21 Dead in Uvalde: A gunman armed with an automatic rifle killed at least 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday. GoFundMe has set up a central donation page for family aid with verified campaigns at bit.ly/3z2OwUz. Statewide gun violence prevention nonprofit Texas Gun Sense accepts donations at bit.ly/3MQizCX.
The Show Must Go On: Donald Trump is set to headline the National Rifle Association convention in Houston this Friday. The NRA announced that he will be joined “in a celebration of Second Amendment rights” by Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. John Cornyn, and Sen. Ted Cruz, though Cornyn has since dropped out.
School Board Boiling Point: The Texas Association of School Boards severed its ties with the National School Boards Association this week, following the discovery that the NSBA had been planning to ask the White House to send soldiers to school board meetings to protect board members. That request never happened, but a September letter from NSBA did ask Biden officials to investigate threats against trustees as terrorism, drawing instant Republican backlash.
Church Cover-Up: A highly anticipated investigative report released on Sunday showed that leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention for two decades hid allegations of sexual abuse rather than reporting accusations to authorities or firing those responsible. The report pointed to Prestonwood Baptist in Plano (Ken Paxton and Jeff Leach‘s church) and its pastor, Jack Graham, as an example.
Safer Sixth – Choose Your Fighter: A memo released last week by police Chief Joe Chacon and Development Services Director Denise Lucas laid out two options to improve safety on Sixth Street: a $898,187 plan that would replace all existing cameras in the district and add new cameras, and a $193,000 plan that would just add cameras.
Housing Is Vital: Local nonprofit Project Transitions announced a $3.5 million campaign Wednesday to develop 101 housing units exclusively for people with HIV. The HIV: Housing Is Vital campaign will supplement more than $25 million in public funding to construct the projects.
Results Are In: After election day Tuesday, races to watch include Georgia governor, which sees the Democratic star Stacey Abrams against incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp. In Arkansas, Sen. John Boozman faces Democrat Natalie James, after Boozman made enemies in the Trump base by refusing to help overturn the 2020 election. In Alabama’s Senate race, Democrat Will Boyd will almost certainly face Katie Britt, who nearly won outright but faces a run-off with U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, who was un-endorsed by private citizen Donald Trump.
Quote of the Week
“This is on you. Until you choose to do something about it, this will continue to happen. Somebody needs to stand up for the children of this state.”
– Beto O’Rourke, interrupting Gov. Greg Abbott’s press conference on the Uvalde school shooting
This article appears in May 27 • 2022.