By Austin Lewter, director Texas Center for Community Journalism

Are you a news ambassador?

If you are running a community newspaper, you sure are. And that means you have a role with a new initiative we are rolling out at the TCCJ. 

We look to build a Texas cohort collaboration of News Ambassadors, a collaborative journalism project under the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

This is an early bulldog edition of Capital Highlights for the week of May 27. It will be updated on Sunday if events dictate.

Additional disaster assistance approved 

House Democrats call for education special session

Attention newsrooms: It’s time to get serious about 2024 elections coverage. I hear the collective groan. The reaction is likely shaded by the strident national contests and their seemingly never-ending campaign cycles.

By JIM PUMARLO, Consultant

By Austin Lewter, director, Texas Cener for Community Journalism

William Faulkner has often been cited as one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century.

He was born Sept. 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi.

His publishing career began in 1919 but he was most prolific in the 1920s and 1930s.

Faulkner was awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature for “his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.”

Flood victims urged caution upon returning home

As East Texas residents return to clean up their homes and businesses after extensive flooding earlier this month, the Texas Department of State Health Services urged residents and business owners to exercise caution. Among the recommendations:

Spate of tornadoes far outpaces the average

April was a busy month for tornadoes across the United States with 373 recorded, bringing the total for the year to 549, the Austin American-Statesman reported. That is nearly double the average at this point in the year, the National Weather Service says.

High-end electrical users could strain grid

Early voting underway in local elections

Early voting began Monday, April 22 for municipal, school board and various bond elections. It ends on April 30 with Saturday, May 4 being election day. What is on the ballot depends on where you live.

‘Aggressive’ hurricane forecast for Gulf CoastColorado State University researchers are calling this year’s hurricane season forecast “the most aggressive” ever, the Texas Standard reported. They say there is a 54% chance a hurricane will strike the Texas coast, and a 25% chance it will be major.