MRT (free): Measles Outbreak Grows to 223 Cases // Funeral of Sylvester Turner Held in Houston // House Cmte Holds Hearing on School Choice Bill // WilCo Judge Gravell Resigns to Join SBA
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak
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TUESDAY || 3/11/2025
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TOP NEWS
“Texas measles outbreak grows to 223 cases, with another 30 in New Mexico,” Houston Chronicle's Evan McDonald — “A measles outbreak that began in northwest Texas grew to 223 cases on Tuesday, with another 30 cases reported in New Mexico, according to health officials.
The latest update from the Texas Department of State Health Services includes 25 new cases since the agency’s last update on Friday. Twenty-nine people have been hospitalized and one child has died, the first measles death in the United States since 2015.
The outbreak continues to be concentrated in children who have not received the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, or whose vaccination status is unknown. Nearly 70% of the cases have been in Gaines County, a small county along the New Mexico border.
All 30 cases in New Mexico have been in Lea County, located just across the border from Gaines County. The New Mexico Department of Health reported last week that an unvaccinated adult tested positive for measles after dying, the second death associated with the outbreak.
Doctors and public health experts have said the outbreak, which began in late January, could continue to spread for some time. Measles is highly contagious, and it can take seven to 21 days for symptoms to appear after an exposure.
Doctors have stressed the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent measles. One dose is 93% effective at preventing an infection, while two doses are 97% effective, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The best way to prevent measles, and to prevent the complications of measles, is to be protected against it,” Dr. Pedro Piedra, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, said Friday during a forum hosted by the Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute. “And vaccination is the best method for prevention.”
Gaines County reported an additional 19 cases since Friday, according to DSHS data. The county has now reported 156 cases, about 70% of all cases in the outbreak.
Terry County reported three new cases, bringing its total to 32. Yoakum County reported two new cases, bringing its total to 10. Dawson County reported one new case, bringing its total to 10.
Five other counties have reported cases amid the outbreak, but did not report any new infections since Friday. Dallam County has reported five cases, both Lubbock and Martin counties have reported three and both Ector and Lynn have reported two.
Most cases have been in children and teens, with 76 in children younger than 5 years old and 98 in children and teens between 5 and 17, according to DSHS data.
Only five of the cases have been in people confirmed to have received the MMR vaccine. Eighty have been in unvaccinated individuals, and 138 have been in people whose vaccination status is unknown, according to DSHS data." Houston Chronicle ($)
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“Residents, elected officials honor former mayor, U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner at Houston City Hall,” Houston Chronicle's Abby Church — “At Sylvester Turner’s final Houston City Council meeting as mayor, he took time to talk about his legacy.
No other mayor had dealt with what he faced, from the vast number of federally declared national disasters to rising pension costs to social unrest, he told the council at the time.
But, Turner added, there was something about knowing what he brought to the table.
“You have to know your value. You have to know what you have done. And if you know what you have done, then you can move forward with the assurance that all is well,” Turner said in December 2023.
On Tuesday, Houston City Hall welcomed Turner for a final time to honor that legacy by allowing him to lie in state in the rotunda.
Turner, who served two terms as Houston’s mayor from 2016-2023 and was recently elected to the U.S. House, died Wednesday after “enduring health complications,” his family said. He was 70.
He is only the third person to lie in state at Houston City Hall, joining his friend U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on the list of honorees, as well as Michael DeBakey, a renowned heart surgeon.
“What was special about Sylvester, he had that can-do attitude that so many of us present have,” current Houston Mayor John Whitmire said to a sea of elected officials and colleagues in front of the city hall steps who came to honor Turner. “He would work with anyone for the benefit of his community.”
Turner took over the congressional seat for Jackson Lee, who died at 74 in July, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Former U.S. Rep. Erica Lee Carter, Jackson Lee’s daughter, won the special election to fill the remainder of her mother’s term until Turner took the reins in January.
The evening before his passing, Turner attended President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress. In a video posted to X, the congressman told the administration, “Don’t mess with Medicaid,” alongside guest Angela Hernandez, a Houstonian advocating for her daughter.
Turner’s family said he was taken to the hospital and released following the president’s speech. First responders found him dead inside his Washington apartment the next morning.
Just as dawn broke early Tuesday, Turner’s American flag shrouded casket was brought into city hall through the door off McKinney Street. The building was lit up a brilliant blue in his honor – Turner’s team always wore blue on the important days, his longtime aide Jeff Syptak said. It was also one of Turner's favorite colors." Houston Chronicle ($)
“Federal appeals court reverses Texas death row inmate’s conviction,” Houston Chronicle's Matt deGrood — "A federal appeals court has tossed an Amarillo woman’s death sentence after it found that local prosecutors had failed to reveal that their primary trial witness was a paid informant.
With a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last week sent Brittany Marlowe Holberg’s 1998 murder conviction back down to the trial court to decide how to proceed.
Holberg has been on death row for 27 years. In securing her conviction in 1998, Randall County prosecutors heavily relied on testimony from a jail inmate who was working as a confidential informant for the City of Amarillo police. That informant recanted her testimony in 2011, but neither a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals or a federal district court found that prosecutors had violated Holberg’s constitutional right to a fair trial.
The appeals court disagreed, saying that the informant was critical to the jury’s determination of guilt and that the prosecution violated Holberg’s due process rights by hiding information that, according to a landmark U.S. Supreme court ruling, must be disclosed. Writing for the majority, judge Patrick E. Higginbotham cast Holberg’s case as a blight on the criminal justice system.
“We pause only to acknowledge that 27 years on death row is a reality dimming the light that ought to attend proceedings where a life is at stake, a stark reminder that the jurisprudence of capital punishment remains a work in progress,” wrote Higginbotham, a Ronald Reagan appointee.
Holberg was sentenced to death by an Amarillo jury when she was 23 years old. The jury found her guilty of murdering A.B. Towery, an 80-year-old man and former client of Holberg, a sex worker. During trial, Holberg asserted that she acted in self-defense and that she stabbed Towery because she feared for her life and sought to protect herself after he struck her on the back of the head and refused to relent.
The prosecution, however, presented testimony from Holberg’s jail cellmate Vickie Marie Kirkpatrick, who alleged that Holberg had admitted to killing Towery “in order to get money” and said she “would do it all over again for more drugs.”
Kirkpatrick was at the time working as a confidential informant for the City of Amarillo police, a fact prosecutors did not disclose. They instead presented Kirkpatrick as a “disinterested individual who ‘wanted to do the right thing,’” Higginbotham wrote.
Holberg had experienced severe and repeated sexual abuse during her childhood and fell into a crack cocaine addiction. She turned to sex work to support her addiction, according to court documents.
On Nov. 13, 1996, she had a minor traffic accident and then sought refuge in Towery’s apartment. A heated argument turned violent, leaving Towery dead with part of a lamp lodged within his throat. Holberg left the apartment cut, bruised and bleeding from her head where Towery struck her.
While in jail, the Randall County District Attorney’s Office approached multiple inmates to question them about Holberg, offering them a deal in exchange for testimony. Kirkpatrick, who was placed in the same cell as Holberg, produced a statement detailing an alleged admission from Holberg. That same day, Kirkpatrick was released on bond.
In a lone dissent, circuit judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Donald Trump appointee, wrote that the jury did not solely rely on Kirkpatrick’s testimony to reach their decision of guilt.
“The jury was presented with graphic physical evidence that Holberg sadistically butchered a sick old man—with a lamp rammed down his throat as the coup de grâce,” Duncan wrote. “That evidence doomed Holberg’s self-defense theory and there is no chance that impeaching Kirkpatrick would have resurrected it.”" AP
#TXLEGE
“Democrats dubious as Texas House begins work on bill using public money for private school,” Dallas Morning News' Phil Jankowski — “A public hearing on the Texas Legislature’s most politically charged issue began Tuesday with tough questions from Democratic lawmakers skeptical of a bill that would allow taxpayer dollars to be spent on private school education.
At a House committee hearing on House Bill 3, several hundred people were at the Capitol, awaiting their chance to tell lawmakers in Austin what they think about the bill. Protesters rallied outside the Capitol and Gov. Greg Abbott made his case for school choice at a conservative think tank several blocks away.
Abbott has made passing an education savings account bill his top legislative priority. Democrats are largely opposed.
Before the hearing began, state officials released a cost estimate of the bill, which would provide about $10,500 in an education savings account to qualifying parents who send their children to private schools. The estimate showed a sharply increasing cost of the program, which would grow from an initial price tag of $1 billion in 2026 to nearly $4 billion in 2030.
Democratic lawmakers peppered the bill’s author, Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, with questions about the bill. Buckley has on several occasions referred to the bill as “empowering parents” to seek the best education for their children.
Democrats focused on the program’s universal access, which allows parents of all households to apply for state assistance to pay for private school education. The bill creates prioritized access based on income levels if more parents apply than funds are available.
Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, called for limiting the availability of education savings accounts to low- and middle-income families.
“I resent the effort to use parents as a shield for this privatization effort,” Talarico said.
Four Democrats on the House committee considering the bill, including Talarico and Dallas Democratic Rep. John Bryant, called on billionaire megadonor Jeff Yass to testify at Tuesday’s hearing.
Yass gave $12 million to Abbott’s campaign as the governor worked to oust House Republicans who opposed a similar bill in 2023. Abbott now believes he has the votes to pass his top legislative priority after his endorsed candidates defeated many of those incumbents in the 2024 GOP primary.
Supporters say education savings accounts give parents greater control over their child’s education and would enable many to move their children to higher performing private schools they might not be able to afford.
Opponents say education savings accounts are the first step in the privatization of public education and are an end run to cut state funding to public schools by reducing enrollment.
As Abbott made his late-morning appearance before the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the Texas Freedom Network, a group that supports public education, held a Capitol rally to protest the voucher-style bill.
“We will not accept the defunding of our neighborhood schools without a fight,” said Zeph Capo, president of Texas American Federation of Teachers during the rally of about 30 public education advocates.
Capo said Abbott and wealthy megadonors were trying to funnel tax dollars to private schools, which would hurt public education.
“Make no mistake, this is an attack on public schools,” he said. “It is the playbook we all know too well: Starve schools of resources, shame them for failing to meet unrealistic expectations, and shutter and privatize them.”
The Senate has already passed its version of an education savings account bill. It would give about $10,000 to per student to help pay for private school education. The accounts would be open to all students, but should costs exceed $1 billion, the bill would prioritize special education students, students with disabilities and students with a household income of up to five times the federal poverty level, about $160,750 for a family of four.
The size of an education savings account in HB 3 is set at 85% of state and local money spent on the average student, which based on 2024 figures from the Texas Education Agency comes to about $10,983.
Both proposals allow for an education savings account to be used on private school tuition, uniforms, textbooks and tutoring." DMN ($)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell resigns to take position in Trump administration,” Austin American-Statesman's Claire Osborn — “Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell resigned Tuesday to take a position with the Trump administration as the Region 6 advocate for the U.S. Small Business Administration's office of advocacy.
Gravell said he applied for the Region 6 position, which covers Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, because he felt like he had done a good job in helping small businesses thrive in the county.
"For me this is just a continuation of what I was doing in Williamson County but on a larger scale," Gravell said. "I learned during COVID that the backbone to Williamson County was our small businesses."
In the past six years, he said, the county has handled 12,500 small business applications. It also saw the expansion of major corporations such as Apple, Samsung and Kalahari Resorts.
Gravell, 61, announced his resignation at the Commissioners Court meeting. District Judge Betsy Lambeth swore Gravell into his new office as advocate a few minutes after Gravell resigned.
“It is a great honor to serve as the voice for the 4.5 million small businesses that make the South-Central region of the United States their home,” Gravell said. “Growing up at 1402 East Main Street in Round Rock, Texas, I never could have imagined that one day I would have the opportunity to serve the United States. This is truly an honor, but I will never forget where I came from."
The commissioners will appoint a new county judge to serve until the next general election on Nov. 3, 2026. They will hold a special session at 11 a.m. Friday to accept Gravell’s resignation and to discuss the appointment of the new county judge.
Gravell said the county has prospered in the six years he has been judge with the appraised value growing from $84 billion to $180 billion. Gravell, a former youth pastor and justice of the peace, was sworn in as county judge Jan. 1, 2019. He won re-election in 2022.
As county judge, Gravell served as the director of emergency management during local disasters, navigating several crises through his tenure, according to a county news release. Those crises included the COVID-19 pandemic, tornadoes, fires and the deadly February 2021 freeze, Gravell said. His greatest accomplishment as judge, he said, was leading "during some of the most complex and difficult times our county has ever faced."
"I have strived daily to protect our citizens and the future of our citizens," Gravell said. ...
Gravell said his new job, which has just started, involves being an advocate for small businesses to make sure new rules and regulations they might face don't damage them, he said. Gravell said he would remain based in Georgetown with some traveling to other states.
Gravell was in his second term as county judge when he resigned. He served from 2013-2018 as a justice of the peace and also served for 22 years as a youth pastor.
"I'd like to say to the young people and to my grandchildren," Gravell said on Tuesday, "no matter where your start in life, with hard work, with dedication and with following the Lord you can go anywhere. ... America is still the land of opportunity and I've proven that."" AAS ($)
2026
“Mayra Guillén, sister of Vanessa Guillén, eyeing a challenge to Houston Rep. Al Green,” Houston Chronicle's Taylor Goldenstein — “Mayra Guillén, the older sister of U.S. Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén who was killed at Fort Cavazos near Killeen in 2020, plans to make her political debut by launching a challenge against longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston.
Guillén, who has never held public office, has become an outspoken advocate for reforming the military’s handling of sexual harassment and assault cases since her sister’s death. In 2021, she founded an advocacy group called the I am Vanessa Guillén Foundation.
The family’s push resulted in a number of new laws passed by Congress in 2021 and 2022 that are meant to make the military’s process of investigating harassment and assault more fair.
Guillén, who has previously been supportive of President Donald Trump on social media, didn’t say whether she will run as a Republican or a Democrat. But she’ll likely face an uphill battle. Green, a Democrat, has represented Houston’s south side in Congress since 2005 and ran unopposed last election in the heavily blue district.
Guillén announced her run after Green’s interrupted President Donald Trump’s address last week. Green was later censured by the majority Republican chamber.
A mural of slain Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén was set up in Austin in 2020 after her death.
"After watching @RepAlGreen disrespect not only @POTUS last night, but our district, state and country, I believe it’s time for me to get into the fight like I did for my sister Vanessa Guillen!” she posted on X.
“It’s time to end the propaganda displayed by these politicians, and time to help support @POTUS and his amazing Admiration to Make America Great Again! Al Green I’m coming for your seat."
Guillén did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She has yet to file any official campaign paperwork.
Green, who shouted that Trump did not have a “mandate to cut Medicaid,” said his actions were borne out of frustration over the possible loss of critical health care for many of his constituents under Republican-proposed budget cuts." Houston Chronicle ($)
BUSINESS NEWS
“Southwest Airlines plans to end its free checked bag policy for some travelers,” Houston Chronicle's Octavia Johnson — “Southwest Airlines is changing its bag policy and will being requiring travelers who don't qualify for free bag options to pay for their first two bags at check-in.
This comes months after the Texas-based airline ditched its first-come-first-serve seating as one of the company’s efforts to keep and attract customers amid its financial struggles.
Southwest will begin charging customers for the first and second checked bags May 28, according to a news release. Travelers on the A-list loyalty program (preferred status member) or using business fare will not have to pay the checked bag fees.
"We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future Customer needs, attract new Customer segments we don't compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our Shareholders expect," said Bob Jordan, president and chief executive officer of Southwest, in a statement.
The fee amount for checked bags was unclear as of Tuesday morning.
The airline also announced adjustments to the Rapid Rewards points earned by travelers on qualifying flights, the release reads. Travelers can earn more points on business fares. The loyalty program will also introduce variable redemption rates across higher- and lower-demand flights, according to the release.
Flights and fare products will be available to book on the third-party online travel agency Expedia.
"We will do all this while remaining focused on what's made us strong — our people and the authentic, friendly, and award-winning Customer Service only they can provide," Jordan said in a statement.
Last year, Jordan initially told investors there were no plans to charge for the first two bags, CNN reported. He said the free bag check-in was why customers chose Southwest.
Other initiatives consist of implementing assigned seating, extra legroom options and the airline’s first-ever scheduled overnight redeye flights.
The changes at Southwest have been introduced after activist investor Elliot Investment Management called for changes to leadership and operations in hopes of improving the airline financially.
Since then, the airline has offered buyouts for certain airports, except in Houston, and slashed 15% of corporate-level leadership jobs." Houston Chronicle ($)
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
> TX TRIB: "Federal appeals court reverses Texas death row inmate’s conviction" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Will lawmakers let Texas’ maternal mortality committee review abortion deaths?" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Texas Senate panel sends message to Trump: Get our water from Mexico" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "In Guadalupe County, an elections academy aims to strengthen residents’ trust in voting" TX TRIB
> HOU CHRON: "New renderings show $2B George R. Brown expansion that will transform downtown" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "Who owns Texas: See who owns the most Houston-area properties" HOU CHRON
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Houston's $70M plan to end street homelessness by 2026" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> TX TRIB: "With crumbling public health infrastructure, rural Texas scrambles to respond to measles" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Thrust into the spotlight by a school shooting, Uvalde’s former mayor finds his footing as a lawmaker" TX TRIB
> HOU CHRON: "Hewlett Packard Enterprise plans to cut workforce by 2,500" HOU CHRON
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Rice University to break ground on new Moody Center Complex in May" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> HOU CHRON: "Feds wanted to sell three Houston office buildings. Then the list disappeared." HOU CHRON
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Harris County commissioners approve $2.8M to fund additional jail staff" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> TX TRIB: "Texas Senate advances bill to start a $3 billion dementia research fund" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "South Texas immigration detention center with capacity for 2,400 people to reopen" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Texas countywide voting bill would allow fewer polling sites" TX TRIB
> AP: "Siemens announces $285 million investment in US manufacturing" AP
> TX TRIB: "Why a Rio Grande Valley hospital is helping to feed its patients" TX TRIB
> AP: "Judge pauses GOP states’ lawsuit to limit people in the US illegally from census count" AP
> AP: "US surveillance balloon breaks free near Texas border and travels to Dallas area before crashing" AP
> TX TRIB: "Texas’ DOGE committee takes inspiration from Elon Musk’s federal operation" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Obstacles slow Texas effort to improve conditions at at substance abuse recovery homes" TX TRIB
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Texas House bill seeks to incentivize teacher certification, raise school funding" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> HOU CHRON: "Houston set a record last year as millions more tourists visited" HOU CHRON
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Houston unveils master plan for new downtown convention district" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: "KLOwen Orthodontic to expand in Richardson IQ following economic incentive with city" COMMUNITY IMPACT
> TX TRIB: "With Texas facing soaring electricity demand, the politics of energy quietly shift at the Capitol" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Texas House majority signs on to new bill restricting the use of bathrooms in public buildings by transgender people" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Vance visits Texas-Mexico border to promote Trump's immigration crackdown" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Following Trump’s lead, Gov. Abbott pushes state agencies to end telework" TX TRIB
> TX TRIB: "Texas may change how schools select library books. Critics say it could lead to more bans." TX TRIB
EXTRA POINTS
Last night's Texas sports scores:
> NCAAM: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Northwestern State
> NBA: Orlando at Houston
> NBA: Dallas at San Antonio
Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 5pm: NCAAM: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Northwestern State (Lake Charles, LA)
> 7pm: NBA: Orlando at Houston
> 7:30pm: NBA: Dallas at San Antonio
DALLAS COWBOYS: "Cowboys bringing back return ace Turpin on $18M deal, adding defensive lineman Solomon Thomas" AP
TEXAS RANGERS: "Texas Rangers’ Adolis García to get at-bats, on track to play DH soon" DMN ($)
TEXAS FOOTBALL: "Texas football: Steve Sarkisian explains why the Longhorns won't have a 2025 spring game" AAS ($)
DALLAS MAVERICKS: "What happens if the injury-laden Dallas Mavericks run out of players?" DMN ($)
TEXAS SOFTBALL: "Texas softball enters SEC play at No. 3 Florida on 15-game win streak" AAS ($)
HOUSTON MEN'S BASKETBALL: "Houston paces AP Big 12 honors again, Kelvin Sampson repeats as top coach and LJ Cryer top player" AP
UTSA / RICE MEN'S BASKETBALL: "No. 1 seed UTSA upset by No. 9 Rice in opening game at AAC Tournament" SAEN ($)
BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL: "The Big 12 will reduce men’s conference basketball schedule to 18 teams beginning next season" AP