Daily Dispatch 5/9/24: Abbott Orders Texas Universities To Break Federal Law, and More Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Governor Greg Abbott has extended his orders to the TEA to defy new Federal guidelines on Title IX protecting LGBTQ students to administrators of state universities: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/greg-abbott-texas-universities-ignore-title-ix-revisions/3536397/

...As Carroll ISD is asked by the U.S. Department of Education to address four claims by students about racial and homophobic harrassment endured in its schools: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/southlake-texas-carroll-isd-civil-rights-investigation-rcna151009

That "weather watch" from ERCOT yesterday helped spur a massive spike in power prices last night: https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2024-05-08/summer-power-prices-seen-surging-for-texas-falling-in-california

The GOP runoff between incumbent U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales and his primary challenger "The A.K. Guy" presents possible headaches for Republican leadership: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/07/tony-gonzales-inter-gop-fight-texas-00156073

Steven Monacelli at the Texas Observer writes on the "Remnant Alliance", a new effort by Christian Nationalist groups to take over Texas school boards: https://www.texasobserver.org/christian-schoolboards-education-k12/

Joe Jaworski writes in the Dallas Morning News on the near-complete takeover of Texas' state government by a small group of billionaires: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/05/09/billionaires-are-running-texas-now/

TODAY! Thursday May 9 at 12 noon, join us for our "Burning Issues" town hall on liquid natural gas (LNG) pollution in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-hosts-climate-justice-town-hall

Also for your calendar: a public forum will be held on May 20 by the Texas Medical Board on proposed exceptions to Texas' near-total ban on abortion: https://x.com/hannahnorton89/status/1785054901661216800?s=12&t=Bt_w1MN2AlTfFkWGHJiOJg

Progress Texas could use your help in funding our trip to June's Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso - thanks in advance! https://progresstexas.org/donate

It will soon be time to vote in the May 28 primary runoffs! https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/26/texas-voting-2024-runoff-elections/

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work this election year at https://progresstexas.org/.