Attorney General Ken Paxton Kept Intervening In Donor’s Legal Affairs. The Dallas Morning News got an interview with one of Paxton’s former deputies who resigned after suspecting their boss’ behavior had grown criminal. The report finds that Paxton stepped in “at least four times on a range of legal matters” that were centered on the Austin developer and campaign donor Nate Paul. In 2019, Paul had his home and business raided by the FBI. Paxton was getting involved in small matters, like records requests. Others were larger, like a dispute with a nonprofit where Paxton’s office seemed like it was representing Paul. It tried to get that nonprofit to settle the $10.5 million lawsuit for “pennies on the dollar.” Meanwhile, the attorney general fired a second whistleblower just yesterday.
Murder Suspect Killed His Girlfriend, But Got Out On Bond. Andrew Beard was booked into the Lew Sterrett Justice Center with a $1 million bond after he shot and stabbed the mother of his child. Family members say he stalked her. Police believe he wore dark brown makeup to disguise himself, which obviously didn’t work. But he was able to post bond and is back on house arrest, which has the victim’s family fearful. Family violence advocates believe the bond was too low and are calling for reform of the arraignment process.
Hospital Capacity Is At Risk Because of New COVID Surge. Statewide and local hospitalizations for the disease are now at levels we haven’t seen since August, when we were coming down off a peak from July. The 1,374 people hospitalized in the 13-county North Texas region is higher than anywhere in the state; it’s double that of Houston. Yesterday, Dallas County added 435 new infections. The 7-day average is 482, up from 380 a week ago. Wear your mask and stay away from others.
Another Debate for Collins and Allred. Genevieve Collins, the Republican hopeful trying to unseat incumbent Colin Allred, said during a debate last night that highways like Central Expressway should be expanded to meet transit needs. Not only is this a backwards thinking that doesn’t account for the surge of vehicles that come with every highway expansion, it would also require seizing land along the highway in some of Dallas’ most prosperous neighborhoods. The other subjects were more down the party line, with Collins calling for a replacement of Obamacare.
Cold Front Today. It’ll get down in the 50s tonight, hang out in the 60s on Saturday, and warm back up on Sunday. Enjoy it.
