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Thursday June 04, 2026
SMITH COUNTY — As East Texas counties continue searching for solutions to protect their property and water rights, Van Zandt County is proposing a partnership with Smith County to better protect the region’s natural resources. According to our news partner KETK, Van Zandt County proposed a 391 commission, which would create a council including commissioners and residents from both counties. It would allow neighboring counties to work together to protect the region’s groundwater and property rights. The commission would oversee potential projects in the area and discuss developmental issues that affect both counties.
Following Tuesday’ s meeting, attended by several key lawmakers and public officials, Smith County Commissioners voted to table the decision until they obtained further information on the proposal. During a Smith County Commissioners Court meeting earlier this month, Van Zandt County resident David Dunigan said if Smith County entered the partnership, it would ensure better protection of the region’s natural resources.
“Your voice is going to tell people we can’t be predatory against East Texas counties anymore,” Dunigan said. “I really urge you guys to amplify your voice for the citizens of this county, and for the surrounding East Texas counties to be able to at least say yes, we want something, or no, we don’t.” Read the rest of this entry »
TEXARKANA, Texas (KETK) — Two people are dead and one person is recovering at a hospital after a domestic dispute led to a shooting at Texarkana Aluminum early Tuesday morning, the Nash Police Department confirmed. According to Nash PD, the shooting occurred at the facility’s parking lot at around 6:37 a.m. 48-year-old Eddie Hill Jr. was attempting to intervene in what is believed to be a domestic dispute between 40-year-old Wendell Champion Jr. and his wife, who worked at Texarkana Aluminum.
Champion Jr. then shot and killed Hill Jr. and shot his wife. She was transported to a local Texarkana hospital and is in stable condition, the police department said. Champion Jr. then shot and killed himself, Nash PD said. Champion Jr. had been convicted of murder in Harris County in 2010 and was released on parole in 2025.
There is no danger to the public at this time, the police department said.
Both Hill and Champion Jr.’s wife were employees of Texarkana Aluminum, which will continue operations as normal but has counseling available for employees.
LIVINGSTON (KETK) — Two people have been arrested after law enforcement discovered a possible pipe bomb near a Livingston home on Monday. According to the Livingston Police Department, officers were notified of a possible pipe bomb on Banks Drive and several nearby homes were evacuated as a perimeter was secured.
With the help of the Montgomery County Bomb Squad and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, technicians safely disabled the device and began an investigation.
A search warrant was conducted on a nearby home, leading Livingston PD officers to more explosive components. The home’s residents, 44-year-old Brian Humphreys and 37-year-old Shaney Humphreys, were arrested on the scene for possession of explosives and booked into the Polk County Jail.
“This investigation is still active and more charges are possible,” Livingston PD said. “At this time there is no threat to the public.”
Missouri’s top court is hearing an important legal challenge Tuesday to one of President Donald Trump’s earliest redistricting successes while lawmakers in Louisiana and South Carolina weigh whether to become the most recent Republican states to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of the midterm elections.
Rather than waning, a national redistricting battle that began 10 months ago has intensified as the November elections draw nearer — inflamed by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the federal Voting Rights Act and provided grounds for states to try to eliminate voting districts with large minority populations.
Missouri was the second Republican state after Texas to heed Trump’s call last year to redraw congressional districts to help the GOP win additional seats in the midterms. At issue before the Missouri Supreme Court is whether the new districts violate a state constitutional requirement to be compact, and whether they can remain in place for this year’s elections despite an initiative petition seeking to force a public referendum.
In South Carolina, the issue facing Republican lawmakers is whether redrawing the state’s lone Democratic-held seat could open the door to a clean sweep for Republicans or backfire with additional losses by making more districts competitive for Democrats. State senators must decide whether to allow consideration of a redistricting plan put forth in the House after the legislature’s regular work ends Thursday.
Congressional redistricting also is under consideration in Louisiana, where the Supreme Court’s recent ruling invalidated a majority-Black district as an illegal racial gerrymander. The state’s May 16 congressional primaries already have been postponed. What remains undecided is how many seats Republicans will try to pick up while redrawing the districts.
Alabama also is poised to switch its congressional districts for this year’s elections, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday overturned an order for it to use a map with two largely Black districts.
Republicans think they could gain as many as 14 seats from new House maps enacted so far in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain six seats from new maps in California and Utah. The Virginia Supreme Court last week struck down a redistricting effort that could have yielded four more winnable seats for Democrats.
South Carolina weighs political risks of redistricting
A South Carolina House committee is to consider Tuesday whether to send a congressional redistricting plan to the full chamber for debate. The House also appears poised to pass legislation that could delay the June 9 congressional primaries until August to allow time for new districts to be enacted. That comes even as some absentee and overseas military ballots already have been cast.
But any redistricting effort also must clear the Senate, where support is less certain. Two-thirds of senators have to agree before the regular General Assembly session ends Thursday to let the legislature take up redistricting later.
Trump said on social media Monday that he was closely watching the redistricting vote, urging South Carolina senators to “be bold and courageous” and to delay the House primaries so new districts can be drawn.
Although Republicans have a supermajority in the chamber, several senators aren’t sure the proposed map guarantees the GOP will win seat held by long-serving Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. And they think enough Democratic voters could be pushed into other districts that the plan could backfire, resulting in a 5-2 or even a 4-3 Republican split.
Some also question whether it is fair for Republicans to get all the seats in a state where the Democratic presidential candidate has gotten at least 40% of the vote every election this century, even if Trump is asking for the new map.
Louisiana GOP looks to target one or two seats
State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, a Republican who oversees the Louisiana Senate committee tasked with redistricting, said his panel plans to vote Tuesday on a U.S. House map, with a full Senate vote expected Thursday.
The committee has several options, including versions that would leave Democrats favored in only one district or none. Kleinpeter said a map eliminating all majority-Black districts would be difficult to hold up in court.
Last Friday, dozens of people urged lawmakers to retain two majority-Black districts during a grueling nine-hour hearing that featured civil rights activists and the only four Black congressmen elected to represent the state since the end of the Reconstruction era.
Missouri map splits Kansas City district
Missouri currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Republicans and two Democrats under a map passed by the Republican-led legislature after the 2020 census. But with Trump’s backing, Republican state officials adopted a new map last September that improves their chances of winning an additional seat by targeting a Kansas City district held by longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who previously was the city’s first Black mayor.
The new House map places portions of Kansas City in neighboring Republican districts and stretches the remainder of Cleaver’s 5th District far eastward into Republican-heavy rural areas. A state judge in March rejected an assertion that the map violates a constitutional compactness requirement, finding that the new districts on average are more compact — even if the 5th District is not. That was appealed to the state Supreme Court.
A separate case also being argued Tuesday at the state Supreme Court contends the new districts should have been automatically suspended in December when opponents submitted more than 300,000 petition signatures seeking to force a statewide referendum.
But Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway and Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins contend the new districts can be suspended only if — and after — Hoskins determines the petition meets constitutional requirements and has enough valid signatures. Hoskins has until Aug. 4, the day of Missouri’s primary elections, to make that determination.
A state judge in March agreed with the Republicans’ position while also ruling that the plaintiffs lacked grounds to sue and had done so too soon.
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Brook reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Collins from Columbia, South Carolina, and Lieb from Jefferson City, Missouri.
WILLS POINT – The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office said that 76-year-old Alfredo Chavez was found dead in a wooded area on Friday after he went missing from Wills Point on April 23. Chavez’s body was found at around 11 a.m. on Friday in a heavily wooded area of Van Zandt County. Following his disappearance on April 23, the sheriff’s office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Game Wardens, Texas Department of Corrections search dogs and several nonprofit search and rescue organizations were brought together to search for Chavez but he wasn’t found until several weeks later.
The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office suspects no foul play in Chavez’s death.
TYLER – The City of Tyler has started sewer work on South Bonner Avenue from West Front Street and West Woldert Street near Caldwell Elementary School and Caldwell Middle School. The sewer work capacity upgrades are part of the city’s ongoing Consent Decree agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade and revitalize the city’s aging wastewater system.
The upgrades are expected to take about a week, during which time Caldwell Elementary School parents should enter to pick up car riders on South Bois D’Arc Avenue, south of the intersection at West Elm Street. Read the rest of this entry »
TROUP – A case of botulism was confirmed in the City of Troup on Monday, according to the Northeast Texas Public Health District. The city said that the disease is not contagious and that, due to HIPAA regulations, the name and address of the person involved cannot be released.
Although it is not contagious, botulism is a potentially fatal disease that is largely caused by environmental factors, including dust, soil and contaminated food. The disease attacks the body’s nerves, causing difficulty breathing and muscle paralysis.
According to the Northeast Texas Public Health District, symptoms of botulism include: Muscle weakness, blurred/double vision, drooping eyelids and slurred speech.
Anyone impacted by these symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately.
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune)–Roughly 76,000 fewer students enrolled in Texas public schools this academic year — the first non-pandemic decline in nearly four decades — with Hispanic students accounting for the overwhelming majority of the loss, according to a report released Monday.
The policy research group Texas 2036 analyzed the state’s enrollment data and projected that about 100,000 fewer students would attend public schools by the end of the current decade. However, some projections show that the number is growing by nearly half a million over that time.
Hispanic students accounted for 81% of this school year’s enrollment drop, Texas 2036 found. Students learning English and those from low-income families experienced some of the sharpest declines. Over the past year, federal and state leaders increased anti-immigration rhetoric, in some cases detaining Texas students and prompting fear across communities.
Meanwhile, the rate of Texas families having children has declined in recent years. Districts have lost students to other schooling options, with more families expected to opt out of their public neighborhood campuses as the state launches school vouchers later this year.
Texas educates about 5.5 million public school students, 53% of whom are Hispanic, 24% are white and 13% are Black.
“What stands out in the data is that public school enrollment is falling even as Texas continues to grow,” said Carlo Castillo, a senior research analyst at Texas 2036, in a statement. “In many parts of the state, population gains are no longer translating into public school enrollment growth. That points to a broader structural shift policymakers and district leaders will need to plan for.”
The nonprofit shared the findings just ahead of Monday’s education committee hearing for the Texas House. The focus included updates on enrollment trends and the stability of Texas’ school funding system.
The state funds public schools based on attendance. Some districts have cut programs and shuttered campuses recently, despite a nearly $8.5 billion increase to public education funding approved last year.
As the hearing began, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath laid out the enrollment drop to lawmakers, noting, “We cannot tell you the precise cause of this.”
In recent years, growing immigration helped public schools manage the slump in birth rates, Bob Templeton, who studies Texas’ education demographics, said during the Monday hearing.
Now, districts will serve higher concentrations of students with significant needs, but they will have less funding due to drops in the number of children born and slowing immigration, Templeton said. He estimated that public school enrollment could drop by roughly 500,000 in the next four to five years.
“This is not another blip or a one-off,” Templeton told lawmakers. “This is an inflection point.”
Districts in urban areas, the Panhandle and along the southern border disproportionately experienced the enrollment decline, according to the Texas 2036 report. The 2.1% decline in Hispanic enrollment — or 61,781 students — represents “the single largest year-over-year reversal” among the four major demographic groups.
Mary Lynn Pruneda, the director of education and workforce policy for Texas 2036, told The Texas Tribune that her group could not determine to what extent increased immigration enforcement contributed to the enrollment loss.
Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat running for governor, said during a press conference Monday, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it is contributing to it.”
GREGG COUNTY – A former sheriff’s deputy was booked into the county jail on Friday for allegedly violating his probation. According to Gregg County records and our news partner KETK, former Gregg County Sheriff’s Office deputy Joshua Tubb, 48, of Kilgore, received a 180-day jail sentence for a March 24 DWI conviction. He has not been booked into jail, however, because the court placed him on two years of probation instead.
On Friday, Gregg County Judicial records show that Tubb’s probation was revoked and a warrant was issued for his arrest for violating the terms of his probation in his DWI case.
Tubbs was then booked into the Gregg County Jail that same day. He’s since been transferred into the custody of another agency.
LAREDO (AP) — Six people were found dead inside a cargo train boxcar at a Union Pacific rail yard near the Mexico border in Laredo, Texas, police said.
The people were found Sunday as workers were inspecting one of the cars, said Jose Baeza, a spokesperson for the Laredo Police Department. They did not appear to be alive, he said.
Police and fire crews arrived at the scene shortly afterward. They confirmed that there were six people dead, five men and one woman, Baeza told reporters. They were not named.
Baeza said autopsies would be done. He did not immediately respond to a text requesting information Monday.
The cargo car’s travel history was not known.
“Union Pacific is saddened by this incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate,” the rail company said in a statement.
Laredo is a busy land port of entry for trade on the U.S.-Mexico border and a common nexus for the illegal movement of people, although authorities have not said whether the six deaths were related to a smuggling operation.
Last year, two smugglers were sentenced to life in prison for what remains the nation’s deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. They were convicted in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants found in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022.
The Texas Tribune – Federal officials opened a civil rights investigation into the state-controlled Houston ISD over its plans to relocate students with disabilities, separating them from classmates.
Some students with disabilities will be required to move campuses next school year where they will learn in a “contained” setting, Houston ISD Deputy Superintendent Kristen Hole announced earlier this week. It is part of an effort to centralize special education services, so programs spread across several campuses could be consolidated into one site. The majority of special education students will not be affected.
Hole said the changes will mean better instruction for children with disabilities with more small-group settings for individualized attention.
However, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is examining whether the move runs directly counter to the federal law that says students with disabilities should learn alongside classmates who do not have disabilities as much as possible.
“Schools cannot exclude students with disabilities simply because of their disability status. Placement decisions must be made individually, based on each student’s needs, rather than by blanket policies that segregate students by disability category,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey wrote in a statement. “The allegations described here are alarming.”
Houston ISD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the investigation. The district’s website notes that student services will still closely follow individualized education plans, or IEPs, which is a written plan of each students’ needs.
Federal officials cited concerns from Houston families that their children will lose out on a chance to improve their social skills in general education classrooms. Parents also worry that longer transportation times to these alternative campuses will be challenging for children with medical and behavioral needs.
Houston ISD previously has struggled to provide supports to the more than 20,000 students who qualify for special education services. In 2020, special investigators with the Texas Education Agency found HISD in “systemic and widespread” noncompliance with special education law.
About a decade ago, federal officials found Texas failed to properly educate many students with disabilities.The state had quietly capped the percentage of students that schools could identify as in need of special education services.
Houston ISD has been under state control since June 2023 due to chronic poor academic performance. For the district to regain local control, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath has said, in addition to improving academic outcomes, HISD must get its special education programs in compliance with state and federal law.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Tribune – Nearly six months after being indicted on federal fraud charges, Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar is now facing an attempt to remove him from office.
Former Laredo City Council member Alfonso “Poncho” Casso filed the petition to remove Cuellar in Webb County district court last week, citing the federal indictment and other misconduct allegations. Casso’s filing, which was first reported by The Laredo Morning Times, asked the court to suspend the five-term South Texas sheriff from office pending a trial that seeks to permanently remove him from the post.
Cuellar denied all allegations outlined in the petition and “demands strict proof,” according to a response filed in court on Friday. He already pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which were unsealed in January.
Casso’s petition largely relies on the five-count indictment, which accuses Cuellar and two other people of misappropriating funds from the Webb County sheriff’s office during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They allegedly opened a private disinfecting business in April 2020 that operated “almost entirely with county employees and supplies,” including to complete a $500,000 contract cleaning schools in Laredo, according to the indictment. Cuellar then received around $175,000 and used it to purchase property in the area, according to federal prosecutors.
Rick Rodriguez, Cuellar’s former deputy who was involved in the business, already pleaded guilty. If convicted, the sheriff could face up to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy and theft of federal funds charges, and another 10 years for money laundering charges.
Beyond the indictment, Casso’s petition also alleges mismanagement of the county jail as well as violations of the Texas WhistleBlower Act, the Texas Elections Code and procurement laws.
“He has been compromised and has no credibility managing the Webb County Sheriff’s Office or County Jail,” his filing said.
The sheriff is the brother of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, the Laredo Democrat who was indicted in May 2024 on bribery, money laundering and conspiracy charges related to his relationship with an Azerbaijan-run oil-and-gas company and a Mexican bank. President Donald Trump pardoned the representative in December before criticizing him of disloyalty for deciding to run again as a Democrat for his 12th term.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Tribune – As Texas struggles to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, a state fund had $1.28 billion available this year to support projects that could deliver water even in a severe drought.
Unfortunately, 23 worthy projects requested a total of $4.2 billion, prompting the state to deny 13 of them — the first time the SWIFT fund had to say no to an applicant in its 11-year history.
It was lamentable timing for a state plagued by a brutal drought and aging water infrastructure.
“We have more demand than we actually have the capacity to fulfill this year,” said Marvin Cole-Chaney, director of program administration and reporting for the Texas Water Development Board, which administers SWIFT, the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas.
One of the denied projects is a desalination plant with the potential to create 100 million gallons of drinking water a day along the Coastal Bend in South Texas — an area including Corpus Christi, which is in the grips of a devastating drought.
The denial surprised John Byrum, executive director of the Nueces River Authority, which proposed building the plant as a critical source of water for Coastal Bend cities.
Under the scoring system used to set priorities for SWIFT, the river authority’s plant ranked 11th. The top 10 proposals will next submit more-detailed applications for the money.
“We really thought our project would rate higher,” Byrum said. “We were disappointed.”
The river authority requested $140 million to fuel plans to build a seawater desalination plant in Harbor Island, which sits within the cities of Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. A desalination plant filters salt and other minerals out of seawater to make it drinkable.
The proposed project, which received federal permitting in September and is projected to cost $3.2 billion, would distribute water to cities, water districts and businesses across South Texas, including Corpus Christi, which is nearing a water crisis. The coastal city is one of the biggest water suppliers in the region and may be just months away from a water crisis as its main reservoirs have shriveled to below 8% capacity.
Corpus Christi paid $2.7 million to the river authority to reserve an option to buy 50 million gallons of water a day once the Harbor Island desalination plant is running.
City leaders are bracing for a Level 1 water emergency, the point when the water supply is projected to be 180 days from falling short of demand, which could be triggered as soon as September. Commissioners in Nueces County, which includes Corpus Christi, voted unanimously last week to declare a county-wide water emergency, restricting residents’ outdoor watering.
SWIFT offers low-interest loans with extended and flexible repayment plans. The water development board said the denied projects may be eligible for other funding options, such as the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, but Byrum believes the SWIFT fund should place a higher priority on an area’s need for water.
The water development board considers several factors when prioritizing projects, ranking them on a scoring sheet with a maximum score of 86. Projects can earn the most points by serving large populations, with readiness and water conservation among other factors also taken into account.
A project’s “emergency need” carries little weight, earning a maximum five points.
None of the 10 highest-ranked projects earned any points for “emergency need,” a designation restricted to public water systems where supply is expected to fall short of demand within 180 days, federal money was sought or received to deal with the emergency, or the need for water will occur a decade sooner than anticipated by state planners.
The Harbor Island plant, despite targeting an area that critically needs water, earned no emergency need points and lost potential points because it is in rural Nueces County with a relatively low population. Its score of 62 was just one point behind the 10th-place project.
This year’s 10 highest-rated SWIFT projects span the state, including the Riverbend Water Resources District — the top-rated project on the SWIFT scorecard. Riverbend is seeking $2.98 million to assess and expand water infrastructure to meet Texarkana’s growing population.
The North Texas Municipal Water District is asking for nearly $419 million for a pipeline and treatment plant in Leonard, a town in Fannin County. The water district is also receiving around $611 million to design a new raw water pump station.
Money is also being directed to South Texas, where the Hidalgo County Drainage District made a pitch for $120 million for its proposed Santa Cruz Reservoir.
Byrum said the Nueces River Authority is going to apply for the water board’s other funding programs, as well as seek private funding, in hopes of getting the Harbor Island desalination plant built.
SWIFT was created by the Texas Legislature and approved by voters in 2013, allowing the one-time transfer of $2 billion from the state’s rainy day fund. Revenue bonds over the next 50 years, starting in 2015, will finance around $27 billion in water supply projects through SWIFT.
To date, the water development board has committed about $17.2 billion in SWIFT money to 76 projects. The agency estimates the funding saved entities almost $2.1 billion over the life of the debt compared to market rates.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
HAWKINS – Severe storms moved through the area Sunday night, leaving uprooted trees and some structure damage in Wood County. Fortunately no injuries were reported. Our news partner KETK has compiled some videos and photos submitted by their viewers. You may view that gallery here.
GREGG COUNTY – The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced they will be investing about $1 billion in several projects in Gregg County in the next decade. Both the county and TxDOT believe the projects will keep pace with East Texas’ projected growth. Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt spoke at a recent Longview Chamber of Commerce meeting which gave attendees an update on the status of the Gregg County projects. TxDOT was there as well.
TxDOT also officially announced the expansion of the interstate; I-20 will be expanded to three lanes. Another $140 million will be spent on Highway 42 and 31; both will become four lane highways between Smith and Kilgore. And there are also big plans at 31 and I-20, according to TxDOT Spokesman Jeff Williford. “Taking away those left exits. I think everyone knows those left exits as your kind of heading in that direction and how awkward they can be. So, they would do away with those with an interchange and flyovers and things like that,” Williford said.
Williford said the cloverleaf interchange will run about $270,000,000, and all the projects have important goals.
Some of the projects, like the widening of the interstate, do not yet have funding in place. That project has the big price tag of about $580 million.