Dallas City Council To Grill Staff Today Over Deleted Police Evidence. The council will question city administrators to find out how eight terabytes of police photos, videos, case notes and other data went missing from the police department’s network drive. That conversation, unfortunately, will take place in private, but tomorrow City Manager T.C. Broadnax, Assistant City Manager Jon Fortune, and Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Reich will face a public questioning during a council committee briefing. In addition to Dallas police investigations, the massive loss of police data may also affect cases in Collin, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall.
Governor Greg Abbott Tests Positive for COVID-19. Abbott is vaccinated and is not showing any symptoms, but it is possible that he could have infected people at a few public events he attended in the past few days.
Three Deaths in Dallas County Weekend COVID Totals. The latest COVID-19 numbers also included 4,417 new cases, and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said hospital space is “extremely tight.”
County Commissioners Spar Over Masks. The Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting yesterday devolved into a shouting match after Jenkins, who attended the meeting remotely, repeatedly nagged Commissioner John Wiley Price to wear his mask. Price took off his mask a few times to speak into the microphone, and when Jenkins interrupted his colleague, it set Price off. “I’m wearing a mask,” Price shouted. “Hell, I just can’t talk through the damn thing.” At other times during the meeting, commissioners attending remotely had trouble hearing because of loud protestors who had gathered outside the chambers to oppose Jenkins’ mask order.
Disability Rights Groups Sues Abbott Over Masks. The organization Dyability Rights Texas says Abbotts’ ban on mask mandates puts students with disabilities at risk. Fort Worth ISD joined another lawsuit against Abbotts’ mask ban filed by Texas school districts.
Developer Bill Hutchinson Sued Over Sexual Assault Allegations. The Virgin Hotel developer and reality TV star is already facing criminal charges in Texas and California over the alleged sexual abuse of two juveniles. Yesterday, the family of one of those survivors filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages. Hutchinson denies the allegations.
Winter Storm Finance Bill Could Increase Energy Costs. This one is a little complicated, but essentially there’s a financing loophole that could hit Texans and which Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is trying to get the Public Utilities Commission to fix.
