Texas
What’s next at the Democratic National Convention
North Texas delegates to the Democratic National Convention tell political reporter Jack Fink the message they want to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Republican North Texas Congressman Roger Williams explains what he believes is a key economic argument for former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. Texas Representatives Brian Harrison and Mihaela Plesa discuss the ongoing school choice battle between Democrats and most Republicans in the Texas House. A controversial new policy at the State Fair over guns ends up with the Texas Attorney General threatening legal action against the City of Dallas. Jack Fink covers these stories and more in the latest edition of Eye on Politics (original air date: August 18, 2024).
Democratic National Convention
Delegates from across North Texas and elsewhere are convention-bound. They’re gathering in Chicago for the start of the Democratic National Convention on August 19.
Here’s what you can expect:
- Citing a source, CBS News reports President Biden and former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will speak Monday night.
- Former President Barack Obama will speak Tuesday night, while on Wednesday night, former President Bill Clinton will address delegates before Vice Presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
- On Thursday night, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept her party’s nomination.
The Vice Presidential candidates have agreed to a debate. Republican Ohio Senator JD Vance and Democratic Governor Tim Walz will square off October 1st on CBS News.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will face off in their first debate September 10th. Another debate between Trump and Harris may take place in October.
In the six battleground states the Real Clear Politics average of polls has tightened.
In Arizona, former President Donald Trump is leading Vice President Harris by point eight percentage points. Trump’s biggest lead comes in Nevada – where he’s up by 3.5% points. In Georgia, Trump is only up by 0.6% points. Harris leads in Wisconsin by 1% point. Her biggest gain over Trump is in Michigan where she’s up by 2.1% points. In Pennsylvania, it’s close to a tie, where Trump is up by 0.2% points.
Jack spoke with four delegates from Dallas County who are heading to the convention: Carmen Ayala, Kathy Nealy, Tony Pham, and Jeff Strater. They discussed the messages they would like to hear from Harris and Walz at the convention.
Watch Jack’s conversation with the DNC Delegates below:
Congressman Roger Williams on Trump-Vance message
The Trump-Vance campaign is renewing its focus on inflation, affordability, and border security.
They continue to criticize Harris for not holding a news conference or doing a formal, sit-down interview.
Jack spoke with North Texas Congressman Roger Williams, R-25th Congressional District, who chairs the Small Business Committee, about the presidential race.
Watch Jack’s interview with Congressman Williams below:
School Choice battle
The controversial policy of taxpayer-funded education savings accounts, ESA’s, or vouchers returned to the Texas Capitol last week.
The House Public Education Committee held hearings on this and other issues.
State Representative Brian Harrison, R-Waxahachie strongly favors taxpayer-funded education savings accounts. “I want every parent to have education freedom because I believe every child deserves a quality education and the best way to do that, Texas should make up for being late to school choice by being bold. I want us to have a truly universal education savings account program so that every family has the opportunity to make a choice for their kid.”
State Representative Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano, disagrees and says some rural Republicans in the Texas House will still join Democrats to try to block any legislation. “They continuously bring up that these voucher scams do not do anything to promote their districts and their schools. One of my colleagues pointed out that he represents almost 19 counties. I might be mistaken, but somewhere around 19 counties. Not one private school in any of those counties.”
While lawmakers held a hearing, bills will start being filed in November for the next legislative session that begins in January.
State Fair fight over gun policy
A legal fight is brewing involving the State Fair of Texas over its new gun free policy.
The Texas Attorney General sent the city of Dallas a letter last week threatening to sue over the new policy for this year’s event that won’t allow people who have permits to carry concealed firearms to bring them into the State Fair of Texas.
In a statement, AG Ken Paxton said the policy, “that infringes on LTC holders’ Second Amendment rights is unlawful. Dallas has 15 days to fix the issue, otherwise I will see them in court.”
The Fair begins September 27.
Leaders of the fair made the decision in part because there was a shooting there last year that injured three people.
The only exceptions to the new rule are for active police officers and certain retired officers.
Some 70 Republican state lawmakers signed a letter and sent it to the State Fair’s Board of Directors urging them to change the policy.
Representative Harrison was one of them. “Even if the State Fair’s intentions were pure there, it’s just a purely misguided policy. So, I very much hope they overturn it. Look, I’m proud to represent hundreds of thousands of Texans who believe in the Constitution. They believe in the Second Amendment, and they want their families to be protected. The good news is those things go together hand in glove. Even if the State Fair’s purported objective is to maximize safety, what they’ve done is to reduce safety.”
Representative Plesa supports the State Fair’s new policy. “When I see my colleague sign on to, a letter, you know, condemning the State Fair of Texas for trying to keep their community safe after they saw gun violence in Fair Park, that’s crazy to me. I think that’s why most people are ready for commonsense gun legislation, making sure that people have to do a background check that we don’t have a situation where three people were injured last year.”
Watch Jack’s interview with Representative Plesa below:
Watch Jack’s interview with Representative Harrison below:
City budgets
Two of the largest cities in North Texas, Dallas and Fort Worth, have proposed budgets for next year.
In Dallas, Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert proposed a $1.9 billion dollar general fund budget, which is up by more than $65 million dollars from this year’s budget.
Some highlights include: the largest single year reduction in the property tax rate. It would lower the rate from 73.57 cents per $100 valuation to 70.47 cents per $100 valuation.
The proposal would also increase the property tax exemption for those 65 and older and the disabled, from $139,400 to $153,400. The city would also hire 250 police recruits and add 63 firefighters and four paramedics.
In Fort Worth, City Manager David Cooke has proposed a nearly $1.1 billion dollar general fund budget for next year, up $49 million from this year’s budget.
Cooke said in his proposal that the city’s population could pass the one million mark next year. His budget would increase the property tax rate by half a cent from 67.25 cents per $100 valuation to 67.73 cents per $100 valuation.
In a July interview with Mayor Mattie Parker, she discussed whether Fort Worth could surpass the cities of Austin and Jacksonville in population, and a key element to make that happen. She also discussed the presidential race and U.S. Senate race in Texas.
Watch Jack’s interview with Mayor Parker below:
A Brazilian fitness influencer has died after getting into difficulty during the swimming portion of an ironman event in Texas.
Mara Flavia Souza Araujo was reported as a “lost swimmer” around 7.30am at the Ironman Texas in Lake Woodlands near Houston on Saturday. According to KPRC 2 News, safety crews could not immediately locate Araujo. The 38-year-old’s body was discovered around 90 minutes later in 10ft of water by divers. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department confirmed her identity in a statement to NBC on Monday.
“MCSO can confirm that Mara Flavia Souza Araujo, 38, of Brazil died while competing in the Ironman event in The Woodlands on Saturday,” the sheriff’s department told NBC News. “Preliminary investigations indicate she drowned during the swimming portion of the event.”
Araujo was an experienced triathlete and had completed at least nine ironman events since 2018. She had more than 60,000 followers on Instagram and had posted about the importance of making the most out of life in the days before her death.
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“Enjoy this ride on the bullet train that is life,” she wrote in Portuguese. “And even with the speed of the machine blurring the landscape, look out the window – for at any moment, the train will drop you off at the eternal station.”
Organizers of the race expressed their condolences on Saturday.
“We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the athlete and will offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time,” race organizers said in a statement on Saturday. “Our gratitude goes out to the first responders for their assistance.”
A glamorous triathlete who drowned during an Ironman competition in Texas shared a photo from a swimming pool during a final training session just two days before the tragic race.
Brazilian influencer Mara Flávia, 38, shared the shot of her on the edge of a pool on Thursday — two days before she vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning.
“Just another day at work,” Flávia, 38, wrote in Portuguese alongside the pic of her wearing a matching pink swimming costume and cap.
The influencer, who had more than 60,000 followers online, chose the Robin S track “Show Me Love” for her post with the hashtags “triathlon,” “swimming” and “triathlete.”
Flávia vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning – the first of three grueling trials that competitors face during the 140-mile race.
Fire crews were told about a “lost swimmer” at around 7:30 a.m., one hour into the pro-female swim, KPRC reported.
Rescuers battled challenging visibility conditions before Flávia’s body was pulled from the water just after 9:30 a.m.
Montgomery County Sheriffs confirmed that the victim “drowned while participating in the swim portion of the event,” according to a statement. The office said its Major Crimes unit will continue the investigation “per normal protocols.”
Shawn McDonald, a volunteer, recounted the commotion before the swimmer’s body was recovered.
The dad, who volunteered with his daughter Mila, 12, said a group of younger volunteers in a kayak raised a flag and blew their whistles, “yelling for help.”
“I heard them say she went under,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I had Mila hand me the paddle and I started calling out to the athletes around us to stop so I could cross. I made my way over in about 30 seconds.
“When I got there and asked what happened, they all said the same thing: She went under. Right here. Right below us. The panic and fear on their faces won’t leave me for a long time.”
The volunteer recalled how one man had a “thousand-yard stare” on his face – before diving into the water in a desperate bid to find Flávia.
“I dove in immediately and began searching. After about a minute underwater, I felt her body with my foot. I surfaced, took what seemed like the deepest breath I have ever taken and went back down. She was gone.”
Boats with sonar combed the area – and McDonald was told to leave the water before the body was recovered.
“The victim was found in about 10 feet of water on the bottom of the lake,” Buck said. “The dive team accessed the victim, brought her up about 9:37 and then brought her over to the shore where she was pronounced DOS [deceased on scene],” Palmer Buck, the Woodlands fire chief, said.
It’s not known what caused the triathlete to go under the water.
Journalism grad Flávia previously worked in radio and television before pursuing a sporting career at age 28.
She previously twice won the Brazilian Grand Prix, and finished third in the Brasilia triathlon event.
Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball
Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
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