AUSTIN, Texas — True to tradition, Democratic Sen. Judith Zaffirini, dean of the Texas Senate, this week filed the first Senate bill ahead of the 89th Texas legislative session.

“Before a session is over, we’re already working for the next session,” Zaffirini said.

The first 40 bills in the Senate are reserved for the lieutenant governor’s priorities. Zaffirini’s Senate Bills 41 to 74 have a large focus on education. She reintroduced a bill that would allocate state funds to provide free pre-kindergarten to families.

“The reason I keep filing is that I believe so strongly in it and that times change, people change, situations change,” Zaffirini said.

Education is a priority for many Democrats in the lower chamber. Rep. Mary González introduced multiple bills that focus on providing quality education from early childhood through higher education.

“I really think of all my bills as a birth through career type of agenda. So we have everything from inclusive child care to exploring the ways in which special education is addressed in higher education,” González said.

Education is a large priority for both parties, though many Republicans support the idea of school vouchers to allocate taxpayer dollars towards private schools.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said last week that private school vouchers are his priority. His preferred bill has not been filed but is expected to be debated in the first 60 days of the session during which only his priorities are taken up.

This year, college students across the state spoke out against the law that removed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices from their campuses. Democratic Rep. John Bucy filed a bill to repeal the ban while Republican Rep. Carl Tepper wants to take it one step further.

“We just want to put everyone on a level playing field,” Tepper said.

He filed a bill to ban DEI offices and initiatives from government entities. He expects this bill to be successful.

“The offices of diversity, equity and inclusion, which I think is a misnomer, they were really weaponized to be sort of a reverse discrimination against Asians or white people and others, and showing favoritism of some races over others and certainly sexual orientation as well,” Tepper said.

Republican lawmakers are also focused on a number of bills involving border security.

Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson filed a bill in the House to prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving in-state tuition by requiring a university to notify law enforcement of undocumented students.

She was unavailable for an interview but said in a statement: “This legislation is a top priority of the Texas GOP, and it honors the message Texas voters delivered when they elected me and other like-minded conservatives to the Texas House.”

Lawmakers will gavel in January. Zaffirini — who has never missed a vote during her tenure — is looking forward to the first debate.

AUSTIN — Texas Longhorns men’s basketball picked up its second win of the season in dominant fashion at the Moody Center Tuesday, smothering the Chicago State Cougars from start to finish for a 105-58 victory.

True freshman guard Tre Johnson once again led the way with 19 points, marking the third straight games he’s paced the team in scoring. He was one of five Longhorns in double figures, joining Arthur Kaluma (15 points, eight rebounds), Kadin Shedrick (12 points), Julian Larry (10 points, four assists) and Ze’Rik Onyema (18 points, six rebounds).

Texas held Chicago State to 30 percent shooting while finishing with 19 points off turnovers. The Longhorns also went 24 of 33 from the foul line and had a 50-18 edge for points in the paint.

“I definitely like our mindset,” Texas head coach Rodney Terry said after the game. “We’ve worked really hard the last couple days on our man-to-man defense … We placed a heavy emphasis on that. I want to see us come out and get lost playing really hard on defense.”

For the Cougars, guards Jalen Forrest and Matthew Robinson both led the way with 14 points rebounds. Saxby Sunderland added 10 points of his own.

Texas jumped out to a 12-0 behind four early points from Shedrick and triples from both Chendall Weaver (seven points, nine rebounds) and Johnson.

This was a sign of things to come. The Longhorns continued to have hounding defense in the paint and had a clear emphasis on pushing the ball quickly down the floor, which led to a flurry of dunks and easy buckets as Chicago State’s defense was unable to set up in the halfcourt.

Texas then had a 13-0 run that was highlighted by a alley-opp off the glass from Jordan Pope to Johnson, who then made a triple on the next possession to extend the lead to 47-11 with 4:11 left in the half.

Shedrick nearly put a bow on a dominant first half with a putback dunk at the buzzer, but officials overturned it upon review. Still, Texas headed into halftime with a 50-18 lead over the Cougars.

At the half, Johnson led the way with 10 points while Shedrick had nine points. Kaluma had eight points, six rebounds and three assists. The Longhorns had 12 fastbreak points in the first half and 13 points off eight Chicago State turnovers.

The dominance continued to start the second half. Weaver hit a triple on Texas’ first possession before the Longhorns continued adding to the lead with constant trips to the foul line.

Johnson then hit back-to-back triples to extend the league to 79-31 with 11 minutes to play. At this point, the Longhorns were just playing pick-up out there before continuing to cruise their way to the finish line. Onyema got extensive action late in the game and had arguably his best performance as a Longhorn.

The Longhorns will host Mississippi Valley State on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.

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AUSTIN, Texas – The flames burned a bit brighter at three Austin barbecue restaurants after a big win.

The Michelin Guide Texas was officially released at a ceremony in Houston on Monday, Nov. 11. The announcement came with an image of a familiar looking plate of food that seemed to acknowledge just how big BBQ is in Texas. 

Austin’s one-star BBQ recipients include:

• InterStellar BBQ
• la Barbecue
• LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue

Texas Michelin Guide: Central Texas restaurant winners announced

Cole Parkman, the pitmaster for LeRoy and Lewis, provided FOX 7 with a tour of their restaurant.

“We’ve got quite a bit on today. We’ve got briskets back there. And then there are pieces of shoulder right here,” said Parkman.

With the award, Tuesday’s prep work certainly had a different feel.

“It’s fabulous. And it’s a wonderful company to be a part of. I’m just a little humble kid from Pasadena, Texas. Never thought I’d be working at a place with all of these Michelin-star chefs. It’s a wonderful place to be,” said Parkman.

The award wraps up a big year for LeRoy and Lewis. Earlier this year, they opened a South Austin location after working the past seven years out of a food trailer.

“Well, you know, a shock is really an understatement,” said Parkman. 

The smoke coming from the pits at InterStellar’s Northwest Austin location was preparing meat for Wednesday’s customers. The owner of Interstellar, John Bates, was in Houston for the ceremony. 

FOX 7 spoke with Chef de Cuisine Sinjin Tiger, who said he was at home when the award was announced.

“I was trying to relax. I was hanging out at home with my wife and the dogs and trying to pay attention to her, trying not to pay any attention to it. And then all of a sudden, I just started getting a bunch of phone calls and text messages, and it just kind of blew me away,” said Tiger.

Sinjin thinks their pork bellies, served with a peach tea coating, contributed to the win.

“It means the absolute world. I know this is something that Jon has been working for, you know, pretty much his whole life, and I feel like we’re just incredibly blessed to have the team that we have to work towards this goal and allow us to accomplish this goal,” said Tiger.

The owners of la Barbecue were not available for comment, but the staff said they’re also excited about receiving a star. The four other Austin restaurants awarded with One MICHELIN Star include:

• Barley Swine
• Craft Omakase
• Hestia
• Olamaie

“To be a Michelin Star restaurant is a big deal. And it is mostly fine dining and is really with the intention of doing this and being a Michelin Star restaurant. And somebody mentioned to me, well, why come to Texas if you’re not going to pick a barbecue place? I thought, well, you know. You’re right,” said Parkman.

The famous guidebook uses anonymous inspectors to judge locations and typically visit more than once. Officials with the guide say they were impressed by what they found on the menu in Texas. And now Central Texas BBQ is in the guide.

“And it’s nothing short of ecstatic for them. And I love to see what they’re doing and where they’re going to go after this,” said Tiger.

A little more than a dozen Austin area restaurants were also recognized for having great food at great value. 

The full Michelin Guide Texas totals 117 Texas restaurants offering 26 types of food. They’re located in Austin, DFW, Houston, and San Antonio.