Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced Senate committee assignments for the 88th Texas Legislature on Jan. 23.
Senator César J. Blanco (SD-29) was appointed to five key Senate committees — The Senate Committees on Health & Human Services; Natural Resources & Economic Development; Water, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs; Veteran Affairs; and Border Security.
For the Texas House and Senate, there is not much daylight between each chamber’s priorities in this year’s legislative session. Leaders say the focus will be on property tax relief, border security and employee raises. Preliminary budgets from both chambers were released last week, the Austin American-Statesman reported, with a record $288.7 billion budget for the next two years. The money in the budget is made up of $93.7 billion in federal funds, $130.1 billion in state general revenue funds, and $64.9 billion in other funds.
Bilingual-English as a Second Language Family Night will be held Monday, Feb. 6 starting at 6 p.m. at the Apache Elementary cafeteria.
The event will give students/parents the opportunity to learn about Fort Stockton ISD’s Bilingual ESL Programs and community resources.
House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, told The Dallas Morning News and other media outlets that he is open to bringing resort-style casinos to Texas. But don’t expect to find slot machines in 7-Eleven stores if casino gambling is legalized.
“What I don’t want to see is to walk into every convenience store and see 15 slot machines,” Phelan said. “I want to see destination-style casinos that are high quality and that create jobs and that improve the lifestyle of those communities.”
Jan. 11
Lydia Rachel Hernandez, of Fort Stockton at 2:49 p.m., officers with the Fort Stockton Police Department apprehended Hernandez and she was charged with criminal mischief more than or equal to $100 less than $750. Hernandez received bonds totaling $3,000 and is still in jail.
Jan. 12
A grant program begun by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2018 may one day save the life of a Fort Stockton police officer.
“We must do all we can to protect those who protect us,” Abbott said when he signed Senate Bill 12 in 2018, funding a $23 million grant program designed to provide rifle-resistant body armor to law enforcement.
In the words of one critic, “Musical comedy is back.”
Fort Stockton Community Theatre will host Texas Comedies, a non-profit theatre group from Austin who write and produce musical comedies based loosely on Texas historical events, on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7:00 p.m. and on Jan. 29 at 2:00 p.m. at The Nelson Street Theatre.
Doors will open 30 minutes before the performance.
Texas is rodeo country.
Fort Stockton’s Comanche Springs Rodeo is growing in popularity, and Chamber of Commerce officials are working hard to add more events and make the rodeo itself easier to enjoy.
And when rodeo fans pack the Pecos County Coliseum March 23-25, they’ll find there’s not a bad seat in the house.
That hasn’t always been the case and the chamber received numerous complaints.
But, the chutes have now been moved.
Open range land for grazing cattle is a West Texas tradition dating to the 19th Century and is still practiced today in some parts of Pecos County. But a high volume of vehicular traffic – specifically on F.M. 1053 and F.M. 1450 – has created dangerous conditions for drivers.
Jennifer Gonzales addressed the commissioner’s court on Jan. 9 in the hopes that range land could be fenced in order to keep the cattle off the road.
Gonzales presented photos of recent vehicle vs cattle accidents, involving Fort Stockton and Imperial residents, on the two roads.
