Houston Chronicle

High-profile figures like Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Houston attorney Tony Buzbee are rallying behind a Galveston sheriff’s candidate who could lose his law enforcement officer’s license within two months of election and be forced out of office. Armed with an outsized war chest and a promise to “fight back against the liberal agenda,” Jimmy Fullen, a former Galveston County constable, defeated his opponent Ray Nolen, 57% to 43%, in the March primary, positioning him as the likely next sheriff in the Republican stronghold. Read more from Yilun Cheng and John Wayne Ferguson here: https://lnkd.in/gsGWU6yA

Salaries for Houston's highest-paid public school principals during the 2023-2024 school year ranged from $153,000 to just over $200,000. Atop the list is Mark Smith, a former Houston Independent School District administrator who became an interim principal in Spring Branch ISD. Explore the full list from Elizabeth Sander and Anastasia Goodwin here: https://lnkd.in/gYEycTzp

Two years after some of Texas’ largest oil companies withdrew from Russia because of U.S. sanctions over the country's invasion of Ukraine, they and other U.S. corporations are under threat of Russian litigation claiming they are in breach of contract. The legal claims are largely being heard behind closed doors by arbitration panels in Europe and Russia, keeping the proceedings confidential. But U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Houston Republican leading bipartisan legislation to block the Russian effort, said Texas oil companies were among those being targeted. Read more from James Osborne here: https://lnkd.in/gmyUTYme

Colin Allred was never known for his bravado on the football field or hype in the locker room. At Baylor University, where he played linebacker and was a team captain, Allred acted like a protective older brother, shutting down parties that went too late and urging teammates to stay focused when they were down. Twenty years later, the former NFL player and civil rights attorney is taking the same steady approach in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race against Republican Ted Cruz. Read more from Benjamin Wermund here: https://lnkd.in/guXD8frM

A tower of salty water that appears to be laced with oil is shooting roughly 100 feet into the sky just West of Toyah in Reeves County, an area of West Texas plagued by a recent rash of earthquakes linked to wastewater injection. Read more from Amanda Drane here: https://lnkd.in/gPQq5mxm

When activists demanded cuts to police budgets in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 death at the hands of Minneapolis police, Texas lawmakers reacted swiftly, passing a law financially penalizing municipalities that reduce their law enforcement spending. The 2021 law applied only to large, typically left-leaning metropolitan centers. No one could have foreseen that the state's most politically charged police-defunding battle would actually be waged in deep-red Texas, in the country’s least-populated county. Two weeks ago, commissioners in Loving County — pop. 75, more or less — approved a 2025 budget eviscerating local law enforcement. Read the full investigation from Eric Dexheimer here: https://lnkd.in/gzn7JWfk

Recreational marijuana use is illegal in Texas, but a search for “vape store near me” on Google Maps will likely turn up a heap of places to buy THC products. How long these products will be on the shelves though, isn’t certain. The past few years have been a complicated time for hemp laws in Texas. Here’s a look at where the state has been and where it might be headed. Read more from Tanya Babbar here: https://lnkd.in/gAaDRH5X

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz continues to bet big that focusing attack ads on transgender issues will help him defeat Democrat Colin Allred in November and give him a third term in Washington. Cruz already has two TV ads focused on transgender athletes playing sports on the airwaves, a super PAC airing another and the Republican Party of Texas is sending out mailers on the same issue. Now Cruz has a third TV ad of his own hitting. Read more from Jeremy Wallace here: https://lnkd.in/grMT6DqN

 Inter-American Development Bank is pitching companies in certain key U.S. markets, like Houston and Miami, as well as some in Europe, to expand their investments in the region in key areas like clean energy, infrastructure, healthcare and manufacturing. The theory is that more jobs and opportunity could incline migrants to stay in their home countries. And where better to focus than Texas, the state that does the most trade with Latin America? Read more from James Osborne here: https://lnkd.in/g76Kg_m4

A movie theater. A performance venue. A club. A video store. The Tower Theatre in Montrose has lived many lives in its 88-year history. Now the landmark is poised to be reborn, again.  Read more from Marissa Luck: https://lnkd.in/gHiWMH9h