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Leading Off (9/16/20)

An election legal mess, police hunt for ATM killer, COVID case confusion, and the World Series comes to Texas
By Peter Simek |

Legal Tangle Creates Election Headache. First, a lower court ruled that Green Party candidates shouldn’t be on the November ballot because they didn’t pay fees required by a new (and contested) 2019 state regulation. Then, the Texas Supreme Court overturned that decision, ruling that the Greens should be on the ballot. Texas Democrats are upset, just as Texas Republicans were upset when the Texas Supreme Court made a similar decision regarding Libertarian candidates earlier this month. But here’s the real issue: the court’s decision means state election officials must reprint all of the ballots for November’s election in time to meet Saturday’s deadline to mail ballots to overseas and military voters.

Police Hunt For Suspects in ATM Killing. Jose Montes, 28, was a new father of a 5-month-old boy when he was shot and killed during an ATM robbery Monday. The gunman was wearing a jacket with the word “police” on the back and fled in a white Volkswagen Passat driven by a woman. Police are interviewing someone connected to the case, but Montes’ family is pleading for anyone with information about the murder to come forward.

Today’s COVID Numbers. Are actually not all today’s COVID numbers. Dallas County reported 190 new cases, but 68 were from previous months thanks to the state’s botched reporting system. How bad have Texas’ reporting backlogs been? The Houston Chronicle writes that Texas hasn’t reported an accurate positivity rate since July and that cases have likely been on the decline since then. Meanwhile, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says the best number we have to go on is the provisional seven-day average of daily new cases. For what it is worth, that number is 243. There were also five new deaths in Collin County and three in Dallas County. In short, the data is a nightmare. Wear a mask. It’s working.

The World Series Is Coming to Texas. This is how sports works in 2020. The Dallas Stars are about to play in their first Stanley Cup Final since 1999, but they are in the NHL “bubble” in Edmonton and no fans will be allowed to attend. The Texas Rangers are enjoying a particularly forgettable season, but the World Series will be played at their brand new Globe Life Field as part of MLB’s own postseason bubble plans, and fans may be allowed to attend. With any luck Yu Darvish will be on the mound.

Stars Must Wait on Stanley Cup Competition. Last night, the New York Islanders scored a double overtime stunner to keep their season alive — and postpone the start of the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals. If you are a Stars fan — or if you are ready to jump on the bandwagon of one of the most exciting local sports stories in recent memory — I’ll give you two good reasons to hope the Islanders pull off a miraculous comeback against the Tampa Bay Lightning. One: a longer series means fresher legs for the Stars. Two: I’ve watched every second of the Islanders’ own remarkable playoff run, and I can tell you they’re a really good, dynamic, exciting team that will give the Stars a run for their money. But holy crap, the Lightning are scary good. Victor Hedman may already be haunting Jamie Benn’s nightmares.

 

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