Daily Dispatch 3/14/23: Paxton "Judge Shopping" Strategy Hits A Snag, and More

A new federal courts rule is aimed at preventing "judge shopping" - filing lawsuits in districts with single judges of sympathetic sensibilities - a favorite tactic of Ken Paxton's: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/ken-paxton-court-rule-18971181.php More artists, and now panel speakers, have been bailing on SXSW over its ties to the military and defense tech industries: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/03/13/dozens-of-bands-and-panelists-pull-out-of-sxsw-festival-in-texas-heres-why/#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17103752871384&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fjamesfarrell%2F2024%2F03%2F13%2Fdozens-of-bands-and-panelists-pull-out-of-sxsw-festival-in-texas-heres-why%2F The 2021 Fair Access Law, which forbids state government from doing business with companies with environmental, social and governance policies, has made financing big ticket projects in Texas much more expensive: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2024/03/13/texas-anti-esg-law-costs-losses-of-millions-of-dollars/72947344007/ Millions also burned - literally - in recent Panhandle wildfires: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/texas-wildfire-damages-could-exceed-1b-lawyer-says/ ...While methane emissions by petroleum producers appears much more out of control than recently thought: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/13/us-gas-leaks-report-climate-change#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17104058588972&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2024%2Fmar%2F13%2Fus-gas-leaks-report-climate-change 70 percent of Texas teachers are ready to quit: https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2024/03/14/nearly-70-of-texas-educators-say-theyre-ready-to-leave-profession-survey-shows/ ...How can Texas support our teachers? https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/03/14/six-ways-texas-can-support-teachers/ ...The word from one GOP State House Rep. drummed out over his resistance to Abbott's voucher scam: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/travis-clardy-school-voucher-crusade/ South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is in trouble over her online shilling for a Texas dentist: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/kristi-noem-faces-lawsuit-promoting-texas-dentist-social-media-rcna143325 Will Texas ever turn blue? One crunch of the data says it's inevitable: https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/will-texas-ever-turn-blue-heres-what March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.