Note: This is a special bulldog edition of Capital Highlights to accommodate early holiday deadlines. An updated version will be released Sunday as events dictate.

Bill passes to allow undocumented migrants arrests

Lege gets to work in fourth special session

Special session likely to end with no voucher deal

As the clock ran down  on the Legislature’s third special session, Texas House and Senate leaders exchanged barbs over Gov. Greg Abbott’s school choice bill and border security proposals, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

As I type this, the country has been without a Speaker of the House of Representatives for three weeks. This dysfunctional part of our government is what drives us crazy out here in John Q. Public land.

But I recently had a chance to attend the National Newspaper Association Convention in Washington, D.C. And I was inspired by the symbols and idealism upon which our country was founded, which further stoked my flame for our democratic experiment.

Abbott, House deadlocked over school choice, teacher pay

Gov. Gregg Abbott and the Texas House are at loggerheads over which will come first – vouchers for parents to pay for private school tuition, or funneling more money to public schools, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Early voting now underway

Early voting is now underway for the Nov. 7 general election. Voters will decide the fate of 14 proposed amendments, including measures to provide property tax relief and raise the homestead exemption to $100,000.

A nonpartisan explanation of what each proposition entails has been produced by the Texas Legislative Council and can be found at this link: https://tinyurl.com/5n946d32.

Abbott ties voucher passage to teacher pay, school funding

Gov. Greg Abbott, just hours after the Senate initially approved a school voucher measure, said he would add teacher raises and increased public school funding to the ongoing special session agenda if the Texas Legislature passes his voucher plan, the Texas Tribune reported.

By Jim Pumarlo, consultant

A divorce is finalized, but it is not recorded in the newspaper until four months later.
Someone appears in court for a domestic assault, but the sentence isn't reported until weeks after the fact.

The subjects naturally raise two questions: What constitutes these items as news? Why is there such a delay in the report?

These instances, and many more, occurred during my tenure as editor of the Red Wing (Minn.) Republican Eagle. Other editors can likely relate.

Texas employment at historic high, but jobless rate is up

For the 30th consecutive month Texas showed job growth, reaching just under 14 million jobs and outpacing the nation in its annual rate of employment growth, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

By Al Cross

Director Emeritus, Institute for Rural Journalism

After local police raided the office of the Marion County Record and the home of its owners, creating a national outcry that was entirely justified, the question was asked in newspaper offices around the country, and sometimes in their pages: “Could this happen here?”

It’s more likely in some places than others, depending on the nature of the paper, the town, its leaders and the police.