Texans Vote in Bond, Tax Rate Elections

More than $90 billion in new bond debt was on the ballot Tuesday in dozens of school districts and other local taxing entities. More than 40 school districts also asked voters to approve elevated property tax rates.

Voters in Lamar CISD approved three of four proposals in a $1.99 billion bond package, narrowly rejecting nearly $27 million in stadium improvements. In Richardson ISD, voters approved a $1.4 billion bond package, and in San Antonio’s North East ISD, all but $12 million of a $495 million bond package was approved.

Voters in Greenville ISD approved a $399 million bond proposal after rejecting three others since May 2022. A $460 million bond package for Brownsville ISD failed, as did bond proposals totaling $517 million for Magnolia ISD and $550 million for Van Alstyne ISD.

Voter Approval Tax Ratification Elections (VATREs) in Garland ISD, Rockwall ISD, Liberty Hill ISD, Boerne ISD, and Abilene ISD passed. VATREs in Spring Hill ISD, Judson ISD, and East Central ISD were rejected.

Houston Police Invite NYC Cops to Relocate

Some of Texas’s most powerful politicians denounced the election of 34-year-old Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City on Tuesday. At least one Texas police union made an appeal to NYC’s more than 30,000 cops to relocate.

Prior to the election, Gov. Greg Abbott joked that he would “impose a 100% tariff on anyone moving to Texas from NYC.” After the race was called, he asked his followers to “join me for a moment of silence for NYC.”

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn were much more direct in their comments. Cruz said, “New York City is a Crown Jewel of America. Having it governed by a communist jihadist is incredibly distressing.” Cornyn called Mamdani’s election a “disgrace.” 

The Houston Police Officers’ Union, meanwhile, invited New York City police officers “disgusted with the election of Zohran Mamdani” to “join us.” The social media post highlighted officers’ 36.5% pay raise over five years, a “supportive mayor and city council,” and a police chief who’s “a retired Texas Ranger, not a politician.”

GameDay a Dilemma for Tech Fan

ESPN’s College GameDay is coming to Lubbock this Saturday for the first time in 17 years as No. 8 Texas Tech faces No. 7 BYU. The announcement created a dilemma for one Tech fan whose wedding is scheduled to take place in Dallas the night before.

Taylor Karrh, an apparent Texas Tech alum, posted about his situation shortly after the news broke: “365 days in a year and my fiancé schedules our wedding on the same weekend as Gameday.”

A few hours later, he posted an update: “My soon-to-be wife said we can move the wedding if I get 1 million reposts. Make it happen boys.”

Karrh and his fiancée, Rachael Lenhart, ultimately decided to forego attending the game in person. “She’s been a good sport about it,” Karrh said. “And that’s one of the reasons, you know, why I’m going to marry her is because … she gets it.”

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➤ Austin: Police divers recovered 20 scooters from Lady Bird Lake on Tuesday morning. “That makes our probably most dangerous job even more dangerous by having all those scooters,” said Sgt. Issa Kafena with the Austin Police Bomb Squad & Dive Team. (Watch Video)

➤ Celina ISD: Micheale Clark, a 46-year-old special education aide at Celina High School, was arrested Tuesday after arriving to work “impaired.” She’s the fourth Celina ISD employee in recent weeks to be accused of criminal or improper behavior. (More)

➤ Houston: Attorney Alejandra Salinas and former city council member Dwight Boykins are headed to a runoff to fill the at-large city council seat vacated by Letitia Plummer, who resigned to run for Harris County judge. (More)

➤ Socorro ISD: On Tuesday, a majority of voters rejected a property tax rate measure that would have generated an additional $50 million for district operations while reducing the rate assessed to pay down existing debt. (More)

➤ Bexar County: Voters approved the allocation of $192 million in hotel and car rental taxes to convert the downtown Frost Bank Center and adjacent Freeman Coliseum into a year-round rodeo grounds. The Spurs currently play home games at the Frost Bank Center. (See Details)

➤ Harris County: An unlicensed assisted living facility has been shut down by deputies after a patient died. Owner Glenda Adams, who had been illegally operating the facility since 2018, was arrested. (More)

➤ College Station: Former Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III received more than $3.5 million from the university after he resigned in September amid criticism of his handling of a secretly recorded video showing a professor discussing gender identity. (See Details)

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➤ The Texas Longhorns basketball team fell to No. 6 Duke 75-60 in their season opener despite leading at halftime. Duke star Cam Boozer was held to zero points in the first half, but he scored 15 in the second half after his coach reportedly told him he was playing “soft.” (More)

➤ The Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks will meet in court for a Jan. 26 jury trial to determine control over the American Airlines Center, both teams’ home arena. (More)

➤ Five Texas Tech women’s soccer players were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, tied with TCU for the most in the conference. Defender Macy Blackburn was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, becoming just the fourth repeat winner in Big 12 history. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: NBA | NHL | Soccer | NCAAF | NCAAM | NCAAW

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➤ Dallas-based real estate services giant CBRE Group has acquired California’s Pearce Services for $1.2 billion cash in a deal that CBRE Chair and CEO Bob Sulentic said “complements our large and growing presence in digital and power infrastructure.” (More)

➤ Between 2024 and 2025, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas had the fastest electricity demand growth among U.S. electricity grids, according to the Energy Information Administration. Researchers expect the 5% growth seen this year to be surpassed by next year’s projected 14%. (See Details)

➤ Dallas-Fort Worth is expected to be next year’s top real estate market in the U.S. for commercial and residential development, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute. (More)

➤ Briady Hutchinson, a high school senior from Wichita Falls, was recognized as this year’s Outstanding High School Entrepreneur by the Texas Business Hall of Fame for her success with Bee’s Rolled Ice Cream, a business she started at the age of 14. (Watch Video)

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➤ Tom Brady said he cloned his pit bull mix, Lua, who died in 2023, using the services of Dallas-based de-extinction startup Colossal. Brady, an investor in Colossal, said the firm “gave my family a second chance with a clone of our beloved dog.” (More)

➤ A documentary about Tim Duncan’s childhood in St. Croix won the Marquee Feature award at last month’s Austin Film Festival, beating out more than 180 other films for the honor. (More)

➤ Fredericksburg winery Messina Hof is one of 15 wineries in the country—and the only one in Texas—competing for a spot in Newsweek’s ranking of the nation’s top 10 wine tasting rooms. Today is the only day to vote in the magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards competition. (See Details)

➤ Billionaire trader Jeff Yass is donating $100 million to the fledgling University of Austin, which was co-founded by journalist Bari Weiss in 2021 and currently has about 150 students. (See Details)

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Would you ever consider cloning a favorite pet?

1. Absolutely
2. No way
3. Depends on cost

Yesterday’s Results:

Were you in band growing up?

1. Yes: 38%
2. No: 62%

What Texan was known as “The Singing Fisherman”?

Show me the answer