Plus: As Lupe Valdez explains her $12,000 in unpaid property bills, the fall campaigns heat up
Editor's note: Mike Ward, who appeared on this podcast, was a reporter for the Houston Chronicle whose reporting was called into question in August, 2018. Although the podcasts were primarily analysis of current events, in the interest of disclosure, we thought it wise to include this information.
The Houston Chronicle retracted eight reports and issued corrections in multiple others, saying they were based on fabricated information, after an outside investigation revealed 44 percent of people quoted in Ward’s stories did not appear to exist.
Ward resigned earlier this year while the investigation was underway.
As state officials began looking for solutions to curb school shootings like the tragedy at Santa Fe High School that left 10 people dead and 13 people wounded, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blamed the "culture of violence" prevalent in the United States as a factor.
On network television, Patrick suggested that factors other than guns -- including the prevalence of violence in video games -- plays a role in teenagers committing horrendous acts in their schools.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott has empaneled a series of roundtable forums in Austin from which he plans to come up changes in school-safety policies and state law to prevent future shootings.
And while hundreds of ideas are on the table, this is certain: Texans want a plan, and they want one soon.
While much of the week's political focus remained on school shootings, Texans went to the polls to determine party nominees for the fall election. And Lupe Valdez, the Democrat who was selected to run against Abbott, quickly faced controversy: She owes more than $12,000 in property taxes.
Her retort: She can't pay them all at once because they're too high.
Perhaps not surprisingly, she blames Abbott for not curbing the skyrocketing property tax bills in Texas.
Go behind the headlines for a look at what's really going on in Texas politics. Join the conversation featuring the Chronicle's Austin Bureau Chief Mike Ward and Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, an acclaimed Texas political newsletter, with special guest Ryan Poppe, Texas Public Radio's Capitol reporter.
Our sponsors this week: Texas Association of Counties and Lone Star Targeting.