While Alcatraz is now a tourist attraction, the nearby San Quentin prison remains the nation’s oldest prison, having been built in 1854. Of course, prisons can be renovated, but the criminal justice system is too often stuck in the past — including when it comes to technology. Now, the current coronavirus epidemic has placed a...
The latest information on Coronavirus COVID-19, also known as the Wuhan Flu, from Johns Hopkins University shows widely varying numbers of confirmed cases and apparent mortality rates by nation. The People’s Republic of China, the virus’ epicenter, was reporting 81,058 cases as of March 17 with 3,230 deaths, with 4.0 percent of those diagnosed subsequently dying. Italy...
March 2 was a big day for Texas. It marked, of course, the 184th anniversary of our independence. But it also began an important transition for some of the most vulnerable Texans — children in foster care. Since 2017, the state has been working to make its foster care system more responsive to the needs...
In between pleas for us to wash our hands, stock up on supplies and — above all — not panic, we’re now being told that the coronavirus outbreak shows that we should unanimously support Medicaid expansion. The irony of this statement is that the states with the highest incidence of acquiring the infection are those that expanded Medicaid. According...
The city of Austin has spent nearly $300,000 on holiday parties over the past two years. Officials defended this splurge, saying that city employees deserve recognition for all their hard work. However, a tip from an employee was what spurred an investigation by local news media in the first place. Their analysis yielded an interesting find: the city of...
Advocates are attempting more and more to link the Austin homelessness crisis to Texas’ refusal to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. But the advocates’ proposal is a recipe for disaster that will cause further harm to our neighbors experiencing homelessness, and make it more difficult for the poor to access health care. The plan is...
Sky-high property taxes are perpetuating an affordability crisis, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pointed out. Abbott told the Rotary Club of San Antonio, “One thing that is driving up the cost of housing and the cost of living is skyrocketing property taxes—skyrocketing property taxes that are beginning to force people out of homes they’ve lived...
Every March, when the weather in Texas is mild (except for those thunderstorms) and the Mexican free-tailed bats return to Austin, South by Southwest (SXSW) dominates Texas’ capital city for 10 days. But with an announcement on Friday, the annual tech, film and music gathering that was slated to run from March 13 to the 22 was canceled...
President Trump signed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act into law in December 2017. It cut taxes for most Americans, especially those living in low-tax states. But higher wage earners living in high-tax states such as California and New York weren’t able to deduct more than $10,000 of state and local taxes (SALT) off of...
Liberal activists and open border advocates argue that sanctuary policies are good for the communities that adopt them because they make them safer by increasing trust between illegal aliens and the police. But the victims and their families do not agree. There are countless cases of violent crimes — including rape and murder — that...
Local governments are addicted to debt. Over the past decade, cities, counties, school districts, and special districts have been on a borrowing binge—and last year was no exception. New data shows that local government debt grew to more than $365 billion in fiscal year 2019, an increase of almost $11 billion over the previous year....
After the warmup contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, 14 states and the territory of American Samoa are voting on Super Tuesday. California and Texas will award 48 percent of the delegates that day. Providing some perspective to the size of these two states, their most-populous counties, Los Angeles (10.1 million) and Harris (4.7 million), have a combined...