Gov. Greg Abbott has created a statewide task force after several “street takeovers” recently took place in Austin in which motorists obstructed intersections, shot off fireworks and drove recklessly.
Videos posted after the events showed vehicles doing donuts, crowds gathering around intersections and people setting off fireworks, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Seven people were arrested in the incidents, which occurred at four Austin intersections.
Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to investigate the events and “target the organized crime aspect” of the events, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“We are seeing fireworks fired at officers in crowds, lasers pointed at aircraft, drivers driving upwards of 130 miles per hour with no lights on in the dark of night — all of it is reckless, and it needs to be stopped,” DPS Director Steve McCraw said.
Additional arrests are expected, law enforcement officials said.
TxDOT proposes $100 billion transportation plan
The Texas Department of Transportation is proposing a record $100 billion, 10-year transportation plan to improve congestion, increase safety and maintain the state’s roadways. That’s a $15 billion increase over the original plan and comes after record projected revenue for the state, generated by oil and gas fees that are dedicated to highway projects.
The latest plan would increase funding in a number of areas, including “safety, energy sector, rural and urban connectivity, border infrastructure, maintenance and preservation,” according to a TxDOT statement.
“Safety is a top priority for TxDOT, and these funding levels reflect that,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said.
TxDOT now has more than $33 billion in transportation projects under construction throughout the state. More than 7,000 projects are either underway or scheduled to break ground this year.
Bills would ban COVID restrictions
A trio of bills by state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, would address Gov. Greg Abbott’s calls to end COVID-related restrictions put in place as the pandemic began in 2020.
“This legislation is aimed at preventing future repeats of these controversial public health measures, which did little to slow the spread of the virus and did serious damage to the economy and education systems,” Kolkhorst said in a statement, as reported by the Statesman.
The measures, if passed, would codify executive measures issued by Abbott in 2021 that prohibited employer or governmental COVID-19 mandates requiring people to wear masks or to be vaccinated.
Since Abbott has made the COVID-19 package an emergency measure, it bypasses many of the rules put in place by the state constitution to slow passage of legislation, the Statesman reported.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, and Cedar Park. Email him at gborders@texaspress.
com.
