This Week in Texas tackles budget surplus, taxes, and start of 88th legislative session

Published

2 years ago

January 15, 2023

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This Week in Texas tackles budget surplus, taxes, and start of 88th legislative session

Watch “This Week in Texas” on ABC13’s stay streaming channel on gadgets together with Roku and Fireplace TV.

Sunday, January 15, 2023 9:47PM

This Week in Texas: 88th legislative session gets underway in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (KTRK) — The 88th legislative session is underway in Austin, and ABC13 takes you behind the scenes of opening day.

We sit with a number of legislators from southeast Texas in regards to the begin of the session, which is able to final 140 days.

84 election-related payments already filed for 2023 Texas legislative session

Comptroller Glenn Hegar, the state’s prime accountant, additionally sits down with ABC13 and speaks in regards to the state’s unprecedented surplus and the way legislators plan to spend that cash.

Additionally, we join with a small enterprise lobbyist who’s a part of the hassle to push for fewer taxes on small companies this session.

Texas legal guidelines signed in 2021 are formally in impact with the beginning of 2023

Keep on the heart beat of Texas politics! Observe Tom Abrahams on Fb, Twitter and Instagram.

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Former All-Star Potential Trade Target for Texas Rangers

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1 hour ago

July 27, 2024

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Former All-Star Potential Trade Target for Texas Rangers

It’s not as if the Texas Rangers have major holes in the lineup that need to be plugged before the trade deadline. That wasn’t the case last season.

The Rangers made serious additions in 2023, especially on the pitching side. The club brought in top-flight starters in Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery shortly before the deadline after an early trade for reliever Aroldis Chapman.

Health and depth might be the biggest needs for defending World Series champions in 2024. The Rangers are still waiting on slew of pitchers to return, including Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle and Cody Bradford. Third baseman Josh Jung is closer to coming back, while the status of outfielder Evan Carter is somewhat murky.

The overriding theme is time, as the Rangers for a considerable infusion of talent once they get healthy. In the meantime, with the trade deadline looming, Texas can make some moves to address depth in the race to chase down the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners in the American League West.

A recent report from MLB.com suggested that the Rangers should get help behind catcher Jonah Heim.

Rangers catchers have the fourth-lowest OPS in the Majors (.597), and while Jonah Heim is locked in as the starter, adding a second backstop to pick up some of the load would benefit Texas as it tries to chase down the Astros and Mariners in the AL West.
– MLB.com

Colorado Rockies backstop Elias Díaz was listed as a possible fit. With the Rockies out of contention and in a “sell” position, unloading the veteran catcher and his $6 million contract makes sense. Díaz is a solid hitter (.270/.329/.724) and defender who could take some of the load off Heim during the stretch run, much as Mitch Garver did last season.

Díaz was an All-Star in 2023 and was named the game’s MVP after hitting a home run in the eighth inning.

The trade deadline is July 30.

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Texas Rangers interested in pair of Rays All-Stars to boost offense, report says

Published

9 hours ago

July 27, 2024

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Texas Rangers interested in pair of Rays All-Stars to boost offense, report says

ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Friday afternoon that the Texas Rangers were among the teams in discussions with the Tampa Bay Rays about Isaac Paredes and Yandy Díaz.

Díaz made the All-Star team in 2023 as a first baseman and Paredes was an All-Star third baseman this summer.

This comes just after The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the Rangers were looking for a bat and had called about Díaz. The Rays have also declared themselves as sellers, shipping outfielder Randy Arozarena to the Mariners and pitcher Zac Eflin to the Orioles, so Tampa Bay is open for business.

Both Díaz and Paredes play positions that the Rangers are well-stocked at, so both would be in line fill in as DH or play in the field as needed. The Rangers rank dead last in the MLB in OPS out of the DH slot in their lineup, so any extra bat would be welcome.

Díaz narrowly won the AL batting title over Corey Seager in 2023 with a .330 batting average, but his numbers are down a bit this season. His .726 OPS is down from his career .805 mark and his .932 2023 mark, but would still present a considerable upgrade for the Rangers.

Paredes is having a better season, currently with a .797 OPS and 129 OPS+, but would present a bit more of a positional logjam with Josh Smith and Josh Jung manning third base.

Paredes has also cooled off considerably as the season has worn on. His .867 OPS in March/April and .915 OPS in May has dipped to .713 in June and .640 in July. Paredes is batting just .136 in July.

Both players are on affordable contracts beyond this season as well. Díaz is signed through 2025 for a total of $18 million with a $12 million team option for 2026, while Paredes is under contract through the 2027 season.

The Rangers have made it known they are buyers at the deadline after catching fire in July just ahead of the deadline as rumors of being sellers swirled. But urgency remains high after Friday’s walk-off loss to the Blue Jays, as the first-place Astros and second-place Mariners both won. Texas trails Houston by 3.5 games and Seattle by 2.5 games heading into Saturday.

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2 Sinaloa cartel leaders, including son of

Published

16 hours ago

July 26, 2024

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2 Sinaloa cartel leaders, including son of “El Chapo,” arrested in Texas – CBS News

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Two leaders of the notorious Sinaloa cartel, including one of the sons of the imprisoned drug lord “El Chapo,” Joaquín Guzmán López, were apprehended Thursday in Texas. Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a cofounder of Sinaloa, was lured to Texas by López, according to sources. Manuel Bojorquez has details.