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Texas counties don’t have the power to ban solar farms, attorney general finds

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Texas counties don’t have the power to ban solar farms, attorney general finds


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The Texas attorney general’s office on Wednesday dealt a blow to a rural county that has been searching for ways to keep solar farms away.

Residents in Franklin County, about a two-hour drive east of Dallas, have been fighting proposals for solar development because they don’t want to see trees cut down, grasslands scraped away or wildlife blocked with fences, among other reasons.

Residents there pushed their county commissioners last year to impose a 180-day moratorium on commercial solar development, which the county attorney warned would not be enforceable. The commissioners later rescinded it, and the county attorney in February asked the attorney general’s office to review whether they had the power to enforce such a ban.

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Angela Colmenero, who is serving as provisional attorney general while Ken Paxton awaits a trial in the state Senate that will decide whether he will be removed from office, told the county that Texas law doesn’t give county governments specific authority to ban the development of solar farms. And while other laws do give counties control over roads and public health, those laws could not likely be stretched to back up a solar farm ban, she said.

Two leaders of the Franklin County group opposing solar farms had not yet seen the ruling when reached for comment.

The argument in Northeast Texas is not an isolated case. Across the nation, communities that are used to having open wild or agricultural land are seeing that property being redeveloped for wind turbines and solar panels. Others in Texas, which produces more wind power than any other state and is second in solar power production, have fought developments with lawsuits, Facebook groups and a legislative ban on companies from China, Iran, North Korea or Russia connecting to the state’s electric grid.

While wind and solar power play a significant part in slowing the emissions of greenhouse gases that are fueling climate change, they also require a lot of space. Pushback from residents has prompted discussions of where clean energy technology should best be built and how.

In Texas, some urged lawmakers earlier this year to pass strict regulation of proposed wind and solar projects, but that idea received significant opposition from renewable energy companies that called the proposals unfair and overly restrictive and pointed to the jobs and cheap, emissions-free power they provide. The bill proposing the regulations did not pass.

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TCU Volleyball Dominates Texas Tech on Senior Night

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TCU Volleyball Dominates Texas Tech on Senior Night


A common theme for No. 22 TCU has been their complete dominance on their home floor this season. The Horned Frogs finished the year 14-1 at Schollmaier Arena. On Friday night, in front of over 3,000 fans, TCU swept Texas Tech (25-14, 26-24, 25-11).

The four seniors honored by TCU were Melanie Parra, Cecily Bramschreiber, Stephanie Young and Ashlyn Bourland. All four players found ways to contribute as Parra finished with 14 kills and seven digs. Bramschreiber filled up the stat sheet with four kills, four aces and seven digs. Both Young and Bourland got an ace.

Both teams traded points in the early going, but Bramschreiber sparked a 7-2 run to give the Frogs a 16-9 lead. TCU hit .417 in the first set and dominated the first set capped off by a Becca Kelley ace.

In set two, Texas Tech made things much closer jumping out to a 8-5 lead. A 4-0 run from TCU put them back in front. This set included multiple runs and it was Tech that got it to set point leading 24-22. TCU was able to end the set on a 4-0 run courtesy of kills from Jalyn Gibson and Parra paired with aces from Bramschreiber.

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Trying to keeps things alive, TCU wasn’t met with much resistance from the Red Raiders in the third set. The Frogs kept up the pressure with multiple runs to build a massive 17-8 lead. Bourland picked up her first career ace and an attack error ended things.

It was a fun night for the seniors that played in front of the TCU crowd for the last time. The 14 wins at home tied the school record for most wins at home in a single season. They also picked up the most wins in a season since 2015. What Jason Williams has done for this program in such a short time has been remarkable to watch.

The Frogs move to 19-7 overall 11-5 in conference. They still are fifth in the Big 12 standings with two games to go. They will travel to Morgantown on Wednesday to take on West Virginia at 6 p.m. and then to Cincinnati on Friday at 1 p.m.

Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!

Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. 

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Texas AG sues Dallas for decriminalizing marijuana

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Texas AG sues Dallas for decriminalizing marijuana


Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit Thursday targeting the blue city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalizes marijuana.

Paxton alleges that Proposition R, which “prohibits the Dallas Police Department from making arrests or issuing citations for marijuana possession or considering the odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure,” violates state law.

The attorney general argues in the lawsuit that the ballot measure is preempted by Texas law, which criminalizes the possession and distribution of marijuana. Paxton also claims the Texas Constitution prohibits municipalities from adopting an ordinance that conflicts with laws enacted by the state legislature.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks outside the U.S. Supreme Court on November 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow,” Paxton said in a statement. “The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them.”

Paxton called the ballot measure “a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution” and threatened to sue any other city that “tries to constrain police in this fashion.” 

WHAT ARE THE TOP RISKS OF MARIJUANA USE?

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A flower bud of marijuana.  (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

The lawsuit comes after interim Dallas Police Department Chief Michael Igo directed Dallas police officers not to enforce marijuana laws against those found to be in possession of less than 4 ounces. 

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Ground Game Texas, a progressive nonprofit group that campaigned in favor of the ballot measure, argued it would help “keep people out of jail for marijuana possession,” “reduce racially biased policing” and “save millions in public funding.” 

TEXAS AG PAXTON FILES CRIMINAL REFERRAL AGAINST DOJ FROM ‘SUSPICIOUS DONATIONS’ THROUGH DEMOCRATIC GROUP

marijuana plant

A mature marijuana plant begins to bloom under artificial lights at Loving Kindness Farms in Gardena, Calif., May 20, 2019. Paxton has sued the city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.  (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

“It’s unfortunate but not surprising that Attorney General Ken Paxton has apparently chosen to waste everyone’s time and money by filing yet another baseless lawsuit against marijuana decriminalization,” said Catina Voellinger, executive director for Ground Game Texas.

“Judges in Travis and Hays counties have already dismissed identical lawsuits filed there. The Dallas Freedom Act was overwhelmingly approved by 67% of voters — this is democracy in action.”

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Since January 2024, Paxton has filed lawsuits against five Texas cities that decriminalized marijuana possession, arguing these policies promote crime, drug abuse and violence. 



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Tre Johnson, Texas Longhorns Scrape Past Saint Joseph’s to Win Legends Classic

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Tre Johnson, Texas Longhorns Scrape Past Saint Joseph’s to Win Legends Classic


The Texas Longhorns are heading back to Austin with some early-season tournament hardware in hand.

Tre Johnson battled through another poor shooting night but closed the game out for Texas once again, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead the Longhorns to a 67-58 win over Saint Joseph’s at the Legends Classic championship round in Brooklyn Friday night.

Transfer guard Julian Larry sparked the Longhorns late, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half. Arthur Kaluma added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists while Kadin Shedrick had 10 points and six rebounds.

The Hawks were led by Rasheer Fleming, who stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Xzayvier Brown added 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting.

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The Longhorns jumped out to an 11-6 lead after seven early points from Kaluma. St. Joe’s started out cold from the field but controlled the game with hard-nosed defense and the occasional press while dominating the offensive glass. This was highlighted by a possession where the Hawks got four consecutive offensive rebounds but only scored one point as a result.

Johnson stayed aggressive on offense for Texas but was off on his shot and was impacted by the on-ball defense of St. Joe’s.

Mark, Pope and Johnson all hit a triple for Texas in about a two-minute span ahead of halftime to give the Longhorns their biggest lead at 32-26 but the Hawks responded with a free throw from Haskins 3-pointer from Brown before halftime to cut the lead to 32-30.

The defense from the Hawks ramped up even more, as the Longhorns were stuck in the mud on offense and had little to no ball movement. St. Joe’s was hardly much better, but its defense continued to set the tone and eventually swung the momentum.

Larry then hit back-to-back triples as the two teams traded buckets on five straight possessions. Consecutive dunks from Ajogbor and Fleming but the Hawks in front 50-46 with 8:25 to play, but Larry continued to take over. He hit 1,000 career points with a driving layup before finding Kaluma for a corner triple to put Texas back in front at 51-50.

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It didn’t stop there for Larry, who found a cutting Shedrick for a dunk before diving on a loose ball down at the other end to secure possession for Texas, which had built a 55-52 lead with 3:13 left. The Longhorns used the momentum to put together an 8-0 run, which essentially sealed the win in a game where scoring felt hard to come by.

Johnson then closed the game out with six points in the final 4:11 of action, including a pullup jumper at the foul line to put Texas up 63-55 with 1:19 left.

Texas will host Delaware State on Nov. 29.

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Other Texas Longhorns News:

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MORE: Texas Longhorns’ Tre Johnson Named SEC Freshman of The Week

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MORE: Tre Johnson Recaps Texas Longhorns Debut: ‘Didn’t Faze Me’

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