Convenience Big Store: Why a conspiracy theory is on the Texas Legislature's agenda

Why the right is targeting Colony Ridge

There are a lot of booming housing developments in Texas where Hispanic populations are skyrocketing.

But almost overnight Republicans in the Texas Legislature and Congress have begun threatening to go after one particular community north of Houston called Colony Ridge, claiming it's some kind of Mexican cartel haven.

It was mostly chatter on pretty far-right websites that most people ignored. But over the last few weeks, The Daily Wire and then Fox News ran stories on the development with drone footage and one main source from Austin who said he's heard from others who have said cartels are operating there.

That is all it took for Gov. Greg Abbott to announce he's now making Colony Ridge part of a special session of the Texas Legislature starting on Monday and for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to go up in a helicopter to circle above the development to announce he'll hold hearings on it too.

But on the ground, reporter Jhair Romero and I found something vastly different than some want it to be. As is the case in nearly every corner of Texas, there are a lot of 1st and 2nd generation immigrant families in the area who have escaped urban life in Houston in the hopes of owning land and buying a piece of the American Dream.

"We wanted to live on our own land," said Lourdes Guerra, who moved to Colony Ridge from Houston two years ago.

There are certainly foreign nationals who have bought land there, according to the developers. Some people use visas, green cards or passports as their identification. But foreign nationals and green card holders are allowed to buy land anywhere in the United States.

Much more on Colony Ridge and where the conspiracy theories came from in our latest.

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter

jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com

Who's up, who's down

Up: Roland Gutierrez.

The San Antonio Democrat blasted his U.S. Senate primary rival Collin Allred for supporting the Biden administration's decision to finish a part of the Texas border wall that was started under former President Donald Trump. Allred called it a "necessary step to help Texas' overwhelmed border communities deal with this current surge of migrants." But President Joe Biden himself said he was against building the wall, but had no choice but to finish it because Trump had already designated the money. That opened the door for Gutierrez to hammer Allred in a primary election that will certainly have a lot of Democrats who opposed building border walls. Gutierrez said Allred is "dead wrong" and added "Trump's wall is not a serious solution."

Down: Troy Nehls.

The Fort Bend Congressman may have messed up former President Donald Trump's plan to roll out his endorsement for who he thinks should be the next Speaker of the U.S. House. Advisors to Trump told The Messenger that "Nehls just totally f---ed this up" when he announced on social media that Trump planned to endorse Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan for the position. Trump had spoken with Nehls about his plans, but advisors to Trump said the former president told him to "Keep this quiet" as part of a bigger plan. But at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nehls was on X saying Trump would endorse Jordan.

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.

What else is going on in Texas

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Photo by: Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

Texas schools straining to meet demand for special education evaluations

Demand for the evaluations has exploded, creating backlogs and financial strains on districts that are also struggling to retain school psychologists.

Family members reunite on a flooded roadway in Louisiana's St. John the Baptist Parish during an evacuation on the morning after Hurricane Ida, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Climate change index and map says Texas county among most at-risk

The online map is based on research from the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M. It can show projected climate impacts.

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Some migrants say that the U.S. government's plan to restart deportation flights to Venezuela in the coming days won't stop them from continuing their journeys.

Pick of the day

Photo by: Jeremy Wallace

Hidalgo talked to reporter Evan MacDonald about her decision to seek treatment for depression and her hopes it will help break down barriers for people to openly talk about mental health issues.

What else I'm reading

Branding the scourge of fentanyl deaths the "top of the agenda," America's senior diplomat this week implored Mexico to help stop the flow of the drug into the U.S., but it was unclear whether he received a meaningful commitment from Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Los Angeles Times reported that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, in Mexico City for a series of high-level security and economic talks, said in a news conference he had "no doubt about Mexico's commitment to working collaboratively ... a commitment in words and deeds."