Introducing Professor Jeb Bush. 
Former presidential candidate and Florida governor Jeb Bush will teach a 10-day course in January at Texas A&M’s public affairs school, which is named for his father, President George H.W. Bush. Though Jeb Bush is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, he looks forward to teaching at A&M, which is also the site of George H.W. Bush’s presidential library. The course will focus on gubernatorial leadership. To read more…
Texas African American History Memorial unveiled.
Texas Capitol visitors will notice a new addition to the south lawn. The Texas African American History Memorial, revealed over the weekend, commemorates the struggles and importance of African Americans in the state. Sculptor Ed Dwight’s work portrays Juneteenth (when Union troops arrived in Texas and announced freedom for slaves in June 1865); several African American leaders from the state; and the role of African Americans in Texas’ cattle, cotton and oil industries. To read more…
Recount called in close North Texas race.
The Texas Secretary of State’s office has approved Democratic challenger Terry Meza’s request for a vote recount, after the latest Dallas County elections office’s tally indicated that incumbent Republican Rep. Rodney Anderson led the race for Texas House District 105 by just 69 votes. The recount is scheduled for November 28th. To read more…
From all of us in Austin…
Here’s wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving. Gobble gobble?
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins got an absentee ballot from Houston before taking off for the International Space Station in July. Though her return shuttle was planned for late September, she must wait for the arrival of a Russian crew whose launch has been delayed for technical reasons. Her absentee address? Low-Earth orbit. 
Texas A&M University System’s Board of Regents named new presidents to three A&M System Campuses: former interim president Ray Keck to A&M Commerce, former provost Pablo Arenaz to A&M-International, and former communications professor Kelly Quintanilla to A&M Corpus Christi. State law requires public university presidents to be named as finalists before their positions become official so the three new hires will be finalized in a few weeks. 
As pollsters continue to show Trump leading by narrow margins in Texas, Clinton is launching a week-long ad campaign in the Lone Star state. The ad-buy is unusual for a Democratic presidential candidate but features Clinton’s recent endorsement by the Dallas Morning News. The 30 second commercial will run online and on television in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. 
Brunch lovers beware-Snooze is here. Brothers Jon and Adam Schlegel established the original Snooze in Denver in 2006, before opening locations on South Lamar and North Lamar earlier this year. Be sure to try the Green Eggs ‘n Hamwich, Breakfast Pot Pie, or Pancake Flight for a breakfast you won’t soon forget. 
Governor Abbott appointed Chad Craycraft and Katie Kennedy, pictured above, to the Texas Ethics Commission late last week. Both commissioners’ terms are set to expire November 19th, 2019. Craycraft is an attorney from Dallas, who serves as general counsel for the merchant banking firm Best Associates. Kennedy is a former state district judge in Harris County and is now a mediator and arbitrator in private practice in Houston. 
The Texas Longhorns travelled to Dallas this past weekend for the Red River Showdown against Oklahoma University. When the game didn’t turn out the way Texas had hoped, comfort food was waiting just outside the stadium at the Texas State Fair. This year’s winner of the Big Tex Choice Awards was deep-fried cherry Jell-O, topped with powdered sugar and whipped cream. 
Former Representative Steve Wolens is Texas House Speaker Straus’ most recent appointee to the Texas Ethics Commission. Speaker Straus may appoint two members to the eight-person Commission-one Republican and one Democrat. Wolens, a Democrat, served in the House from 1981-2005 and authored ethics legislation during that time. Wolens replaces Paul Hobby, who left the Commission after his term expired earlier this year. 
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has announced that the state sales tax revenue for September 2016 was 3.9% lower than September 2015, totaling $2.13 billion. Comptroller Hegar attributes the drop to declines in consumer and oil and gas-related spending across the state. Sales tax revenue is the single largest source of funds for the state budget. 
Former U.S. Representative Pete Gallego’s rematch with U.S. Representative Will Hurd for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District remains close in the final stretch. Gallego is a Democrat from Alpine, Will Hurd a Republican from San Antonio. Gallego was ousted by Hurd in the 2014 and is eager to reclaim his seat. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan is set to visit San Antonio in mid-October to campaign for Hurd. 
The sun has set on ACL Weekend One, but Austin’s Zilker Park is already gearing up for the second weekend, which runs October 7-9. Weekend Two’s lineup includes Willie Nelson, the Chainsmokers, Kendrick Lamar, and Mumford & Sons. 
Eleven-term State Representative Dawna Dukes has announced her intention to resign in January, to address health concerns related to a 2013 car accident and care for her young daughter. Rep. Dukes is also under investigation by the Travis County District Attorney’s office for alleged misuse of staff and government funds. Dukes’ name will remain on the November ballot, meaning a special election could be needed to fill her seat if she wins the race. 
Early voting runs October 24th-November 4th, an option available to any registered voter. Election day is November 8th and the polls will remain open 7AM-7PM. Registered voters can vote early at any location in their county of residence and at their 
This year’s Texas Tribune Festival featured over 60 sessions and 250 speakers to discuss issues from sexual assault to the state of Congress, from the presidential race to cancer research. Festival-goers flocked to The University of Texas at Austin for the three-day event. If you missed it, check out the videos of the sessions at the Tribune website. 
Republican Nominee Donald Trump has chosen Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to serve as his Texas state chairman. Patrick chaired U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s Texas campaign, before Cruz dropped out of the presidential race. Since then, Patrick has been a vocal advocate for Trump. 
Vice President Biden unveiled the latest initiative in his drive to find a cure for cancer at Rice University on Friday. The speech was at times emotional, as the VP’s own son Beau received his initial treatments for brain cancer at M.D. Anderson in Houston before passing away last year. With several of Beau’s doctors in the crowd, Biden announced proposals to raise awareness and increase access to clinical trials for cancer patients. 
Bicycle Magazine has named Austin the country’s seventh best bicycling city, pushing the city up four positions from the magazine’s 2014 list. Many downtown residents now commute by bicycle, the city continues to unveil and revamp trails, and protected bike lanes are making cyclists safer than ever. 
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says he will boycott the NFL until the league requires players, like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, to stand for the national anthem. Kaepernick, joined by several fellow players, says he has chosen to take a knee in protest to racial injustice. Miller says he will continue to support the Cowboys, after Jerry Jones spoke out against the protest. 
Hazelwood is a program created by the Texas Legislature in 2009 that offers free college tuition to many veterans’ children. Hazelwood was predicted to be helping just under 900 students by 2014. Last year, almost 19,000 students received free tuition through the program. Two House committees met last week to the cost and growth of Hazelwood, and where to go from here. 
Austin Community College is partnering with Texas A&M and Chevron to offer a co-enrollment program for engineering students. Austinites can now stick close to home for the first two years of their A&M engineering studies, before completing one of 18 different types of engineering programs in College Station. Chevron is supporting five similar programs across the state. 
Results of a recent study by the Texas Education Agency and Department of Family and Protective Services indicate that the student-teacher ratio shouldn’t exceed 11:1 for a pre-kindergarten class. The study was mandated by the 2015 law creating a $118 million pre-K grant program and reviewed at an August meeting of the Senate Education Committee. State legislators will have the opportunity to lower the grant’s existing cap of 22 students per class during the legislative session. 
Taking a cue from Austin, the White House will host a South by Southwest-inspired event on the south lawn this October. President Obama spoke at SXSW earlier this year and wants to recreate the festival’s spirit of innovation and creative thinking at South by South Lawn with panel discussions, musical performances and a film portion
No Democratic presidential candidate has taken Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976, but a new Washington Post poll puts Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton neck-and-neck, each earning about 40% of Texas’ electoral votes. The poll has Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein securing the remaining 20% of votes. Though the Lone Star’s fate is far from sealed, Texas hasn’t seen a general election race for president this close in years. 
Bevo XV made his debut at Texas’ season opener against Notre Dame this weekend, greeted by a stadium of over 100,000 fans. After Bevo XIV died unexpectedly from leukemia last October, a search committee was immediately assembled. Though he’s one of the youngest Bevo’s to take the field at just 18 months old, Bevo XV’s docile temperament and rare burnt orange coat make him the perfect steer for the job. Long may he reign.