Texas Rural News Clips 1.29.24
#TXLEGE
Raney editorial: Shame on Abbott for exacting revenge on voucher opponents
In November, during the fourth called special session, I offered an amendment to strike education savings accounts, also known as vouchers, from House Bill 1, the education bill. My amendment passed on a vote of 84-63. I am proud of the voucher stance 20 of my Republican colleagues and I took despite the intense pressure from our own political party. We stood strong and voted our districts. I am by no means a public education expert, but I believe in my heart that using taxpayer dollars to fund an entitlement program is not conservative and is bad public policy.
Republican senator who voted to acquit Paxton wants Senate to consider reopening impeachment proceedings
A Republican state senator who voted to acquit Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial last year wants the Senate to consider restarting proceedings now that the attorney general is no longer fighting the whistleblower claims in court that were central to the trial. The bombshell request came in a letter Thursday from retiring state Sen. Drew Springer to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and his Senate colleagues.
ELECTION 2024
Trump Underperforms Slightly with Rural N.H. Voters
Rural voters were slightly less likely than urban voters to support former President Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, a Daily Yonder analysis shows. The difference between Trump’s rural and urban support was slim but indicates that in New Hampshire, the rural Republican electorate did not skew disproportionately toward the former president compared to urban voters.
Tchenko’s Rural Bill of Rights aims to make sure all Texans are treated fairly
On March 5, Texas Democrats will decide which candidate will face US Senator Ted Cruz in the general election. Thierry Tchenko, Democratic Candidate for the United States Senate, is making Rural Texas a central part of his campaign. Tchenko recently released a Rural Bill of Rights. The Houston native attended McMurry University. He says while in Abilene he was able to gain first-hand experience, seeing rural communities being overlooked, “I realized that even though all of us have similarities, there are some unique issues that rural Texas faces and that rural Texas gets neglected very often. That’s something that stayed with me.”
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Opinion: Rural Texas could become a relic of the past
Chances are if you’re reading this, then you currently live in Texas or have in the past. We see you out-of-state alumni readers, and we respect you. I usually don’t open my articles with questions because it gives me flashbacks to “learning how to write an engaging thesis statement for my standardized testing grader,” as my teachers put it, but in this case, I think it’s completely necessary.
SMALL TOWN MAKES BIG CHANGES TO REVOLUTIONIZE RESIDENTS’ EVERYDAY LIVES: ‘I THINK [THE PLAN] IS WONDERFUL’
Spectrum Launches Gigabit Broadband, Mobile, TV and Voice Services in Anderson County, Texas
Spectrum, the #1 rural internet provider in the nation*, today announced the launch of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 1,200 homes and small businesses in rural Anderson County, Texas. Spectrum’s newly constructed fiber-optic network buildout in Anderson County is part of the company’s approximately $5 billion RDOF-related investment in unserved rural communities, partly offset by $1.2 billion in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) RDOF auction.
EDUCATION
East Texas Foundation Organizes Strategic Plan to Improve Early Literacy Education at Rural Schools
Like many schools across the nation, elementary students at Newton Independent School District, which covers 500 square miles in rural East Texas, were struggling to read. Although their teachers were equipped with a scientifically supported reading curriculum that provided activities to test student progress, drive home important lessons, and target specific areas of weakness, students continued to score poorly in national assessments.
West Texas A&M turned to leading conservatives to build out institute for “Panhandle values”
Ever since West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler started developing a new institute on campus to champion “Panhandle values,” he has publicly steered away from any political labels. Wendler even asked employees not to use the word “conservative” when describing the upcoming Hill Institute. Alex Fairly, the wealthy donor who, along with his wife Cheryl, gave the university $20 million for the project, insists it will not be political.
HEALTH
Brookesmith ISD Improves School Meals Programs Through Grant Funding From No Kid Hungry Texas
In partnership with the Texas Rural Education Association, the Rural School District Cohort Program provides funding to rural school districts in Texas to directly support and help scale up their meal programs, as well as create opportunities for collaboration among districts. Nationally, Texas has more rural schools than any other state, with more than 20% of all campuses located in rural areas and over 600,000 students enrolled in these schools across the state.
Texas A&M Health launches program to improve healthcare in rural areas
Officials with Texas A&M health estimate that around 4 million Texans will be able to reap the benefits of their new rural engagement program. Hospitals in Bosque, Hamilton, and Coryell counties all fall under this category. Through the program, nurses currently working in rural areas receive what they need to further their education, without having to leave their jobs.
Most rural hospitals aren't offering labor and delivery services, forcing mothers to travel
Over half of the country’s rural hospitals aren’t offering labor and delivery services, and many of those that are could soon be forced to end maternity care due to financial losses, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform (CHQPR). The center wrote in a new report that over 200 rural hospitals across the U.S. stopped delivering babies in the past decade. As of this month, 55% of rural hospitals don’t offer these services, and in 10 states more than two-thirds don’t.
Your health care costs went up in 2023. It won’t stop in 2024, experts say
Hospital consolidation has been the name of the game in health care for the last several decades. Research from Harvard Business School shows mergers can increase commercial sector prices by an average of 6%. Between 1998 and 2021, the U.S. saw 1,887 hospital mergers and a loss of 2,000 hospitals, according to the American Hospital Association.
Hearing loss is greater among people living in rural areas, study finds
How's your hearing? New research estimates that nearly 40 million Americans have hearing loss. That's about 11% of the population. It also finds something that may surprise you. Hearing loss is more common in rural areas than urban ones. The study was led by the social research organization NORC at the University of Chicago and is the first to estimate hearing loss rates at the state and county level. Audiologist Nicholas Reed of Johns Hopkins University co-authored the study and joins us now. Welcome to the program.