“It’s overwhelming because we just jumped back into everything so quickly. Everyone is asking you to come do this or come do that but, at the end of the day, I’m just happy to see my friends and everybody having a good time being out and about.”
Everywhere I went people had shed their masks, were enjoying the sun and each other's company, were dressed up and made up, and living with a sense of things returning to normal after a year of hiding indoors at home, scared of invisible bugs, washing our hands until they're cracked dry, and wearing sweat pants and no underwear.
Maybe that last was just me. Not paying attention -- whether it be to COVID safety protocols or to ongoing misbehavior at the Lege -- can have a steep price.
State health officials are reporting an uptick in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Texas https://t.co/2xiAO78DVp
— CBS Austin (@cbsaustin) March 21, 2021
As the growing number of Black and Latinx voters threaten the GOP’s stranglehold on power, attempts to limit safe voting options during the pandemic reveal a deeper sickness in Texas politics. https://t.co/2PFtvpv2zW
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) March 18, 2021
"Election integrity", i.e. voter suppression, is how we got started this time last week. Governor Wheels stayed busy and on point with his hypocrisy, as you know.
Your administration left 17 million Texans without reliable drinking water & Texas has had some of the worst COVID numbers in the developed world. Now, the contractor you hired for rental assistance is sitting on $1 billion.
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) March 19, 2021
Crisis management lectures aren't your jam, Governor. https://t.co/YAaMYORYex
He and Dade Phelan did manage to cut off Dan Patrick and SB2142 at the knees, which may or may not be a win for Texans. The session still has a long way to go, and there will be lots of things these people won't be doing anything about.
Texas government making no real changes to electricity grid after deaths https://t.co/dsKtDHUJsS
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) March 19, 2021
The failures that led to 4.9 million customers losing power were years in the making. https://t.co/kEIB3tDHET
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) March 21, 2021
Here I'll shift focus for this first Wrangle to the more positive and happy things happening. Reform Austin posts "Good Bill Hunting", a semi-regular series that finds the silver lining under the Dome, this week focusing on Rep. James Talarico's $70K teacher salary bill.
After finding success with legislation in 2019 to help rape survivors, State Rep. Victoria Neave is working to expand Texas laws to protect domestic violence and sexual harassment survivors. https://t.co/H9GaB52Csr
— WFAA (@wfaa) March 21, 2021
#HB133 by @RepToniRoseTX gives more Texas moms access to mental health treatment — and supports healthy babies & prevents maternal deaths.
— Texans Care for Children (@putkids1st) March 22, 2021
It has a hearing Tues. in House Human Services.
Last session it passed the TX House, not Senate.#TXlege #TXPN3 6/6 https://t.co/DYZVpORiAc
And with lots on all the usual topics in the funnel, I'm wrapping here with more of the feel-good before posting the snark, the bad behavior, and the just plain atrocious later. Whenever (but soon).
Texas boosters pay way too much money to make sure Abilene Christian walk ons don’t do the horns down on national TV pic.twitter.com/1NAPsIUjyT
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 21, 2021
"$50 if I have to explain why masks are mandatory, $75 if I have to hear why you disagree..." A Texas diner's sign has gone viral. https://t.co/k3rJtxydwx
— KENS 5 (@KENS5) March 19, 2021
Phil Collins’ not-so-invisible touch at the Alamo. https://t.co/rP7uKaInWa
— Texas Highways Magazine (@TexasHighways) March 17, 2021
The proceeds from the tulip farm will go to nonprofits like Daymark Living in Waxahachie, which helps adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities live independent lives.🌷 https://t.co/smid84G3Lo
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) March 20, 2021
In the years since her death, Selena has become a gay icon, especially in Texas and especially among queer Tejanos.
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) March 20, 2021
In our April issue, @fadopapi explores how a Jehovah's Witness from Lake Jackson came to mean so much to queer Texans. https://t.co/wd8F73Mz4f