The Texan • 18th April 2022

Liberty Institute Creators Say UT Leadership 'Reneged' on State-Funded Plans for Right-Leaning University Programs

The University of Texas (UT) statistics professor that led the effort to create the Liberty Institute claims university leadership is sabotaging the state-funded project.

Carlos Carvalho, a statistics professor at UT Austin, drafted the original proposal in his office with other faculty members and supporters of the Salem Center for Policy Events, a center of the McCombs Business School that focuses on free-market policy.

The legislature agreed to the proposal and allotted $6 million to the “U

Dallas News • 20th June 2019

A Texas program that larded fines on drivers is dead at last

Texas roads just got a little freer.

Heeding cries from the Texas ACLU and other advocates, Gov. Greg Abbott has ended Texas' so-called Driver Responsibility Program, which authorized the Department of Public Safety to add surcharges to standard court fines incurred after infractions such as speeding tickets or driving with an invalid license. Between the surcharges and service fees (not to mention the initial price of a traffic ticket), this program was unfairly bleeding drivers dry.

For Texa

The Texan • 13th April 2022

From Waskom to Abilene: Behind the Movement of Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn

The local abortion ban that the City of Abilene will consider tomorrow traveled a long way to the council table.

An East Texas pro-life activist named Mark Lee Dickson founded the “Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn” initiative in 2019, convincing the city council of Waskom to adopt an enforceable abortion ban after the passage of a heartbeat law in nearby Louisiana stoked local fears of abortion facilities setting up shop just across the border in Texas.

Over two years, 350 miles, and 40 towns l

Dallas News • 29th July 2019

The feds still need to find out why an American was detained at the border for three weeks

Why did federal officials detain an American citizen from Dallas 70 miles from the border on the belief he might have crossed into the country illegally?

It sounds like a bad riddle, but it's unfortunately a reality that lasted for weeks.

All evidence points to Dallas as the birthplace of Francisco Erwin Galicia, who was detained at a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint in Falfurrias on June 27 on the way to a soccer scouting event. His mother produced his birth certificate, Social Securi

The Texan • 1st August 2022

Politicians, Activists to Pursue More Lawsuit-Enforced Abortion Restrictions in Coming Year

In less than a month, elective abortion in Texas will be punishable by life in prison Conservative Texas Republicans have shown eagerness to enact even more direct penalties in the nearing legislative session.

Yet despite the new availability of direct enforcement, some pro-life politicians and activists are hoping to expand the lawsuit-based method of enforcement that kept the Texas Heartbeat Act standing well before the end of Roe v. Wade.

After a “Sisyphean” pattern of passing marginal abor

The Texan • 7th July 2022

STAAR Results Show Achievement Gaps Between Charter Schools and ISDs, State Regions

After a significant drop in test scores last year, Texas public school students have begun the slow climb back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest test results.

A closer look at the data shows clear regional differences across Texas and mixed results in terms of how well charter schools compare to traditional school districts.

The scores presented here are for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) end-of-course exams, which cover high school classes in five s

Dallas News • 16th June 2019

Former ambassador to Mexico says the U.S. is talking about the border all wrong

In the eyes of former U.S. ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual, we’re talking about the border problem all wrong. Rather than describe a fight between neighbors, Pascual frames the issues of migration, drugs and crime as shared problems that free trade can help solve.

So when President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs unless Mexico cracked down on Central American migrants traveling through the country to the U.S., Pascual became a vocal detractor. Pascual, now the senior vice presiden

The Texan • 5th April 2022

Community-Based Foster Care Providers Improved in Most Metrics Last Year as Adult Preparation, Worker Turnover Worsened

The latest report on community-based care (CBC), released twice a year by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), shows the state’s active providers making progress on placing children in safe, stable residences.

However, the same report shows declines in preparing children for adult life and retaining staff.

The “legacy” model of foster care, which is still in place across most of Texas, tasks DFPS with placing children, managing their cases, and generating the network

The Texan • 2nd February 2022

Democratic, Republican Texas Agriculture Commissioner Candidates Criticize Sid Miller's USDA Lawsuit

Although Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller sued the federal government in his private capacity, the case is attracting attention on the campaign trail

Miller is facing outgoing state Rep. James White (R-Hillister) and economics professor Carey Counsil in the Republican primary for commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). Attorney Susan Hays and businessman Ed Ireson are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Hays and White have both criticized Miller for his lawsuit aga

Dallas News • 2nd June 2019

Rep. Jeff Leach is the rare politician who changed his mind

Since Jeff Leach joined the Texas State House in 2012, he has nabbed the title of Taxpayer Champion from the conservative group Texans for Fiscal Responsibility as well as endorsements from Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Right to Life. Leach built a reputation as a hardline conservative as he fell in step with other tea party darlings. Yet, after a slim election win in 2018, Leach left the Texas Freedom Caucus and killed his own abortion ban. Still, the legislator says his deepest beliefs have not b