Thursday - March 28, 2024
Public Policy Tipoffs Involving Texas Newsletter for Sunday June 28, 2020 ( 46 items )  

ACLU of Texas: Class-Action Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Material Witnesses Detained for Months Without Due Process
LAREDO, Texas, June 24 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas issued the following news release: The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the law firm of Gibbs & Bruns LLP recently filed a class-action (https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/mot._for_class_cert_manzo-hernandez.pdf) lawsuit on behalf of nearly 150 people detained as potential witnesses for federal prosecutions at La Salle County Regional Detention Center near Laredo. None of the people detained have had a hear  more

Aerospace Medical Association: Mathers Is Incoming Space Medicine Association President
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, June 26 -- The Aerospace Medical Association issued the following news: Charles H. Mathers, M.D., M.P.H., FAsMA, is the incoming president of the Space Medicine Association (SMA). Dr. Mathers completed a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University in 2002. He subsequently worked at NASA Johnson Space Center as a member of the Space & Life Sciences Directorate before enrolling in medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. He graduated in 20  more

AFT: Educators Demand Answers on School Reopening From Governor
AUSTIN, Texas, June 23 -- The American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release: The presidents of Texas AFT and the American Federation of Teachers called on Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency to require every school district in the state to submit a detailed reopening plan outlining how they will safeguard students and staff from the spread of COVID-19. The call comes on the heels of the governor's announcement last week that Texas public schools will reopen in th  more

Alliance Defending Freedom: Texas Supreme Court - Courts Can't Second-Guess Rights of Fit Parents
AUSTIN, Texas, June 27 -- The Alliance Defending Freedom issued the following news release: In a significant victory for parental rights, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday that courts in the state cannot second-guess the rights of fit parents in child custody decisions. Specifically, the high court ruled that a lower court wrongly awarded partial custody of a child to the boyfriend of the child's deceased mother over the objections of the child's father, who had never been deemed  more

Allied Pilots Association Introduces 'SEATS' Concept: 'Return of Air Travel a Major Catalyst for Economic Recovery'
FORT WORTH, Texas, June 25 -- The Allied Pilots Association issued the following news release: The Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, introduced a concept labeled "Safe Essential Air Transportation Seating (SEATS)" that is designed to enable a gradual return to pre-pandemic passenger travel while maintaining critical transportation infrastructure employment. "Under SEATS, the government would purchase enough seats on each flight to eliminate t  more

American Enterprise Institute: Economic Mobility Conundrums - A Closer Look at the Opportunity Insights University Rankings
WASHINGTON, June 24 -- The American Enterprise Institute issued the following report: Key Points * Policymakers and the media are enthusiastic about ranking colleges based on students' economic mobility, but some healthy skepticism is warranted. * Ranking colleges and universities based on students' economic mobility can unfairly advantage institutions in places with extreme income inequality. * In one highly regarded mobility ranking, three states--New York, California, and Texas--accounted  more

American Heart Association and American Medical Association Urge Broader Adoption of Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring
DALLAS, Texas, June 23 -- The American Heart Association issued the following news release on June 22: Self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) offers clinical benefits and the potential for being cost-effective over blood pressure (BP) monitoring conducted in a medical office, but improvements in patient education, provider training and insurance coverage are needed for broader adoption of the practice, according to a new policy statement by the American Heart Association and American Medical Assoc  more

Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology Journal Issues Research Articles in July 2020 Edition
DALLAS, Texas, June 25 -- Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, a journal from the American Heart Association, published research articles, including the following topics, in its July 2020 edition: * DNA Damage Response: A Molecular Lynchpin in the Pathobiology of Arteriosclerotic Calcification * Vascular Regeneration in Peripheral Artery Disease Basic Sciences: * Platelets Endocytose Viral Particles and Are Activated via TLR (Toll-Like Receptor) Signaling * Effects of a Hyper  more

Baylor Scott & White Health Offers Integrated Direct Primary Care
DALLAS, Texas, June 24 -- Baylor Scott and White Health issued the following news release: Baylor Scott & White Health, through its Scott and White Health Plan, is now offering an integrated direct primary care health plan product for North Texas employers and their employees. The innovative product is the first of its kind in the North Texas market and unbundles primary care services from traditional fee-for-service healthcare while integrating comprehensive coverage for hospitals, specialist  more

Center for American Progress: In Light of the Coronavirus, New Analysis Finds 23 Million Americans at Risk of Losing Coverage Because of the Trump Administration's Health Care Repeal Lawsuit
WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The Center for American Progress issued the following news release: The Center for American Progress released a new 50-state analysis (https://www.americanprogress.org/?p=486768) estimating the number of Americans who could lose health care coverage if the U.S. Supreme Court sides with the Trump administration and strikes down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during the pandemic. The estimates come a day before the Trump administration will file its opening briefs with the S  more

Center for American Progress: Nearly 800 Public Health Experts and Professionals Tell President Trump to Drop Lawsuit to Tear Health Care Away From Millions of Americans Amidst a Pandemic
WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The Center for American Progress issued the following news release: Amidst a global health pandemic that is sickening millions of Americans and has killed more than 120,000, nearly 800 public health experts and professionals from across the United States wrote (https://cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2020/06/24153542/Public-Health-Experts-on-ACA-Repeal.pdf) to President Donald Trump to urge the administration to drop its support of California v. Texas, a lawsuit   more

Center on Budget & Policy Priorities: ACA Repeal Even More Dangerous During Pandemic, Economic Crisis
WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities issued the following commentary by senior policy analyst Tara Straw and Aviva Aron-Dine, vice president for health policy: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting major recession, the Trump Administration and 18 state attorneys general, led by Texas, are expected to file briefs today asking the Supreme Court to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA).[1] While some in the Administration reportedly suggested it should  more

Circulation Journal Issues Research Articles in June 16, 2020 Edition
DALLAS, Texas, June 23 -- Circulation, a journal from the American Heart Association, published research articles on the following topics in its June 16, 2020 edition: * Identification and Characterization of Trajectories of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy After Heart Transplantation: A Population-Based Study * Cardiac Energetics in Patients With Aortic Stenosis and Preserved Versus Reduced Ejection Fraction State of the Art: * Considerations for Drug Interactions on QTc in Exploratory COVID  more

Community Catalyst: In Midst of Pandemic, Trump Plows Forward With Reckless Lawsuit to Strip Health Care From Millions
BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 27 -- Community Catalyst issued the following news release: As numerous states are reporting major new surges in COVID-19 diagnoses and hospitalizations, the Trump administration filed briefs with the Supreme Court in support of the Health Care Repeal Lawsuit (California v. Texas), which aims to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA is now a fundamental part of the fabric of the American health care system alongside Medicare and Medicaid. It provides milli  more

Construction Management Association Announces 2020 Class for College of Fellows
MCLEAN, Virginia, June 24 -- The Construction Management Association of America issued the following news release: The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) announces three members have been selected for induction into the CMAA College of Fellows. They are: * Paul W. Foster, CCM, President, Foster CM Group, San Antonio, Texas * Christopher J. Payne, PE, CCM, President and COO, MBP, Fairfax, Va. * Brian A. Stover, PE, CCM, Vice President, HNTB, Arlington, Va. CMAA members are  more

Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities Receives Grant From Sallie Mae Fund
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 27 -- The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities issued the following news release: The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities is among the grant recipients announced by The Sallie Mae Fund on June 25, 2020. The grant of $125,000 will support initiatives that advance social justice, diversity, inclusion and equality. In a press release, the organization stated that too often minority and underserved students face significant obstacles that not onl  more

Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities Statement on California Budget Compromise
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 24 -- The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities issued the following statement by President and CEO Antonio R. Flores in response to the 2020-21 state budget compromise between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature: "We are disheartened that the Governor and Legislature decided on a budget that deeply cuts higher education funding even more than previously proposed. "The CSU and UC will lose an almost $1 billion combined under this proposal  more

HITRUST Releases Version 9.4 of the HITRUST CSF Incorporating the DoD CMMC, and Approach to Community Standards
FRISCO, Texas, June 23 -- The Health Information Trust Alliance issued the following news release: HITRUST, a leading data protection standards development and certification organization, announced the availability of version 9.4 of the HITRUST CSF information risk and compliance management framework, further delivering on its mission of One Framework, One Assessment, Globally. HITRUST CSF version 9.4 now incorporates and harmonizes the largest number of authoritative sources of any security a  more

Intercultural Development Research Association: New Partnership Launches the Texas Early Childhood English Learner Initiative
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 26 -- The Intercultural Development Research Association issued the following news release: IDRA is excited to announce our partnership in launching the Early Childhood English Learner (ECEL) initiative. IDRA will serve as a steering committee co-leader with Texans Care for Children; Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium (TEGAC); Dr. Dina Castro, UNT Denton; and Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TxAEYC). The new initiative will build a da  more

Journal of Community Health Issues Research Articles in August 2020 Edition
CHAM, Switzerland, June 25 -- The Journal of Community Health, a peer-reviewed journal that says it features articles on the practice, teaching and research of community health, published research articles, including the following topics, in its August 2020 edition: * Acceptance of Rapid Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing in an Urban Emergency Department * Associations Between Personal Protective Measures and Self-Reported Tick-Borne Disease Diagnosis in Indiana Residents * Epidemiology of   more

Kansas DOT Selects SwRI's ActiveITS for Statewide Transportation Operations
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 25 -- Southwest Research Institute issued the following news release: The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has selected Southwest Research Institute to provide the state's traffic management software solutions. Under a $1.4 million, three-year contract, SwRI will deploy and support the ActiveITS Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) for statewide use. "The unique thing that SwRI's ActiveITS brings to the table is the ability to share the costs of software  more

Lilly Endowment Names New Program Director in Religion
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, June 27 -- The Lilly Endowment issued the following news release: The Rev. Tito Madrazo is joining the staff at Lilly Endowment as a program director in the religion division. He begins work at the Endowment on July 6, 2020. An ordained Baptist pastor, Madrazo has served congregations in Texas and North Carolina for 18 years and comes to the Endowment most recently from teaching and research positions at Duke University's Divinity School in Durham, NC. At Duke, Madrazo   more

Limnology & Oceanography Journal - Methods Issues Research Articles in June 2020 Edition
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, June 23 -- Limnology and Oceanography Journal - Methods, a journal that says it deals with problems in the aquatic sciences from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, published research articles on the following topics in its June 2020 edition: * Immunochemical methods for identification of prey in freshwater zooplankton * Reduction of taxonomic bias in diatom species data * Improving analytical method of Sr/Ca ratios in coral skeletons for pa  more

Methodist Drive-Up Testing Center Doubles Daily Capacity
DALLAS, Texas, June 24 -- Methodist Health System issued the following news release: Responding to the demand for additional COVID-19 testing, Methodist Health System is doubling the testing capacity of its dedicated drive-up testing center across from Methodist Charlton Medical Center. While hundreds of tests have been performed at this Wheatland Road location since mid-May, there is clearly a need for more. Methodist believes that need is urgent, due to an increase in the rate of COVID-posit  more

National Association of Community Health Centers Statement Regarding Observance of Juneteenth
BETHESDA, Maryland, June 22 -- The National Association of Community Health Centers issued the following statement: We mark an important milestone in our nation's path toward change and equality. On this day in 1865, two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the slaves of Galveston, Texas finally learned that the Civil War was over and they were free. Yet, on this Juneteenth we reflect with heavy hearts that the promise of freedom, equality and justice still remain  more

National Parent Teacher Association Honors Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, June 27 -- The National Parent Teacher Association issued the following news release: National PTA is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2020 Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award, which honors PTAs for outstanding achievement in the areas of diversity and inclusion. This year's recipients are: * Austin Council of PTAs (Texas) Austin Council of PTAs goes beyond offering interpreters and translated flyers. Many of the PTAs in the council operate completely  more

NOW: Senate Confirms Wilson, Continuing Attack on Reproductive Rights
WASHINGTON, June 25 -- The National Organization for Women issued the following news release: Moments ago, the Senate voted to confirm Judge Cory Wilson to the already conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. This court has jurisdiction over courts across Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas - three states with severely limited abortion access. By adding Wilson to the bench, the Trump administration and Senate Republicans have made this court a monumental threat to women's rights and reproducti  more

Protect Our Care Launches Days of Action to Sound Alarm on Trump-Republican Lawsuit to Repeal Health Care in Middle of a Pandemic
WASHINGTON, June 23 -- Protect Our Care issued the following news on June 22: Protect Our Care is launching 12 days of action to bring attention to the dire consequences of the Trump-Republican lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as the Trump administration and Republican AGs file their briefs in the case this week. On Thursday June 25th, Trump's Department Of Justice (DOJ) and Republican-led states will submit their briefs to the Supreme Court in support of California v. Texas, t  more

Public Citizen: COVID-19 Medicine Pricing, Transparency Bills Are Matter of Life, Death
WASHINGTON, June 23 -- Public Citizen issued the following statement by President Robert Weissman: U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Peter Defazio (D-Ore.) introduced the Make Medications Affordable by Preventing Pandemic Pricegouging (MMAPPP) Act and the Taxpayer Research and Coronavirus Knowledge (TRACK) Act. * * * President Donald Trump's sycophancy to drug corporations is endangering the nation's pandemic respo  more

SwRI Receives $1.3 Million To Build Robotic Inspection System for Nuclear Waste Storage Tanks
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 24 -- Southwest Research Institute issued the following news release: Southwest Research Institute has been awarded a $1.3 million project from Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), a contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), to build a robotic inspection system designed specifically to inspect the bottoms of massive underground double-shell tanks located at the Hanford Site. Both single-shell and double-shell tanks are used on the site to store 56 mill  more

SwRI-Managed TRACERS Heliophysics Mission Enters Phase B
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, June 23 -- Southwest Research Institute issued the following news release: NASA has approved the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission to proceed to Phase B, which marks the transition from concept study to preliminary flight design. The satellites, led by the University of Iowa (UI) and managed by Southwest Research Institute, are set to launch in late 2023. In addition to providing mission management and science services   more

Texas Association of Broadcasters: University Interscholastic League Eyes Suspending 'Friday Night' Broadcast Rule for One Year
WASHINGTON, June 24 -- The Texas Association of Broadcasters issued the following news: The University Interscholastic League (UIL), is poised to suspend the so-called "Friday Night broadcast rule" for one year. This is the UIL regulation which forbids live video broadcasts or streams of high school football games. Radio broadcasts of Friday high school football games is allowed. On May 1, the UIL Legislative Council approved a resolution authorizing UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breitha  more

Texas Hospital Association Statement on Executive Order
AUSTIN, Texas, June 26 -- Texas Hospital Association issued the following statement on June 25 by President and CEO Ted Shaw: The Texas Hospital Association issues the following statement regarding new state executive order related to the suspension of elective surgeries in certain areas and pausing the reopening of Texas. * * * Texas hospitals recognize and appreciate today's efforts to further protect the people of Texas. Our hospitals will continue to do their part on the frontlines to pro  more

Texas Hospital Association: Working Together, Hospitals Can Flex and Manage Capacity
AUSTIN, Texas, June 25 -- Texas Hospital Association issued the following news release on June 24: On a call with Gov. Greg Abbott yesterday evening, Texas hospitals reported they have the necessary capacity to continue caring for the influx of COVID-19 patients, highlighting that surge plans also are in place and can be activated as needed to serve increased patient volume. "Hospitals are committed to managing capacity so patients get the right care at the right time for COVID-19 and non-COVI  more

Texas Hospitals Underscore Masks, Social Distancing
AUSTIN, Texas, June 23 -- Texas Hospital Association issued the following statement on June 22 by President and CEO Ted Shaw: With hospitalizations on the rise, Texas hospitals are underscoring Gov. Greg Abbott's message, encouraging everyone to follow personal precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including masking in public places and limiting gatherings as much as possible. THA issues the following statement on hospitalizations rising and on personal precautions from Ted Shaw, presi  more

Texas Organizing Project: Demand in Houston is Clear - Defund the Police
HOUSTON, Texas, June 27 -- The Texas Organizing Project issued the following news release: Again, Houston residents made it clear that they want the Houston Police Department defunded. At today's Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee hearing, speaker after speaker, including several members of the Texas Organizing Project, made impassioned pleas for reducing the budget of the police department and redirecting those funds toward community-based programs that address people's needs for ho  more

Texas Public Policy Foundation Files Opening Brief in ACA Supreme Court Case
AUSTIN, Texas, June 26 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release: The Texas Public Policy Foundation filed an opening brief with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of its clients, the individual plaintiffs, in California v. Texas. "The Court should affirm the Fifth Circuit's judgment that the individual mandate violates the Commerce Clause and affirm the District Court's judgment that the individual mandate is not severable from the ACA," said TPPF's General Co  more

Texas Public Policy Foundation: Being Poor is Not a Crime - 90% of Children in Care Had Neglect as a Reason for Removal
AUSTIN, Texas, June 25 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release: The Texas Public Policy Foundation published the paper Punished for Being Poor: The Relationship Between Poverty and Neglect in Texas. "Removing a child from their home is a traumatic event that has been shown to cause long-lasting negative effects," said Nikki Pressley, a policy analyst with the Texas Public Policy Foundation. "In Texas, over 90% of foster cases in 2018 cited neglect as a contributing   more

Texas Public Policy Foundation: Court Rules in Favor of Trump Administration Price Transparency Order
AUSTIN, Texas, June 25 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release: United States District Judge Carl Nichols ruled in favor of the Trump Administration to make the negotiated rates between hospitals and insurers transparent. "This is an important ruling and a great step toward making the healthcare industry less opaque by requiring that they post the real prices for patients to see," said David Balat, director of the Right on Healthcare initiative at the Texas Public P  more

Texas Public Policy Foundation: Supreme Court of Texas Unanimous in Decision to Protect Parental Rights
AUSTIN, Texas, June 27 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release on June 26: The Texas Supreme Court published its unanimous opinion in In Re C.J.C., Relator vindicating the rights of a father who was forced by a trial court to share custody of his daughter with her mother's former boyfriend. The court's decision overturned the trial court's order and restored full custody of the child to her father. "Today's decision is a decisive victory for the fundamental right o  more

Texas Public Policy Foundation: Trump Executive Order Major Step in Preserving, Strengthening Families
AUSTIN, Texas, June 26 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release: President Trump signed an executive order aimed at strengthening the American child welfare system. "President Trump's executive order is a major step forward in creating a more compassionate child welfare system that preserves and strengthens families," said Andrew Brown, distinguished senior fellow of child and family policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. "It recognizes that separating childr  more

Texas State Teachers Association: Despite Increases in School Funding, Texas Still Trails Many States in Teacher Pay, Per-Student Spending
AUSTIN, Texas, June 27 -- The Texas State Teachers Association issued the following news release: The new school finance legislation enacted last year improved Texas' national rankings in education spending, but Texas still trails many states and the District of Columbia in average teacher pay and the amount of spending per student, according to a new report on state-by-state education spending compiled by the National Education Association (NEA). Average teacher pay in Texas increased from $5  more

Texas State Teachers Association: State Needs to Order Mask Use on School Campuses
AUSTIN, Texas, June 25 -- The Texas State Teachers Association issued the following statement by President Noel Candelaria: "In their haste to reopen schools in the midst of a deadly pandemic, Gov. Abbott and Education Commissioner Mike Morath are refusing to order school districts to impose mask requirements on campuses or compel a systemic regimen to protect the safety of millions of Texans who are part of our public school system. If schools are going to be forced to reopen prematurely, the   more

Trump Administration and Republican AGs Put Politically Motivated Lawsuit to Rip Health Care From Millions of Americans on Full Display in SCOTUS Briefs Being Filed
WASHINGTON, June 26 -- Protect Our Care issued the following statement on June 25 by Executive Director Brad Woodhouse: The Trump administration and Republican attorneys general are filing their briefs with the Supreme Court in support of California v. Texas, the lawsuit seeking to strike down the ACA in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. In the brief already filed by Republican AGs, they advocated for ripping health care from more than 20 million Americans, protections for 135 million Americ  more

USA Rice Federation: The Heat Is On for California Crop
MOUNTAIN HOME, Texas, June 25 -- USA Rice Federation issued the following news: California rice growers are watching their thermometers as much as they are observing their rice fields these days. Daily high temperatures are forecasted to be well above 100 degrees through Saturday in Colusa which is located on the west side of the Sacramento Valley - reaching as high as 110 on Friday. Temperatures this high can have negative impacts on the crop but are much more damaging when the plants are firs  more

Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Transcript - Balser on Recognizing Need for Change Stepping Up at Pivotal Moment in History
NASHVILLE, Tennessee, June 22 -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center issued the following transcript: Hello everyone. Juneteenth -- an important day in American history. It was this day on June 19, 1865, when the last group of enslaved Africans held in Texas were freed, years after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It took far too long for this date to be recognized. There is a widespread awakening in our country that is causing us all to look closer -- at what we overlook and what  more