Area News

By Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune April 13, 2026 In 1975, Texas passed a law allowing school districts to exclude undocumented students from free public school. When a district in Tyler enacted such a policy, a group of families sued. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that Texas’ law was unconstitutional and…

By Mel Gurtov The first face-to-face high-level talks between the US and Iran since 1979 have ended without agreement. Hardly surprising; both sides put forward positions not subject to actual bargaining. On the US side, according to JD Vance: “We need to see an affirmative commitment that [Iran] will not seek a nuclear weapon and…

April 9, 2026 The Northeast Texas Community College Art Department will hold its annual student art show from Thursday, April 9th through Tuesday, April 28th in the foyer gallery of the Whatley Center for the Performing Arts. The exhibit will feature student artworks in design, drawing, ceramics, photography, and digital media.  We have almost 150…

SUNDAY April 12, 2026 {READ IN BROWSER} FEATURE A Tale of Two Counties What do the fastest-growing (Kaufman) and the smallest (Rockwall) counties in Texas have in common? They originally were one and the same. Long before the American settlers arrived, the Cherokees and Caddo Indians lived on land bordered between the Trinity and Sabine…

The collapse of Prospect Medical, a for-profit hospital chain plundered by private equity and the company’s management, has generated a painful litany of woes. by Peter Elkind April 9, 2026, 5:00 am EDT Amid a debt-fueled acquisition spree that saw the small California company grow to 17 hospitals in six states, Prospect was repeatedly cited…

TEMPLE, April 9, 2026 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Texas announces an agreement with the City of Burnet for Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program Buyouts as part of recovery efforts from the historic Hill Country flooding event in July 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation…

April 9, 2026 The Northeast Texas Community College Professional Driving Academy continues to grow and supply high-demand CDL drivers to the local area.  One student recently graduated from the program. The four-week professional driving academy includes 160 hours of training and the cost includes the DOT physical, drug screen, MVR and CDL permit.  Students spend…

OATHS OF OFFICE need Holy Books as an Anchor of fidelity   by JAMES  A. MARPLES **********************************************************************  It seems like almost every couple of weeks, we read about corruption in one form or another.  Society has shifted from “occasional fibs” to “outright lies” to “A.I. generated fakery” to “brazen untruths”.    I’m a Texan, and…

HOUSTON, TX — Texans and history enthusiasts are invited to attend the official San  Jacinto Day Ceremony marking the 190th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto — the  decisive clash that secured Texas’ independence from Mexico.  The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at the San Jacinto Monument,  the…