Early voting begins Oct. 24 Early voting in the Nov. 8 general election begins Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 4. Applications for voting by mail must be received by Oct. 28, according to the secretary of state’s office.
House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said Friday he opposes a push by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to end tenure for new professors at the state’s public universities and to revoke it for faculty who teach critical race theory, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
The U.S. Census Bureau released its latest estimate, which indicates Hispanic residents in Texas make up more of the state’s population than white residents. The new population figures from the American Community Survey indicate Hispanic Texans comprise 40.2% of the state’s population last year, while non-Hispanic white Texans made up 39.4%, as reported in the Texas Tribune. The estimates, from July 2021, are not considered official but reflect trends that demographers have been tracking for years. Hispanics accounted for nearly half of the state’s population increase of 4 million residents since 2010. Census figures indicate almost half of Texas residents under the age of 18 are Hispanic.
It was brought to my attention earlier today that my missives here in this space every week have taken on a more serious tone. That is a fairly accurate description as it seems the Lord has been guiding me to be more serious of late and that tells me there must be a reason for the more dire tone. Perhaps it is due to the fact that my own life has been fairly serious of late, or maybe it is because I feel like the days we live in require a seriousness that most seem to not recognize. \\ We live in hard times. That is impossible to not see. The violence in our world is everywhere. There is now no longer “big city” crimes and violence because it happens in small town America too. The cost of living is currently spiraling upward at a rate where it is becoming more and more of a challenge to keep the bills paid and food on the table. Unemployment is rampant. The chasm between the rich and the poor is ever widening, and the world that our children and grandchildren are growing up in is becoming one that I would not ever wish for them to have to face. Yep, that is some pretty serious stuff.
I drove to Texarkana earlier than usual to meet someone who needed a prescription I’d gotten filled for him. As I neared the city limits, the light flashed ‘empty’ on my dash. Perfect, now I needed gas in my car. Something I wait forever to do, not just on Sundays So, I exited at the next off-ramp, my exit anyway, to reach my toothache friend.
139 E.N. Front Street
New Boston, Texas 75570