The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
Today is the deadline to register to vote if you plan to cast a ballot in the May 22nd primary runoff Election.
There are more than 30 races that still need to be decided. The elections include candidates from the Democratic and Republican primaries held in March that didn’t receive more than 50 percent of the vote.
One of the highest-profile runoffs is the Democratic governor’s race to determine who will challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November.
That contest is between former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Houston businessman Andrew White.
Both candidates were campaigning in Houston over the weekend.
Here’s Valdez, speaking at a campaign stop, Friday night.
“When I first started running, people said she’s Hispanic, female, lesbian, Democrat… Now I’m 70 years old. My brother says ‘you got the whole hand’: Hispanic, female, lesbian, democrat, senior citizen,” she said.
White, who is the son of late Texas Gov. Mark White, toured Harvey-devastated areas, on Sunday.
More details on how to register to vote in this upcoming election are available at votetexas.gov.
Last weekend, 1,500 people filled Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston for the funeral of former First Lady Barbara Bush.
Visiting dignitaries included members of six other families who called the White House home, from the Kennedys to the Obamas. But at its core, this was a ceremony for the Bush family.
Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider reports.
Eight pallbearers, including six grandsons, bore the casket of Mrs. Bush from the front doors of Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church to the hearse waiting outside. Behind them, President George W. Bush pushed a wheelchair carrying his father, President George H.W. Bush. Mrs. Bush’s remaining children, grandchildren, and their spouses waited as a police honor guard saluted. As the hearse departed, the family boarded a caravan of SUVs, and the procession to College Station began. There, Mrs. Bush was buried on the grounds of the Bush Presidential Library near her daughter Robin.
A Texas judge sentenced a former Cameron County juvenile detention center employee to 50 years in prison at the end of last week.
The crime? 53-year-old Gilberto Escamilla stole more than $1.2 million worth of fajitas.
“He got caught last year when 800 pounds of meat was delivered and he wasn’t there to pick it up. Officials were confused because fajitas are not on the menu at the detention center. Escamilla allegedly ordered the meat and then resold it to other people.”
That audio is courtesy of KRGV, the local ABC-affiliate in the Rio Grande Valley. Escamilla, who plead guilty to theft by a public servant, told the court “It was selfish. It started small and got bigger and out of control.”
