El Pasoans are bracing for a big-time tax increase. Earlier this month, the El Paso city council took up the matter of the city’s proposed tax rate which, if adopted, would hike tax bills as “it doesn’t offset a sharp rise in property valuations.” Here’s more from the nonprofit news organization El Paso Matters Under...
As most of the country struggles with the effects of stagflation and is either in or will soon be in a recession, Texas has been an economic leader. The Texas Model of economic freedom with the strongest state spending limit in the nation, no personal income tax, sensible regulations, and a relatively low cost of...
Comal ISD, a mid-sized school district located on the I-35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio, raised eyebrows recently with the adoption of its 2022-23 budget. Compared to the previous year, CISD’s newest All Funds budget (which includes spending out of the General Fund, the Child Nutrition Fund, and the Debt Service Fund) increased by...
Answer: $136,011.20—plus many handsome benefits. The new information comes courtesy of the city of Austin which, in response to a Public Information Act (PIA) request sent last month, provided the homeless strategy officer’s latest employment contract. While city officials have yet to fulfill the PIA request in full (the portion outstanding seeks: “Any bonuses paid...
It’s not just energy prices. Over the past year, the prices of a wide range of other commodities are also increasing—most notably the “critical minerals” needed for a wide range of advanced technologies. Lithium prices are up more than tenfold over the past two years, copper is up almost 50%, and nickel has roughly doubled....
As of this winter, 36 states had passed legislation aimed at keeping critical race theory and other “divisive concepts,” sometimes referred to in law as “prohibited concepts,” out of K-12 public school classrooms. Despite these efforts, these very concepts are still being taught under the guise of addressing mental health and well-being. And I fear it is...
Like hundreds of millions of Americans during the pandemic, residents of the District of Columbia walked about the city, smartphone in hand. Some listened to podcasts, talked to a loved one, or bided time in the augmented reality of Pokémon GO. Many residents were likely aware that their phones were tracking them as they stretched...
A short, new video is making the rounds online, highlighting a troubling situation in Amarillo, Texas. Recall that in May, Amarillo city councilmembers voted 4-1 “to approve an ordinance authorizing and issuing $260 million in tax and revenue notes to fund the Amarillo Civic Center project.” City hall’s decision sparked outrage because just a short...
“Spanish Dagger” is a yucca plant common in these wide plains of the West Texas. Its leaves contain a fiber the Native Americans often used to sew together animal hides—the tough fiber. Cattle rancher Ann Mitchell is that tough fiber. Ann’s family has owned the Spanish Dagger Ranch for nearly a century—and every ounce of toughness...
Partisans across the nation denounced Republicans during the 2021 debate over election integrity measures for “waging a nationwide assault on voting rights,” and dreaming up policies that were “Jim Crow in a tuxedo.” Unfortunately for the left’s narrative, if there was a vast rightwing conspiracy to suppress votes, then it’s doing a pretty awful job...
At 12, Chloe was confused; at 13, she told her parents she believed she was a boy. Her parents took her to a doctor who put her on puberty blockers and testosterone to help her “transition.” At 15 — years before she would be allowed to get a tattoo or buy a drink — doctors cut...
Amid the first conventional war in Europe since 1945 and China’s massive military buildup — including nuclear weapons — the U.S. military is experiencing a dangerous drop in its warfighting capability. The U.S. Army, the largest service, has only reached 40 percent of its recruiting goal with just more than three months remaining in the fiscal year....