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Week of Sept. 18-22

Paxton acquitted on all impeachment counts

Ken Paxton has been reinstated as Texas Attorney General after the Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted him of charges of bribery and misuse of office. Only two Republican senators joined the 12 Democrats in voting to convict him of some of the 16 charges heard by the Senate, with four other charges dismissed by the Senate, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Week of Sept. 11-15

Paxton trial completes first week

The first week of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Senate ended with his former lead law enforcement officer testifying an Austin developer alleged to have bribed Paxton constructed a “conspiracy theory” that federal officials altered a search warrant for his property, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Week of Sept. 4 - 8

EDITORS: This is an early bulldog edition of Capital Highlights to accommodate papers with early deadlines due to the Labor Day holiday. It will be updated Sunday if events dictate.

Hundreds of new laws go into effect

The Panhandle is remote, but friends are close

By KEN ESTEN COOKE, 2023-24 TPA President

“Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.”

– John Steinbeck

Ah, the Panhandle plains. Being in the Hill Country, I don’t get to visit “up yonder” frequently, but I was fortunate to attend the Panhandle Press Association’s regional convention in Canyon.

Take steps now to report on 2024 budgets

By JIM PUMARLO, Consultant

We’re more than halfway into 2023, and many local governments are well involved in exploring 2024 budgets.

Are your newsrooms aware of the process? Are you keeping readers abreast of the dynamics? It’s not too early to brainstorm ideas for timely and meaningful coverage.

Shaping and adopting budgets often takes months encompassing hours of meetings and hundreds of pages of documents. Yet most newsrooms likely observe and report only a snapshot of the process.

Week of Aug. 28 - Sept. 1

Texans asked to conserve energy in heat wave

The agency that operates the power grid for much of the state asked Texans to conserve energy use several times last week as the grid was beset with high demand and low wind-power generation, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Week of Aug. 21-25

STAAR scores show continued struggles in math, reading

Texas public student scores in standardized testing continue to improve since the pandemic, but more than half of those taking the test still struggle with math and just under half read below grade-level, the Texas Tribune reported.

Week of Aug. 14 - 18

Record sea temps could spur more hurricanes

Forecasters for the National Weather Service are anticipating a more active hurricane season this year because of record-warm ocean surface temperatures, the Texas Tribune reported.

Important developments for news producers

By KEN ESTEN COOKE, TPA President 2023-24

Two important developments surfaced recently which are huge for our newspaper industry.

Before we get to those, let’s celebrate our recent wins in the Texas Legislature. We had some minor setbacks, but thanks to the diligence of the TPA staff and our members who testified, we beat back a lot of bad legislation. A list of wins and losses can be found in the July Texas Press Messenger or online at www.texaspress.com/2023-session-one-toughest-most-successful.

Week of Aug. 7 - 11

Child care centers closing across state

An unprecedented number of child care centers are expected to close across the state as pandemic relief funding ends, the Texas Standard reported. A survey conducted by the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children of about 1,600 child care programs indicated 44% were likely to close their doors without additional funding. Federal pandemic relief funds ended for most centers in June.

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