Nearly 350 Houston retirees still waiting on buyout payments
| September 9, 2025
Houston City Council member Edward Pollard is demanding accountability as nearly 350 of the 1,000 city workers who took early retirement buyouts are still waiting for their pension payments months after they were promised.
The buyout program, launched to help close a $330 million budget shortfall, offered lump-sum payouts of 25% of annual salary to eligible employees. The employees were promised the payments within 60 days of their May 1 retirement.
Pollard has expressed growing concern over the city's handling of the program, and wants a timeline from Mayor John Whitmire’s administration on when the retirees will be paid. He questioned the mayor during an Aug. 27 city council meeting.
Rising Democratic star James Talarico announces run for US Senate in Texas
| September 9, 2025
State Rep. James Talarico, a 36-year-old Presbyterian seminarian and former middle school teacher, announced Tuesday that he’s running for US Senate.
‘More stressed, more unsure’: Texas educators start school year under new DEI ban
| September 9, 2025
DALLAS | dei | DFW | DFW Lead Story | DFW TEXED EXCLUSIVE | diversity | EDUCATION | educators | equity | inclusion | SATX | state legislature | TEXAS
Educators speak out on new laws they face in classrooms, including a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion and a “Parental Bill of Rights” that makes it easier for conservatives to interfere in public schools.
Why books shouldn’t be controversial: Welcome to your Texas banned reading list
| September 9, 2025
bannedbooks | book ban | bookbans | books | censorship | Community | CULTURE | EDUCATION | HARDGATE | TEXAS
Banned books have been hugely controversial when it comes to Texas education. Literature is fundamental to learning—and when the government is trying to dictate what students can and can’t read, important, diverse voices can be lost.
Texas Sees Rise in Flea-Borne Typhus Cases
| September 9, 2025
animals | austin | DFW | dogs | HARDGATE | HEALTH | HEALTHCARE | heat | HTX | LIFESTYLE | Local news | outdoors | pets | public health | SATX | summer | TEXAS | typhus
Flea-borne typhus, otherwise known as murine or endemic typhus, is on the rise in Texas. Here’s what you need to know.