Q: On the advance agenda for our next school board meeting “teachers salary scale” is listed as one of the topics of discussion in the meeting’s closed session. Isn’t salary scale a policy discussion that should be in open session?

The rattlesnake was uncoiled, curled in an elongated ’S’ on the edge of an asphalt road. The grass and dirt, and a distinctive white scrap of something at the side of the road, offered some sense of scale, but none was needed. Rattlers always look lethal, regardless of size.

Abbott, Patrick react after 20 die in deadly shooting
AUSTIN — After a gunman was arrested in the killing of 20 people and wounding 26 others at a popular shopping venue in El Paso on Aug. 3, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered thoughts and prayers.
Abbott ordered flags lowered in memory of those who lost their lives and said flags should remain at half-staff through sunset on Aug. 8.
The suspect, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, surrendered after waves of first responders arrived on scene.

Paxton lauds ruling against preclearance for redistricting maps
AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded a federal court ruling allowing the state to proceed with redistricting legislation without asking the federal government’s permission.
The July 24 ruling by a three-judge federal court rejected plaintiffs' petition to require the state to obtain permission from the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal court before redistricting legislation could take effect.  

Top officials attempt to clarify new hemp law for prosecutors
AUSTIN — Some district and county attorneys reportedly have begun to dismiss misdemeanor marijuana possession cases following the Texas Legislature’s passage of House Bill 1325, a law creating a legal path for the cultivation and marketing of hemp and hemp products.

Texas receives infusion of funding for border region law enforcement
AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott on July 9 announced the receipt of $15 million in federal funding meant to increase operational capabilities of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.

Lieutenant governor names members to redistricting panel
AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on June 28 released the names of his appointees to the Texas Legislature’s 2021 Redistricting Committee.

Attorney general announces crackdown on annoying calls
AUSTIN — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission, on June 25 announced a crackdown on “illegal robocalls.”

Q: We have a new custodian of open records at the sheriff’s office and that person has reduced the information we get in dispatch logs to the bare minimum. We used to get so much more. What information should this new “gatekeeper” release to us?

During one of the first Little League baseball games I covered as reporter and photographer, I was confronted by a gentleman who asked me to explain the Little League rules that govern subbing in a player who is not in the batting order.
I suspected it was a test, and that he knew the answer. 
I was already familiar with the far too prevalent notion that women knew nothing about sports and really had no business participating in them. I knew, too, how to read a face, and was fairly certain my interrogator had the same attitude about female reporters.