Convenience Big Store: GOP challengers threaten takeover of Texas State Board of Education with help from influential donor group

March 17, 2024

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🔍 Need to Know

Texas State Board of Education Chairman Keven Ellis, (Lufkin), left, and member Pam Little, (Fairview), listen to public testimony on the proposed changes to the state's social studies curriculum in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022.

GOP challengers threaten takeover of Texas State Board of Education

The election winners are poised to have a big impact right away, as the board is scheduled to revise the state's social studies curriculum standards next year for the first time in more than a decade.

Deer Park PD Crossing Guard Adell Boren makes sure Deer Park Jr. High School students are safe as they cross East 13th and Meadowlark Streets in spite of a chemical fire burning nearby Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in Deer Park. Harris County Commissioners Courto on Tuesday OK'd $900,000 settlement with the company.

Five years after ITC fire, emergency communications have improved

The ITC fire led to Harris County officials rethinking emergency notification systems after hearing from deeply concerned residents.

In June, members of the Ageless Angels of the Pasadena Community Club traveled to Belleville to visit Newman's Castle. The first stop was Newman's Bakery, 504 E. Main, in the heart of Belleville. A guide escorted the group to the Castle, the walk across the drawbridge and then conducted the tour of the grounds, the keep and the chapel. The visitors admired the intricate handy work throughout. The tour and lunch takes about two hours. Back into Belleville, there was sight-seeing around the historic town. Making a last stop at the Newman Bakery, they indulged in the tasty treats and made purchases to take home. Helen Alexander of the local historical society can provide invaluable information about visiting the attraction, 979-865-3530.

Mike Newman, owner of Newman's Castle, dies at 68

Mike Newman, who built Newman's Castle and bakery in Bellville, died March 13 at the castle. He was 68.

People try to get to their cars during a thunderstorm Friday in the Houston Zoo parking lot. Houston could see more rain early Sunday but storm chances diminish in the evening.

Houston in luck: Storm threat eases for St. Patrick's Day

A slow-moving cold front that had stalled over Southeast Texas was expected to roll eastward Sunday, taking the rain with it.

A pile of illegally dumped items is visible in the background as Melvin Hopkins, District K Constituent Services Director - Field Operations, walks back to his truck after evaluating a site with a long history of illegal dumping near S. Post Oak Boulevard Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.

Houston's multi-million dollar illegal dumping problem has a solution

Houston City Council members are spending tens of thousands of dollars to fund illegal dumping cleanup teams in their districts.

Second grade teacher Brayleon Thorns works on a reading lesson with his students at Highland Heights Elementary on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 in Houston.

Houston ISD reduces, removes some employee stipends for 2024-25 school year

Houston ISD's new compensation plan for the 2024-25 school year has removed or reduced some stipends for district employees because they considered them to be an "inefficiency" and "extraneous."

Rain falls Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in the Colony Ridge neighborhood in Liberty County.

Paxton accuses Colony Ridge developers of deceptive trade practices, fraud

Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the Houston-area developers of deceptive trade practices and fraud, according to allegations in a new lawsuit.

John Whitmire, left, visits with firefighters as the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association announced its endorsement of him for the Houston mayoral race at UPFFA Union Hall, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Houston.

Timeline of Houston's years-long contract dispute with firefighters union

Here is a timeline of all the major developments in the dispute between the city of Houston and the firefighters union.

💼 Business

Aurora Champion does her part as her parents help a friend whose home was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek fire on March 03, 2024 in Stinnett, Texas.

Texas utilities lack regulation for wildfire prevention, experts say

Texas has minimal regulations for utilities operating in the state as it relates to wildfire mitigation, unlike other states with a wildfire problem such as California, experts said.

FBI Springfield noticed a significant increase in the incidence of financially motivated?sextortion in 2023.

Tomlinson: Online extortion worsening, AI could expand it

Hackers use stolen explicit images to blackmail people, with artificial intelligence, they can make their own.

🚗 Outside the Loop

Downtown Houston skyline is photographed on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024 at the Thompson Hotel in Houston.

Harris County led the country in population growth. Here's what fueled the gain.

Two main reasons drove Harris County's significant population gains during that time frame: international migration and natural growth.

Jeremy, an African spurred tortoise, is seen at Blue Heron Farm, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Waller.

Blue Heron Farm's internet famous tortoise, Jeremy, has been found

Jeremy, a 90-pound African spurred tortoise that lives on a Waller-based farm, has been found, owners say.

Waller's 10 most expensive homes listed for sale in March

Here's a look at some of the most expensive luxury homes that are on sale this March in the Waller area, topping out at $1.5 million.

📝 Opinion

Archaeologists work on the Sugar Land 95 project, where the remains of 95 prisoners were found in Sugar Land TX in 2018.

Sugar Land 95 descendants' DNA is in the wrong hands (Opinion)

It would be a horrible irony if the DNA of victims of the convict lease system were used to convict their descendants.

Composite image: (Left to right): Audrey Momanaee, president of the Houston ISD board of managers. (Photo credit: Gardere Wynne Sewell). Nyla McCullum, a senior at Wheatley High School. (Photo credit: Sharon Steinmann, Houston Chronicle.) Charles Blain, president of the Houston-based think tank Urban Reform Institute. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke). Scott McClelland, former President of H-E-B. (Michelle Watson / CatchLight Group)

TEA takeover of HISD: Editorials and op-eds (Opinion)

The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board and experts weigh in on the TEA takeover of HISD. Here's what they had to say.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Our federal government is totally out of control (Opinion)

Why is the federal government now helping build city sidewalks? That is the city's job.

Starship 28 sits atop Booster 10 on the SpaceX Starbase launch pad at dusk at Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville, TX, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, after receiving approval from the FAA to launch Starship flight 3.

Astronaut: America won the first moon race. But what about the next?

The results of this latest SpaceX Starship test flight, combined with two previous "partial successes" in 2023, put America at a crossroads on its way back to the moon.

🏀 Sports

UConn and San Diego State players get ready to tip off the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship game Monday, April 3, 2023, at NRG Stadium in Houston.

March Madness: How to watch NCAA's Selection Sunday on TV, stream online

The field for the men's basketball 2024 NCAA Tournament will be revealed Sunday. Here's how to watch the selection show and find out who makes the field of 68.