#harris-county

#harris-county

Texas Republicans have approved a pair of bills targeting the elections process in Harris County, the state's largest and home to Houston, with voting rights activists accusing the GOP of plotting a power grab in an increasingly Democratic county.The measures, which passed the Republican-controlled state House and Senate, now head to the desk of GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.

The Texas Legislature gave final approval on Sunday to a new round of voting bills to increase penalties for illegal voting and expand state oversight of local elections specifically in Harris County, which includes Houston, where Democrats have become dominant.The measures, which now head to Gov. Greg Abbott to sign, include a bill that would upend elections in Houston a few months before the city's mayoral race in November by forcing the county to change how it runs elections and return to a previous system.

When a man who was out on a date in Houston found out he had been duped out of $40 by someone pretending to be a parking attendant, he ran out of the restaurant, fatally shot the scammer and then nonchalantly returned, the authorities said.The man, Erick Aguirre, 29, was arrested on Tuesday in Aransas County, north of Corpus Christi, Texas, and charged with murder in the death of Elliot Nix, 46, on April 11.

While some urban counties are bouncing back from a pandemic-driven exodus, Cook County's population has yet to recover its losses, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday.Cook County remains the second largest county in the U.S. at 5.1 million residents, but its population fell by more than 68,000 residents last year, the second biggest decline among all counties.

Tomeu Vadell, one of the so-called CITGO 6 who was detained in Venezuela for nearly five years, is suing the petroleum company that previously employed him for more than $100 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in Harris County, Texas, district court Tuesday.The lawsuit accuses CITGO of using Vadell and the other five executives Gustavo Cardenas, Jose Pereira, Jorge Toledo, Alirio Zambrano and Jose Luis Zambrano as political pawns.

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 by Jo Clifton
Including fertility treatments in the city's employee insurance plan "would have a significant ongoing fiscal impact" on the benefit plan, according to a memo from acting Human Resources Director Rebecca Kennedy (who took on the role of department head at the end of December when HR chief Joya Hayes went on leave).

(CNN)A shelter-in-place order has been lifted that was in effect for some Harris County, Texas, residents after an anhydrous ammonia leak Sunday, according to Harris County Public Health Department.The leak at a warehouse in Katy led authorities to ask nearby residents to stay indoors Sunday morning because of health risks.