal of acquiring Greenland; met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago; joined Trump’s social media platform; endorsed a presidential pardon for Trump, calling the New York case against the Republican “bulls—”; described Trump as “a singular political talent”; met with Kash Patel and seemed reassured when the GOP operative said he wouldn’t pursue the names on his enemies list if confirmed as the next FBI director; and cosponsored the Republicans’ Laken Riley Act, ignoring the bill’s many serious flaws.
      10. Before the election, the Pennsylvanian also endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to make it a literal crime to sell “cultivated” lab-based meats.
      11. In case this isn’t obvious, in the not-too-distant past, Fetterman described himself as a “progressive” and backed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. More recently, however, the senator told NBC News, “I’m not a progressive.”
      12. It’s difficult to say with confidence what’s behind the Pennsylvanian’s shifts, but those hoping to see Senate Democrats maintain a united front against the new administration should keep this in mind: There are real differences between the old Fetterman and the new Fetterman.
      13. MIKE: I understand that he has to work for his particular state constituency, and Pennsylvania is a purple state which may well be at play in his recent positions and actions, but I think he’s gone way too far in his expressed willingness and desire to work with #Felonious47andtheCoupPlotters.
      14. MIKE: I’ve seen some comments to the effect that Fetterman’s stroke may be in play here. It’s certainly not unheard for strokes — which do often involve some degree of literal brain damage — to cause some changes in personality among those affected, but in the absence of any relevant medical information from Fetterman on this score, I don’t think that this is a fair observation.
      15. MIKE: Nonetheless, these reports are concerning and are also upsetting. Time will tell how this develops, and if Fetterman is primaried, we’ll see how that goes.
   10. Here’s what we know about a commuter plane crash in Alaska that killed 10 people; By  BECKY BOHRER | APNEWS.COM | Updated 7:06 PM CST, February 8, 2025. TAGS: Air Safety, Bering Air, Alaska Air Crash, NTSB,
       1. Authorities are working to recover the wreckage of a plane crash in western Alaska that killed 10 people while investigators are trying to determine what caused the small commuter aircraft to go down in the icy Bering Sea.
       2. The single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. The Bering Air plane was found the next day after an extensive search. Nine passengers and the pilot were killed.
       3. Crews on Saturday succeeded in recovering the remains of those killed in the crash from a drifting ice floe before the anticipated onset of high winds and snow.
       4. Here are things to know about the plane crash, which is one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years.
       5. … Officials said contact with the Cessna Caravan was lost less than an hour after it left Unalakleet on Thursday. Authorities said the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, and the aircraft went missing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome.
       6. The wreckage was found Friday by rescuers who were searching by helicopter. …
       7. Officials say a Black Hawk helicopter will be used to move the aircraft, now that bodies have been removed. The wreckage was located atop sea ice that is drifting about 5 miles (8 km) per day, complicating efforts.
       8. Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. …
       9. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending people from various states to investigate the crash.
       10. Radar data provided by the U.S. Civil Air Patrol indicated the plane rapidly lost elevation and speed, but it is not clear why that happened, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
       11. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said he was unaware of any distress signals from the aircraft. If a plane is exposed to seawater, an emergency locating transmitter sends a signal to a satellite, which then relays that message to the Coast Guard. No such messages were received by the Coast Guard.
       12. Flying is an important mode of transportation in [Alaska]. Alaska’s vast landscape and limited infrastructure makes traveling by plane a common thing. Most communities are not connected to the developed road system that serves the state’s most populous region.
       13. Some high school teams fly to sporting events against rival high schools, and goods are brought to many communities by barge or by air.
       14. … Authorities on Saturday identified the crash victims, who ranged in age from the 34-year-old, Nome-based pilot to a 58-year-old passenger, also a resident of Nome. …
       15. The flight company said it had set up telephone hotlines staffed with specialists to provide emotional support and updates to people who had loved ones on the flight.
       16. Other recent U.S. plane crashes are also under investigation.
       17. The Alaska plane’s crash marks the third major U.S. aviation mishap in eight days.
       18. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation’s capital on Jan. 29, killing 67 people.
       19. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground.
       20. MIKE: There’s a lot more detail in the story related to the aircraft, its passengers, its routing. and the search and rescue specifics, but that’s not my focus for the purposes of mentioning this story.
       21. MIKE: It’s never a good idea to jump to conclusions about these things while recovery efforts and investigations are still ongoing. And Alaska does have some very harsh and unforgiving weather conditions that can impact air travel there under the best of circumstances. Nonetheless, as Rachel Maddow often says, we should stick a pin in this and see what develops in the bigger scheme of things.
   11. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to bypass the Fed to lower interest rates; By Bryan Mena and Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN | CNN.COM | Published 4:34 PM EST, Thu February 6, 2025. TAGS: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Interest Rates, Federal Reserve,
       1. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a new plan in the fight to bring down historically high interest rates, and it’s got nothing to do with the Federal Reserve.
       2. Bessent, in two interviews this week, said the Trump administration wants to focus on lowering long-term interest rates, which are largely influenced by the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note. The Fed’s decisions, on the other hand, have a more direct effect on short-term interest rates, which control borrowing costs for Americans.
       3. On his fourth day in office, President Donald Trump said he will “demand that interest rates drop immediately” and that he understands monetary policy “much more” than the central bank and its leader, Chair Jerome Powell. He has also advocated that Powell be fired, though he has walked that back in recent comments.
       4. Still, despite Trump’s barrage of criticism against the Fed, Bessent is assuring Wall Street that the administration isn’t trying to twist the Fed’s arm, but rather carve out its own approach.
       5. “He is not calling for the Fed to lower rates,” Bessent told Fox Business on Wednesday. Instead, he said, the Trump administration is focused on lowering the 10-year Treasury yield.
       6. [Bessent said,] “If we deregulate the economy, if we get this tax bill done, if we get energy down, then rates will take care of themselves, and the dollar will take care of itself.”
       7. On Thursday, Bessent told Bloomberg TV that “we are not focused on whether the Fed is going to cut.”
       8. That might come as some relief to Powell, since it’s an implicit admission that the administration intends to respect the central bank’s right to make monetary policy decisions without any political influence.
       9. The Fed holds the main key to controlling the interest rates Americans pay to borrow money, predominantly by buying and selling government debt. Bessent’s plan of having the Treasury Department diverge from the Fed is unusual.
       10. [Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, told CNN,] “It’s quite unconventional for the Treasury Department and the White House to take an active role in influencing the 10-year yield. Historically, they’ve worked together with the Fed to do that. The administration can only influence yields indirectly with fiscal policy and deregulation.”
       11. … The rates Americans pay on mortgages, credit cards and other kinds of loans are largely based on that of the 10-year Treasury yield. While the Fed’s monetary policy actions influence it, the 10-year Treasury yield is free floating, meaning that any number of factors can cause it to go up or down beyond the Fed.
       12. For instance, in times of heightened geopolitical conflicts, investors tend to buy more US debt, including 10-year Treasury notes, which are deemed safe, stable assets to invest in, particularly during times of uncertainty. The flight to safety pushes yields down, which makes it cheaper for Americans to borrow money.
       13. As Bessent pointed out in his Fox Business interview, when the Fed cut rates by an unusually large half-point in September, the 10-year yield should theoretically have fallen. However, it ended up moving higher. That remained the case even after the Fed cut rates twice more last year.
       14. Since Trump took office, the 10-year yield has dropped a little. Bessent sees that as a reflection of traders recognizing that holding US government debt is less risky if federal spending is cut.
       15. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week the administration is forging ahead with its plans to “end the egregious waste of federal funding,” which is being partly facilitated through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
       16. MIKE: And which, I will add, it’s always worth noting is not an actual federal department. Continuing …]
       17. The Trump administration has said it is focused on boosting economic growth through “expansionary” policies. Its plan to gut government agencies and reduce spending could enable that growth to not be inflationary, positively impacting Treasuries.
       18. [José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, told CNN,] “They want growth to be buoyant but they also want to limit inflation expectations by showing some discipline on spending, and expectations of higher inflation are quite risky now because of the potential of tariffs to re-ignite goods inflation.”
       19. “Plus,” [Torres added,] “the focus on the 10-year yield re-establishes that monetary policy independence [that] we’ve had for so long, which should exclude any political influence. I think that’s a good precedent to reemphasize.”
       20. MIKE: There’s so much here to unpack.
       21. MIKE: It’s laughable when President Donald Trump says that he understands monetary policy “much more” than Fed Chair Jerome Powell. In fact, Trump is the most dangerous kind of person in a position of power: He’s a stupid person who thinks he’s smart.
       22. MIKE: When Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, “If we deregulate the economy, if we get this tax bill done, if we get energy down, then rates will take care of themselves, and the dollar will take care of itself.”
       23. MIKE: First, deregulation for its own sake is no great benefit. It mostly increases pollution and takes a toll on public health, but it can benefit big businesses by cutting their costs and legal responsibilities for protecting the environment. This will lead to poorer health outcomes for Americans and increased healthcare costs to consumers and the overall economy.
       24. Second, the tax bill is likely to mean a big increase in the budget deficit and the national debt, so any Trump tax bill is likely to increase interest rates as federal government borrowing expands.
       25. Third, heedlessly whacking away at federal spending programs to pay for permanent and deeper tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations will have a detrimental impact on the economy by cutting jobs — both federal and private sector jobs — thus leading to reduced consumer spending, and resulting in the slowing of overall economic activity. Now it’s true that a recession would probably lower interest rates, but I don’t think that’s what Bessent meant.
       26. MIKE: On energy, Bessent is making a common Rightwing Conservative conceptual error: He’s conflating oil and gas prices with all energy prices.
       27. MIKE: Oil prices are just one component of energy prices, affecting gasoline, natural gas, and other petroleum-based energies. But electricity is also energy, impacting travel, home, and business expenses.
       28. MIKE: By reducing government support for renewable energy and utility-scale backup battery storage — in fact, by the government actively working against them — Trump’s energy policies will increase electricity costs. This is because we have gone past the technological tipping point where renewable energy is now cheaper to produce than hydrocarbon energy. It will also have long-term impacts on our world technological position, and on our long-term energy independence.
       29. MIKE: Bessent also claims that since Trump took office, the 10-year yield has dropped a little. Bessent sees that as a reflection of traders recognizing that holding US government debt is less risky if federal spending is cut.
       30. MIKE: Well, I checked the graph of 10-year T-Bill rates. The 10-year interest rate hit a high of 4.75% on January 10^th. By January 17th, it had dropped to 4.65%. By February 5^th, about 2 weeks into Trump’s term, the 10-year T-Bill had dropped a bit more, to 4.42%. By market close on Friday the 8^th, two days after the article’s publication, rates had ticked back up a bit to 4.6%, which is about where it was in the last days of Biden’s presidency. So, it’s way to early for Trump to take credit for any rate drops and way too early to anticipate any Trump regime blame for rate increases.
       31. MIKE: All in all, Bessent’s comments are nothing but political puffery at this point in time.
   12. China lashes out at US ‘coercion’ after Panama declines to renew infrastructure agreement; COM | Updated 10:23 PM CST, February 7, 2025. TAGS: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Panama Canal, China,
       1. China on Friday lashed out at what it called U.S. “coercion” after Panama declined to renew a key infrastructure agreement with Beijing following Washington’s threat to take back the Panama Canal.
       2. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a briefing that China “firmly opposes the U.S. smearing and undermining the Belt and Road cooperation through means of pressure and coercion.”
       3. [MIKE: As the Chinese are often wont to say about us, they’re in no position to talk about geopolitical coercion. Continuing …]
       4. Assistant Foreign Minister Zhao Zhiyuan also met Panama’s ambassador to China and lodged solemn representations on Friday, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
       5. The Belt and Road Initiative is President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign [policy] drive to bind China closer to countries in the region and beyond by building roads, railways, airports, power plants, and other infrastructure. The program has completed some major projects but also raised concerns about debt and environmental impact.
       6. Panama’s decision to walk away from it was seen as a concession to the U.S. over the canal after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Panamanian leader José Raúl Mulino on Sunday that Panama must immediately reduce what President Donald Trump says is Chinese influence over the canal area or face potential retaliation from the United States.
       7. Mulino has rejected pressure from the new U.S. government to discuss ownership of a waterway that is vital to global trade.
       8. Despite that, some believe Panama may be open to a compromise under which canal operations on both sides are taken away from the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports company, which was given a 25-year no-bid extension to run them. An audit into the suitability of that extension is already underway and could lead to a rebidding process.
       9. A drop in water levels in the canal due to drought has slowed transit through the canal, raising further complaints from Trump, although the delays appear to have nothing to do with China.
       10. Lin said the Belt and Road Initiative has brought “active participation” from over 150 countries and that it has brought “fruitful results” to Panama and China, but gave no examples.
       11. “We hope Panama will bear in mind the general picture of bilateral relationship and the long-term interests of both peoples, resist external interference, and make the right decision,” Lin said.
       12. MIKE: It will be interesting to see what develops on the Canal question from this point.
   13. And now, a little treat. Because we have an extra minute, a bit of satire from Democratic Governor of Illinois, Jay Pritzker, billed as an important announcement. Now, Governor Pritzker

=====================================================

1. Make sure you are registered to vote! VoteTexas.GOV – Texas Voter Information
   1. It’s time to snail-mail (no emails or faxes) in your application for mail-ballots, IF you qualify TEXAS SoS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT APPLICATION (ALL TEXAS COUNTIES) HarrisVotes.com­ – Countywide Voting Centers, (Election Information Line (713) 755-6965), Harris County Clerk
   2. Obtain a Voter Registration Application (HarrisVotes.com)
   3. Harris County “Vote-By-Mail’ Application for 2023
      1. Austin County Elections
      2. Brazoria County (TX) Clerk Election Information
      3. Chambers County (TX) Elections
      4. Colorado County (TX) Elections
      5. Fort Bend County takes you to the proper link
      6. GalvestonVotes.org (Galveston County, TX)
      7. Harris County ((HarrisVotes.com)
      8. LibertyElections (Liberty County, TX)
      9. Montgomery County (TX) Elections
      10. Walker County Elections
      11. Waller County (TX) Elections
      12. Wharton County Elections
   4. For personalized, nonpartisan voter guides and information, Consider visiting Vote.ORG.   Ballotpedia.com and Texas League of Women Voters are also good places to get election info.
   5. If you are denied your right to vote any place at any time at any polling place for any reason, ask for (or demand) a provisional ballot rather than lose your vote.
   6. HarrisVotes.com – Countywide Voting Centers, HARRIS COUNTY – IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING: Do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of these IDs?
      1. Fill out a declaration at the polls describing a reasonable impediment to obtaining it, and show a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of ID:
      2. A government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
      3. Current utility bill
      4. Bank statement
      5. Government check
      6. Paycheck
      7. A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
      8. You may vote early by-mail if:You are registered to vote and meet one of the following criteria:
         1. Away from the county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period;
         2. Sick or disabled;
         3. 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
         4. Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
         5. Make sure you are registered:
         6. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
         7. CHECK REGISTRATION STATUS HERE
         8. CLICK How to register to vote in Texas
         9. Outside Texas, try Vote.org.
2. BE REGISTERED TO VOTE, and if eligible, REMEMBER TO FILL OUT AND MAIL NEW MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS FOR 2023.
   1. Obtain a Voter Registration Application (HarrisVotes.com)
   2. Just be registered and apply for your mail-in ballot if you may qualify.
   3. You can track your Mail Ballot Activity from our website with direct link provided here https://www.harrisvotes.com/Tracking

____________________________________________________________________________ Remember!  When you donate to KPFT, your dollars pay for:

• Transmitter and equipment costs
• Programs like Thinkwing Radio, Politics Done Right, and other locally-generated political talk shows
• KPFT’s online streaming
• Maintaining a wide variety of music programs

Each time you turn on the radio, you can hear your dollars at work! Make your contribution to this station right now. Just call 713 526 5738. That’s 713-526-5738. Or give online at KPFT.org!