Texas House Presents Its Voting Bill. The debate stretched late into the night last night, with Republican supporters saying the bill is needed to beef up election integrity while Democrats say it will make it more difficult for voters of color to cast a ballot. Republicans knew they have the votes to get it through on party lines, but Democrats introduced more than 100 amendments to the legislation. The bill would stop local officials from ejecting any poll watcher and criminalizes sending out mail-in ballots to anyone who didn’t request one. The bill’s author, Deer Park’s Briscoe Cain, says the bill was not filed in response to the 2020 election. It passed 81-64.
Dallas County Prepares to Vaccinate Teens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allowed anyone older than 16 to get the vaccine. Now, the county is preparing for that guidance to be expanded to 12 to 15 year olds. About 5,000 teens are in the county’s registry, after it allowed parents to register ahead of time. The shots will be administered at Fair Park; Tarrant County will use Texas Health Resources facilities.
Big Scooter Begins Its Return. Yesterday, the Ford subsidiary Spin invited media and city representatives to see its scooters. The company hopes to receive city approval this summer, right in time for downtown workers to return to the office. The Spin scooters apparently know when they’re being used on the sidewalk and make some sort of annoying sound until the rider returns to the street. The city will soon issue a request for proposal from the scooter companies and spend the next 30 to 90 days looking them over before seeking council’s decision.
Luka, Mavs Escape the Nets. Kristaps Porzingis sat this one out, but Luka Doncic powered the Mavericks past the Harden-less Nets 113-109. Luka’s shot left him in the second half; he made just two field goals after putting up 19 in the first. But the supporting cast stepped up to cement the win. The Mavs are now in fifth place with sixth games remaining, up a game on the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s looking like a safe bet that they’ll be able to skip the play-in.
Rain Possible on Mother’s Day. Tomorrow is all-clear, but Sunday has a 30 percent chance of rain during the day. So check the forecast before taking Mom to a patio.
