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Travis County to help low-income families pay for child care

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Travis County to help low-income families pay for child care


AUSTIN, Texas — It’s Spanish only for the kids enrolled at Cielito Lindo Spanish Immersion Preschool. Maria Dominguez owns three Spanish immersion preschools in Travis County. 

“We focus on the social and emotional part of child development,” said Dominguez. 

The average cost of child care in Texas is $1,300 per month, and while Cielito Lindo offers scholarships, many families still can’t afford it. 


What You Need To Know

  • Travis County voters approved Proposition A, a property tax increase which is expected to generate $75 million to create nearly 2,000 new child care slots and nearly 4,000 new after-school and summer programming slots 
  • The average cost of child care in Texas is $1,300 per month
  • Child care advocates suggest it will cost $90 million per year in state funding to get at least 10,000 kids off the waitlist

“Even for those kids that we do receive assistance, they’re not paying the full amount that we charge a month. We’re constantly trying to make up for that amount because, again, we still have to pay for a facility for teachers being able to provide competitive wages because they deserve it,” said Dominguez. 

Last week, Travis County voters approved Proposition A, a property tax increase which is expected to generate $75 million to create nearly 2,000 new child care slots and nearly 4,000 new after-school and summer programming slots for school-age children. But there are nearly $80,000 children on a waitlist for subsidized care in Texas with an estimated wait time of two years.  

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Child care advocates suggest it will cost $90 million per year in state funding to get at least 10,000 kids off the waitlist. 

“We have seen voters say over and over again that this is a priority,” said David Feigen with Texans Care for Children.

During the last legislative session, lawmakers defeated a $2 billion proposal to step in and fund child care providers. And now that federal pandemic-era funds are gone, policy experts say state lawmakers need to act. 

“If we don’t provide this funding, we will see more parents leaving the workforce, more businesses struggling to recruit and retain staff, more children in low-quality settings,” said Feigen. 

Travis County Judge Andy Brown hopes the passage of proposition A sends a message to state leaders to act. 

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“If we are figure out ways to provide that, like we’re doing here in Travis County, it’s going to help our economy,” said Brown. 

But some representatives expressed uncertainty about allocations this time around during an interim House hearing. 

“We don’t always know, in the environment, [if we] can keep funding going up because there are other priorities for our states,” said Republican Rep. Angie Chen Button.

The priority for child care providers will always be the kids. 



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Austin, TX

Texas Longhorns Release First Injury Report vs. Kentucky Wildcats

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Texas Longhorns Release First Injury Report vs. Kentucky Wildcats


AUSTIN — The Texas Longhorns and Kentucky Wildcats have released their initial student-athlete availability report ahead of Saturday’s meeting in Austin.

Texas is listing receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. as questionable due to a foot injury while linebacker Morice Blackwell Jr. is questionable after sitting out for the 20-10 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks last week.

“He’s progressing this week,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said of Moore Jr. during Wednesday’s SEC Weekly Teleconference. “We’ll see if he’ll be ready to go here Saturday, but we’re surely a better team when he’s out there.”

Fortunately for Texas, running back Jaydon Blue was not listed on the report after being seen in a sling following the Arkansas game.

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Here’s the full report for both teams:

Texas vs. Kentucky injury report

Texas vs. Kentucky injury report / secsports.com
Texas vs. Kentucky injury report

Texas vs. Kentucky injury report / secsports.com

Sarkisian provided an injury update on Moore Jr., Blue and Blackwell Jr. on Monday during his weekly press conference.

“I think Blue’s good,” Sarkisian said. “Like I said, he went with us today and worked this morning. So we’ll see how it goes. … Mo Blackwell was out last week. … I’m hopeful we can get him back this week. We’ll see how it goes. … DeAndre got nicked up during the game with a foot injury. Again, those two guys (Blackwell) are integral parts to our program, not only on offense and defense, but on special teams. They’re critical. So hopefully we get both those guys back.”

No. 3 Texas and Kentucky will kick off from DKR on Saturday at

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Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Here Is What The College Football Playoff Bracket Looks Like After Nov. 19 Rankings

MORE: Texas A&M Aggies Coach Slips Up In Press Conference When Asked About Texas Longhorns

MORE: Brent Venables Blasting 5-Star Commit For Visiting Texas Longhorns? ‘Not Committed!’

MORE: Texas Longhorns Remain at No. 3 in Latest College Football Playoff Rankings

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MORE: Texas Longhorns Announce Home and Home Matchup vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish



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Austin, TX

UT Energy Expertise To Guide New Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, Bolster U.S. Energy Supply

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UT Energy Expertise To Guide New Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, Bolster U.S. Energy Supply


AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin will partner with industry and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to build and expand a hub for hydrogen energy production along the Texas Gulf Coast that will help increase and diversify the nation’s energy supply. UT serves as founding member and lead academic organization.

The HyVelocity Hub (HyV), a regional energy consortium, aims to become the largest hydrogen hub in the nation. It will leverage the region’s high concentration of existing hydrogen production and end-use assets to develop low-carbon intensity hydrogen that can power trucks, industrial processes, ammonia production, refining and petrochemical production, and marine shipping fuel.

“Texas is the nation’s energy capital, and UT is the energy university, and we are no stranger to playing a leading role in America’s energy innovation,” said UT President Jay Hartzell. “The success of the HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub is critical to our nation’s future energy security. We are excited to work with our industry partners and apply our vast energy, business and policy expertise to develop the hydrogen workforce and accelerate production along the Gulf Coast.”

UT will provide expertise to support community benefits activities and hydrogen workforce development efforts. UT, through the IC2 Institute and the RESET lab in the Cockrell School of Engineering, has a significant track record of working with over 80 communities in Texas and bordering states to understand community needs and connect these to economic development initiatives to improve the lives of all community members. The hydrogen proto-hub demonstration facility at the Center for Electromechanics will serve as a key resource for hands-on workforce training activities. UT researchers will also conduct life-cycle and techno-economic analyses for the projects. For example, they will provide the analyses required for meeting emissions criteria, clean hydrogen standards, and cost benchmarks, and will report these data to the Department of Energy.

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“UT Austin’s role in the HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub will be vital to both providing the research and expertise needed to accelerate the global market for hydrogen, and to developing the workforce needed to support the industry’s advancement over the long term in Texas and the Gulf Coast,” said Brian Korgel, the Rashid Engineering Regents Chair Professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and the director of the UT Energy Institute. “We are proud to be part of this important project that will advance secure and sustainable energy in the U.S. and all over the world.”

HyV’s work will be at the forefront of maintaining and expanding Texas as a global leader in hydrogen energy development. With $22 million in the first tranche of funding, HyVelocity is expected to create up to 45,000 well-paying jobs over its lifetime and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7 million metric tons per year — equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 1.5 million gasoline-powered cars. The Department of Energy is investing $1.2 billion in the project.

As the nation’s premier university for energy innovation and excellence, UT brings an unmatched scale, depth and breadth of expertise and a pragmatic approach to advancing solutions across the full spectrum of energy. Situated in the heart of Texas, UT is in the center of the energy capital of the world. The University boasts numerous top-10 academic programs and a vast community of minds spanning a multitude of energy departments, centers and institutes. UT’s extensive industry partnerships and field research extend from the oil fields of West Texas to the other side of the world, with faculty, students and staff engaged in applied research in hydrogen, carbon capture, wind, solar, batteries and more.



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Austin, TX

Texas offers 1,400-acre ranch to build deportation facilities

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Texas offers 1,400-acre ranch to build deportation facilities


AUSTIN, Texas — The state of Texas is offering to give over 1,400 acres of land near the U.S.-Mexico border to the incoming Trump administration to use for deportation facilities. 


What You Need To Know

  • In a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham formally offered a 1,402-acre ranch to help assist in a mass deportation effort
  • The land, located in Starr County, was purchased by the Texas General Land Office on Oct. 23, 2024
  • Less than 24 hours after buying the land, Buckingham’s office granted a 1.45-mile long easement to allow the state’s border wall to be built across the land
  • Buckingham later spoke to Fox News to discuss her plan to gift the land, and she said she is “100% on board with the Trump administration’s pledge to get these criminals out of our country, and we are more than happy to offer our resources to facilitate those deportations of these violent criminals”

In a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham formally offered a 1,402-acre ranch–located 35 miles west of McAllen, Texas–to help assist in a mass deportation effort.

“My office is fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history,” the letter reads. 

The land, located in Starr County, was purchased by the Texas General Land Office on Oct. 23, 2024. Less than 24 hours after buying the land, Buckingham’s office granted a 1.45-mile long easement to allow the state’s border wall to be built across the land.

According to Buckingham’s letter, the previous owner of the ranch refused to allow a wall to be built on her property and “actively blocked law enforcement from accessing the property.”

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“I am committed to using every available means at my disposal to gain complete operational security of our border,” the letter states. 

Buckingham later spoke to Fox News to discuss her plan to gift the land, and she said she is “100% on board with the Trump administration’s pledge to get these criminals out of our country, and we are more than happy to offer our resources to facilitate those deportations of these violent criminals.”

Throughout his campaign, Trump promised to conduct one of the nation’s largest mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in American history.

It is estimated that over 11 million undocumented immigrants currently live in the U.S., and any mass deportation operation would require a large amount of funding, manpower and resources. 

Trump previously suggested he would use the National Guard, and maybe even the active military, to target undocumented immigrants. 

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Texas will likely play a crucial part in the enforcement of Trump’s immigration plans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already made border enforcement one of his top priorities over the past couple of years with his multibillion-dollar border security effort–Operation Lone Star.



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