Q: Can you tell me if there’s a law that requires political advertising to be paid for in advance?

We’ve reached the time of year when most of the news in our communities is dominated by returns — students return to the classroom, athletes return to the field and the court, and the lazy days of summer become a memory in the rear view mirror as we prepare for the return of fall. 
This year, of course, is a little different. Who is to say how long in-person learning will continue at our schools, or how many games will be played under the Friday night lights before COVID safety precautions cause a pull-back?

Hurricane Laura brings renewed pitch for Ike Dike

Capital Highlights Week of Aug. 24 - 28

School year brings an Apple for students, too

Texas tries nation’s first virtual criminal trial

Everyday news reports are filled with statistics as COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines. 
The number of individuals who have tested positive and those who have died of the coronavirus. Patients hospitalized and those in ICU. Confirmed cases broken down by gender, ethnicity and county of residence. The tally of businesses that have closed. The rising unemployment totals. Terms of financial assistance programs available at federal, state and local levels. Bankruptcy and foreclosure totals.

Here are some recent questions and answers, without identities, to the NNA postal hotline, shared for their interest to publishers and circulation managers.

Q: Our city council cut down on the public comment period in its meetings by restricting the subject matter of comments to items on the meeting agenda. Also, no matter how many people are signed up to speak, the council is limiting the total amount of time allotted for any agenda item to 10 minutes. Are these changes in compliance with the Texas open meetings law and are they somehow tied to the governor’s COVID-19 order?

As I write this, TPA is preparing to say goodbye to Ed Sterling after 28 faithful years of service to the Texas Press Association. 
No one who has been involved in TPA any length of time doesn’t know Ed. 
From his weekly legislative update column to putting the Messenger together, there isn’t much within TPA’s walls that Ed hasn’t had a hand in.
Ed is probably one of the few people in the state who reads the Texas Register, the weekly notice from the Secretary of State that includes many changes to the Texas Administrative Code, cover to cover. 

Capital Highlights, Week of Aug.10-14

Instead of No. 2 pencils, PPEs top back-to-school list