Taylor Goldenstein 🌴
@taygoldenstein
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Austin bureau reporter @HoustonChron. 2014 Visiting Fellow @Harvard's @niemanfdn. Formerly @statesman @latimes @ChicagoTribune @TB_Times. Signal: 5122002910
Austin, TX
Joined January 2011
ICYMI: Most Texans don't have access to parental leave. Red states that don't have the political appetite for mandatory programs have turned to a voluntary, insurance-based model. @HoustonChron found that just two insurers signed up to sell policies.
houstonchronicle.com
After banning abortion, Texas leaders passed a plan to expand paid family leave. But...
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NEW: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a lawsuit over public library books in the Texas Hill Country, leaving in place a 5th Circuit ruling that gives officials wide latitude to curate their collections & remove books they disagree with. https://t.co/Y2xQWS6ViW
expressnews.com
The order means library patrons will have few, if any, avenues to reverse library-book removals in court.
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SCOOP from @gromerjeffers — Colin Allred drops out of Senate race, will run for House instead
dallasnews.com
With a U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett Senate candidacy looming, Democrat Colin Allred opts against running in the Senate primary. He's now campaigning to return...
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BREAKING: Pres. Trump has pardoned South Texas U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar from federal corruption charges, saying the Dem was targeted for speaking out against Biden’s “Border Catastrophe.” “Henry, I don’t know you, but you can sleep well tonight,” he wrote
expressnews.com
Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, were indicted in May 2024 on charges of bribery, money laundering, working on behalf of a foreign government and conspiracy.
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New: After Rep. @brianeharrison pressured state officials to freeze a program boosting minority-, disabled veteran- & women-owned businesses in state contracting, @txcomptroller Kelly Hancock formally shifted the program to focus only on disabled veteran-owned businesses. #txlege
News Release: Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock Announces Emergency Rules for Revamped VetHUB Program https://t.co/0ZXYW0BlyW
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Former Texas state Rep. Jacey Jetton just filed for outgoing Congressman Troy Nehls’ seat #txlege
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This should be required reading for every American. Really powerful first-person piece from @brittny_mejia who spent time working the fields with migrants — and trying to keep up. “The American Dream eats us alive” is a line that will stay with me for a very long time.
This fall, I harvested mini watermelons and cantaloupes with a California crew to understand how farmworkers are feeling right now. This was a crew of mostly all immigrants from Sinaloa who graciously welcomed me into their world. https://t.co/MSMILEXpFU
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NEW: Disillusioned by @UTAustin during an increasingly intense political moment, three seniors craved a voice. The Rag, a 1960s-era counter-cultural mag, “fell in their laps.” Choosing humor over outrage, here's how, why they revived an Austin artifact: https://t.co/o9WZK2kRgh
statesman.com
Three University of Texas seniors revived an underground progressive newspaper from 1966 during another increasingly tense political moment.
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Of note: Hamer pushed for a major tort reform bill this session that initially would've capped damages at $250K for mental or emotional pain resulting from personal injury cases, including sexual assault https://t.co/FkoX3hPMGD
#txlege
Texas Association of Business president and CEO Glenn Hamer is on administrative leave pending a "full internal investigation" after the head of Texas’ largest business org was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed today. latest here w/ @kaylaguo_
https://t.co/4XH7pA8S4V
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NEW: AG Ken Paxton sues Texas housing agency over funding rules for religious groups
houstonchronicle.com
The groups can't currently use federal and state dollars for programs that serve homeless Texans if they pair faith-based activities with them.
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By my count, this is at least the fourth judge to preside over the Paxtons’ divorce case. When I wrote my update last week, Wynne was still presiding. Read more about the latest developments here: https://t.co/0oKxdEum6K
#txlege
kut.org
The attorney general’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce this summer, alleging adultery.
Judge in the Angela and Ken Paxton divorce proceeding is recused. Judge Lindsey Wynne, Collin County, is replaced by retired Judge Bob Brotherton, Wichita County. Both are Republicans. Wynne was set to hear request from media outlets to unseal case record on Dec. 19. #txlege
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Texas AG @KenPaxtonTX has filed his appeal of the decision striking down Texas’ congressional redistricting map #txlege
NEW: I filed an appeal in SCOTUS to defend Texas's new congressional map. Radical left-wing activists are abusing the judicial system to derail the Republican agenda and steal the US House for Democrats. I am fighting to stop this blatant attempt to upend our political system.
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College juniors, seniors & recent grads: It is the LAST DAY to apply for @HoustonChron's Summer 2026 internship! Reporting: https://t.co/9uJ62imkgM Visuals: https://t.co/VY1KByfatJ Get your apps in and DM me or @meganmmenchaca with Qs!
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This is seismic news. It's hard to overstate how big the implications are for both future prosecutions and wrongful convictions. This NJ decision could reshape how courts across the country treat shaken-baby expert testimony. https://t.co/ru6LXk3NJw
news.bloomberglaw.com
Criminal prosecutors can’t build murder cases on medical diagnoses that the mere shaking of a baby, without further evidence of trauma, resulted in a child’s death, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled...
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New: University of Texas hit with discrimination lawsuit from Eve Stephens, the school's first female police chief. Stephens says her firing last year was part of a coordinated purge of women in high-ranking police department positions. #txlege
https://t.co/rWtVH8mcKL
news.bloomberglaw.com
University of Texas at Austin faces discrimination claims from the school’s former police chief who says she was fired as part of a purge of women in leadership positions.
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NEW: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues divorce records should remain private, accuses press of invading his personal life. https://t.co/0oKxdEum6K
#txlege [h/t to @kbrooksharper for beating me to posting about this]
kut.org
The attorney general’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce this summer, alleging adultery.
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The El Paso court denies Texas' request for a stay pending appeal in the redistricting map case, stating that Texas didn't meet the burden for "extraordinary relief." A stay would've let the recently drawn congressional map remain in effect pending a SCOTUS decision. #txlege
Just now: State of Texas requests a stay pending appeal, asking for a ruling by 10 a.m. Friday, re: Tuesday's injunction barring Texas from using its new congressional map in the 2026 elections. If granted, the map would essentially remain in effect pending SCOTUS action. #txlege
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Federal judge who blocked Texas' redistricting maps said they were racially gerrymandered - and points to Gov. Greg Abbott's own words on the matter as evidence. @eklib reports: https://t.co/ETAjsQHQnf
texastribune.org
Judge Jeffrey Brown pointed to comments from the governor and GOP legislators as the basis for his ruling that the new map can’t be used in 2026.
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Sen. @electcharles, at @txtaxpayers’ annual meeting, says Texas is “kinda maxed out at what we can do for property tax reform, from a budget perspective.” It would cost the state ~$80B to completely eliminate local property taxes, Perry notes. #txlege
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A year after Donald Trump won the Rio Grande Valley, South Texans navigate changes big and small nice read here about life in South Texas lately via @Berenice__G
https://t.co/Wf23B1yKv7
texastribune.org
Residents in the southernmost part of Texas want to remind themselves — and the nation — that the region is more than a political battleground. It’s their home.
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