| MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak | Subscribe to the daily email here. | | Good Thursday evening.
Thank you for reading as a FREE subscriber. | » Become a PAID subscriber for $7/mo or $70/yr here and you will SAVE TIME and be BETTER INFORMED. | | “If something of importance is known in Texas, Matt knows it. With a decline in the number of credible news organizations, the Must Read Texas morning email is indispensable for anyone that wants to continue to be informed.” – Former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) | | AUSTIN NEWSLETTER LAUNCHED | Are you one of the 100,000+ subscribers to ATX Pulse, a newsletter that delivers EVERYTHING you NEED TO KNOW about Austin? | | Subscriptions are $5/mo, $50/yr or $199/lifetime here: ATXpulsepremium.com. | > Read today's FREE subscriber email here.
> Become a PAID subscriber for $5/mo or $50/yr here. | | PLEASE NOTE: You are receiving the PAID subscriber version of Must Read Texas for ONE DAY ONLY — so you can see what you are missing. | Become a PAID SUBSCRIBER for: | | » Become paid here. | | | “Justice Department moves to drop lawsuit that would allow Texas police to arrest migrants,” AP's Nadia Lathan — “The Trump administration has moved to dismiss a Biden-era lawsuit against Texas over a state law that would allow local police to arrest migrants who enter the country illegally, days after the administration’s decision to dismiss similar lawsuits against Iowa and Oklahoma.
The Justice Department under the Biden administration had sued Texas over concerns that the law, known as Senate Bill 4, was unconstitutional and sought to supersede federal authority.
Signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, the law would allow law enforcement to arrest migrants for illegal entry and give judges the authority to order them to leave the country. It took effect for just a few hours last year before a federal appeals court put it on hold.
Abbott signed the bill to challenge the federal government after accusing the Biden administration of failing to enact immigration enforcement. | » BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER: $7/mo | The Trump administration’s decision shadows its refusal to pursue lawsuits against Iowa and Oklahoma, which enacted similar state immigration laws to allow state and local officials to arrest and charge immigrants in the U.S. illegally. | » BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER: $70/yr | Texas’ law has been considered the most far-encompassing by legal experts and opponents, allowing police anywhere to carry out immigration enforcement.
Senate Bill 4 was one of many efforts by Abbott during the Biden administration to instill more state control over immigration enforcement, which has included busing tens of thousands of migrants to Democratic-controlled cities and installing giant buoys in the Rio Grande to deter migrants from crossing the river from Mexico." AP
“Sam Houston National Forest fire forces 900 evacuations,” Houston Chronicle's Sondra Hernandez, Octavia Johnson, Caroline Wilburn, Catherine Dominguez, John Lomax V — “A large wildfire at Sam Houston National Forest north of the Houston area sparked evacuations and school closures as fire crews worked to contain the nearly 2,400-acre blaze.
Officials warned dry and warm weather conditions would make containing and extinguishing the fire more difficult. Several air tankers, dozers and additional firefighters arrived Thursday to aid in fighting the burn.
“Please say a prayer for all those affected by this fire and for the men and women first responders working to keep us safe,” Montgomery County Judge Mark Keogh wrote on Facebook.
The Pauline Road fire had reached 2,360 acres by 2 p.m. Thursday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The wildfire remained at 20% containment as fire crews continued working to extinguish the burn." Houston Chronicle ($)
“Rising supply of houses in Central Texas means more choices for would-be buyers,” Austin American-Statesman's Shonda Novak — “As elevated mortgage rates continue to put a damper on the housing market locally and nationally, rising inventory, slower sales and lower prices have made for more favorable conditions for potential buyers in the Austin-area housing market. | That's according to the latest monthly report from the Austin Board of Realtors.
Home prices declined in the five-county Austin region in February as a growing supply of available homes created more options for buyers, the Austin Board of Realtors said in its February report.
Last month, the median home sales price across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area was $430,000, down 3.9% from February 2024, the realtors board said. The median price means half the houses sold for more than that amount, and half for less.
Across the region, sales fell 6.5% year-over-year, with 1,856 homes changing hands. Rising inventory indicates growing opportunities for buyers heading into the spring homebuying season, board officials said in a release.
"While elevated mortgage rates and affordability challenges have factored into the decline in sales, sellers are lowering prices to attract buyers, helping to further stabilize the market," Clare Knapp, the board's housing economist, said in a statement.
"As we head into the traditionally busy spring homebuying season, increased options and improved pricing flexibility could encourage more buyers to transition from renting to homeownership," Knapp said.
Inside Austin's city limits, the board reported 674 sales last month, 1.2% fewer than a year ago February. Half of the homes last month sold for more than $564,000 and half sold for less, for a 2.6% increase in the median price.
Before mortgage interest rates started climbing in 2022, home prices in the Austin area had been increasing sharply due to strong demand and insufficient supply, experts said." AAS ($)
“San Antonio Spurs partner is working with Elon Musk's DOGE,” San Antonio Express-News' Tom Orsborn and Marc Duvoisin — “A partner in the San Antonio Spurs is working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the unofficial agency that is spearheading mass layoffs of federal employees and deep spending cuts for the Trump administration.
Joe Gebbia is the billionaire co-founder of Airbnb and is described as a close friend of Musk’s. He is a board member of Tesla Inc., where Musk is CEO.
Gebbia joined the Spurs investor group as a “strategic partner" in January 2022, the NBA franchise said at the time. Last week, he accompanied Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to watch the Austin Spurs, a Spurs-owned team that plays in the NBA's developmental league.
A longtime Democrat and major donor to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, Gebbia revealed in January that he had experienced a political reawakening and had voted for Donald Trump in November.
Gebbia’s political turnabout and his involvement in Musk’s DOGE prompted some Airbnb hosts and guests to threaten to abandon the online rental marketplace.
Gebbia, 43, an Austin resident, no longer has an operating role with Airbnb but remains on its board and is a major shareholder. He also is chairman of the nonprofit Airbnb.org, which provides temporary lodging to refugees, asylum seekers and victims of natural disasters.
Airbnb has sought to distance itself from Gebbia’s politics, saying that he is working with DOGE “in his personal capacity” and that his views don’t reflect those of Airbnb or Airbnb.org.
Spurs Sport & Entertainment, which owns the Spurs, did not immediately respond to a request for comment." SAEN ($) | | | “Different pace and priorities separate Texas Senate and House on school vouchers,” Texas Tribune's Jasper Scherer and Jaden Edison — "The last time the Texas Legislature tried to pass a school voucher program, nothing seemed to go right for Gov. Greg Abbott and his pro-voucher allies.
After months of political threats and last-ditch attempts to salvage Abbott’s signature issue, the demise of vouchers in late 2023 underscored a simple truth: lawmakers couldn’t engineer anything that would pass the voucher-resistant House while meeting the standards of Abbott and the Senate.
Two years later, the gulf between the chambers is far narrower as the GOP-controlled Legislature takes another stab at providing taxpayer funds for families to send their kids to private schools. To make vouchers a reality this year, House and Senate lawmakers will have to reconcile differences in their respective bills over how much money students would receive, which applicants would take priority and how the program would accommodate students with disabilities.
Those disparities, though significant, are nowhere near the discord from 2023, voucher supporters and critics agree. Last time, House and Senate negotiators butted heads over formative issues like who would be eligible to participate and what sort of academic accountability standards to impose.
Sen. Brandon Creighton, the upper chamber’s lead negotiator on vouchers for the second straight session, said it was “very encouraging to see the alignment” between the first drafts of the voucher plans, known as Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 3.
“There are some distinct differences, but that's always the case,” Creighton, R-Conroe, said in an interview. “I was so concerned about vast differences, like I've seen in the past, that when I saw the House version, I was very pleased.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful Senate leader and a fervent voucher supporter, has also given his stamp of approval to the House’s opening salvo.
Rep. Brad Buckley, the Salado Republican who is the House’s point person on vouchers, said he had not yet discussed the bill with Patrick but took his comments as a positive first step.
“That's always good, because this process does require both chambers to agree,” Buckley told The Texas Tribune. “I think that we've got everything sort of lined up for us to really get some good policy done, make a historic investment in public schools, and then also pass a very strong school choice program.”
A slim majority of the House signed on in support of Buckley’s HB 3 last month, the first sign it has enough support to pass. That marked a key milestone for the lower chamber, where past voucher proposals have repeatedly gone to die, thwarted by opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans. Voucher critics say such a program would drain resources from Texas’ already struggling public schools, which receive state funding based on student attendance. Supporters say vouchers, or “school choice” programs, would provide alternatives for families who are dissatisfied with their local public schools yet cannot afford to send their kids elsewhere.
Last year, many of the House’s GOP holdouts retired or lost their primaries against Abbott-backed candidates who are now among the majority supporting Buckley’s bill.
The reconfigured math in the House explains much of the alignment between the two chambers’ voucher bills. Many of the biggest differences in 2023 boiled down to Buckley’s attempts to win over skeptical lawmakers — concessions that often proved unpalatable to Abbott, Patrick and Creighton. Among the carrots Buckley offered was limiting eligibility to those with a disability, those who qualify for free or reduced lunch, or those who attend low-rated schools; and imposing stricter accountability measures such as kicking students out of the voucher program if they fail a standardized test two years in a row.
Now unfettered by the need to court so many voucher skeptics, Buckley’s latest proposal, HB 3, is more expansive than versions rejected by the House two years ago. Both chambers have proposed opening eligibility to virtually any school-aged child and not requiring private schools to administer the state’s standardized test — aligning on two of the biggest sticking points from 2023.
“They're nearly identical, except for some key areas,” said Jaime Puente, director of economic opportunity at the left-leaning think tank Every Texan, contrasting the situation this year to “the chasm that we saw in the House last time from what the Senate was proposing.”
Still, the voucher bills have several hurdles to clear before reaching Abbott’s desk — leaving myriad opportunities for changes that could complicate negotiations or bleed support in the House, where Buckley’s bill has only a few votes of breathing room. Creighton acknowledged the potential for “many amendments and changes” to the House’s current draft.
While the Senate sprinted out of the gate and in a 19-12 vote passed SB 2 in early February, the House voucher bill has yet to clear Buckley’s Public Education Committee, which heard more than 22 hours of testimony on the measure last week. Buckley said Wednesday he is working on an updated draft of HB 3 based on feedback from the hearing, along with a new version of the chamber’s school funding bill, which House Republicans are moving in tandem with their voucher proposal.
Buckley said he is waiting for updated language from the Texas Legislative Council — the state agency that drafts bills for lawmakers — and expects to advance both education bills in “probably a week or two.” As for the pending changes to HB 3, Buckley said, “a lot of it's technical, quite frankly.”
“I think we will, hopefully, have something that the Senate will feel like is close to what they would like,” Buckley said. “That'll be their call, but hopefully we’ll be close.”" Texas Tribune
“Ted Cruz funds ads supporting pro-voucher lawmakers,” Texas Tribune's Matthew Choi — "Sen. Ted Cruz is entering deeper into the fight over school vouchers in the state Legislature, unveiling a six-figure ad buy Thursday praising state House members who support the effort.
Though school vouchers are an issue debated on the state level, Cruz has long been a vocal supporter from his federal perch. He gave targeted endorsements for candidates who support voucher legislation last primary cycle, when school vouchers were the principal cleavage among Republicans. He has urged his fellow Republicans in the Legislature to support vouchers for multiple sessions.
Cruz also led legislation in Congress to expand college savings plans to include public, private, religious, and home-school educational expenses, saying “school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century.” The bill mirrors legislation in the state House and Senate, which would create education savings accounts that can be used for private and parochial education.
“Every parent knows choices matter,” Cruz says in the ads. “For too long, Texas parents haven’t had the freedom to choose the right school for their kids. This has to change. School system bureaucrats have fought us every step of the way. But the courage and determination of a few Texas legislators means there’s new hope for our kids.”
Vouchers are Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority this session, and he has drawn the support of several other national actors. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have called on Republicans in the Legislature to pass school voucher bills. Trump last month said on social media that he would be “watching them closely.”
During last year’s Republican primary, Abbott’s formidable campaign operation targeted 21 Republicans who joined Democrats in opposing school voucher legislation in 2023. Fifteen Republicans were ousted during last year’s primaries.
Abbott has since expressed confidence that voucher legislation will pass with the current Republican majority.
The Republicans who opposed voucher legislation were largely from rural areas and asserted the legislation would weaken funding for public education. Abbott denies that the program would come at the expense of already existing public school funding.
“Texas provided OVER $6 BILLION last session in new public education funding,” Abbott posted on social media. “Anyone who claims that Texas has not increased funding for our public schools since 2019 is a liar.”
Cruz’s ads name 14 House Republicans: Speaker Dustin Burrows, Brent Money of Greenville, Joanne Shofner of Nacogdoches, Trey Wharton of Huntsville, Janis Holt of Silsbee, Matt Morgan of Richmond, A.J. Louderback of Victoria, Alan Schoolcraft of McQueeney, Wes Virdell of Brady, Helen Kerwin of Glen Rose, Shelley Luther of Tom Bean, Don McLaughlin of Uvalde, Marc LaHood of San Antonio and Andy Hopper of Decatur.
Burrows also honored Cruz on the House floor on Thursday for his advocacy of school vouchers." Texas Tribune
“Dan Patrick's promise to ban THC could kill a booming $8B industry,” Houston Chronicle's Tanya Babbar, Isaac Yu and Matt Zdun — "Never in a million years did Ann Gauger think she and her husband would start growing cannabis on their family farm in Lubbock.
After all, the couple grew up in the 1980s, during the era of “Just Say No” and a nationwide war on drugs. Now they operate the largest indoor hemp farm in Texas. Their THC-derived products, including gummies, oils and flowers, help supply some of the thousands of businesses that have popped up in the state over the last five years, since lawmakers in Austin legalized hemp.
The success, Gauger said, has been a lifeline for their family farm amid dropping commodity prices and water shortages in the Panhandle.
Critics in the Legislature say the booming and largely unregulated market in Texas has gone too far, and are especially worried that THC gummies are being sold to children. They contend their 2019 farm bill that legalized hemp sales was never meant to allow intoxicating or psychoactive products, and after years of unsuccessfully trying to rein it in, they’re opting for a full ban.
“Don’t deceive yourself. There’s nothing good in this product because you’re not able to control it,” state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock said while introducing the bill. “It’s been exploited for money and profit.”
Retailers and farmers say a ban would have devastating consequences for what some estimate to be an $8 billion industry that ranges from smokeshops to high-end restaurants serving cannabis-infused cocktails. They prefer state lawmakers enact new safety regulations, such as age restrictions and product testing requirements.
“It doesn’t feel fair to customers, or to people who have invested in this industry to lose it all from a few bad actors,” said Adyson Alvis, one of the owners of Wild Concepts, a company that owns Grinders, a CBD coffee shop and dispensary, and Wild, a THC bar chain in Houston.
Jordan Thompson, a 27-year-old from Houston’s Heights neighborhood, said he finds the idea of a THC ban “anti-economy” and fears it will punish Texans.
“A ban is going to put people in a trap for doing what they want in a free country,” he said. “Banning THC in Texas will just help the state make money off fines, and citizens will get hurt.”
If you feel like cannabis is everywhere, you’re not alone.
Smoke shops have become a ubiquitous part of strip malls in cities and suburbs alike, with stores often openly advertising intoxicating products even as the state still criminalizes marijuana.
That’s because Texas isn’t like other states that have openly ushered in recreational use of the drug.
In 2019, after hemp was legalized at the federal level, Texas lawmakers designed a state statute to boost farming the crop but keep out intoxicating products by banning high levels of delta-9 THC, the element in marijuana that gives users a high. Soon, stores dedicated to selling hemp-derived CBD products, like lotions and oils, popped up all over the state.
But as demand for those products slowed, the oversupply of hemp brought a new product on the market in 2021: a hemp-derived variety of THC known as delta-8 that’s not explicitly banned by state law. After a state effort to crack down on the substance failed, consumer demand skyrocketed and businesses started selling the psychoactive products statewide.
Across Texas, the industry generated $8 billion in revenue during 2022, according to a study by the Whitney Economics Group. The report also estimates a total economic impact of around $20 billion across manufacturing, wholesale and retail, though advocates say the industry has likely expanded significantly since then.
That growth has alarmed lawmakers, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick chief among them.
“In the last two years, 8,000 locations have opened up that are selling above the marijuana limit, sometimes three or four times of the marijuana you would buy on the street from a drug dealer,” Patrick, a Republican who leads the state Senate, said on WFAA in January. “It’s a billion-dollar industry that has sprung up in 24 months.”
Businesses that sell any type of hemp product, from gummies that produce a high to non-psychoactive lotions, need a license from the Department of State Health Services. Farms that grow cannabis are regulated by the Texas Department of Agriculture." Houston Chronicle ($) | | | “95,000 Texas children are waiting for state help to pay for day care,” Texas Tribune's Jess Huff — "Shortly after her eldest son was born in 2021, Acacia Tarver applied for a state scholarship to help her pay for child care. Then she waited. And waited.
As time dragged on with no word on aid, Tarver and her husband, Ty’Kiedren, a police officer, discussed who would quit their job to stay at home with their son, Hudson. That July, Tarver put 3-month-old Hudson in a Montessori day care so she could return to work as a surgical coordinator at an insurance company.
The Tarvers learned four months later that they were awarded a scholarship, which is funded by taxpayer dollars. It couldn’t come soon enough.
“The day care was sending emails of a tuition increase, and it was increasing by $150 to $200 a month,” Tarver said. “Who can afford that? You're basically working to send your child to day care.”
Today, nearly 95,000 Texas children are waiting for similar aid, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. About 1,300 of them live in Deep East Texas communities. Those at the top of the list in Deep East Texas have been waiting for a scholarship since May 2024, officials said.
State lawmakers are considering pumping the scholarship program with more money.
“My goal would be to infuse some dollars to reduce that wait list,” said state Rep. Armando Lucio Walle, a Houston Democrat. “So many families would like to go to work, but it's just cost prohibitive.”
However, child care professionals say that won’t help much. Like most of the nation, Texas has a shortage of child care centers and workers. Despite the extraordinarily high tuitions families pay to place their children in day care and after-school programs, those fees are rarely enough to cover the costs of operating these facilities.
That’s especially true in Deep East Texas, said Marilyn Hartsook, the interim director of Workforce Solutions in Deep East Texas.
“Without new day care centers around the region, we're probably not looking at a whole lot more (children) that we can serve,” Hartsook said.
Charles Miller, director of health and economic mobility at Texas 2036, an Austin-based think tank, said the state needs better data to address its child care deserts and support existing facilities.
“We don't even have the basic insight into where there is a supply gap, and where there is a demand gap,” Miller said. “These are core information gaps as we talk about how to intelligently spend and invest state resources.”" Texas Tribune | | | “Ken Paxton still hasn't decided if he'll run against John Cornyn,” San Antonio Express-News' Jeremy Wallace — "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is talking like he wants to take on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a GOP primary next year, but he’s still not ready to pull the trigger.
The Collin County Republican told a D.C. news outlet on Monday that he could decide in “the next couple of months.” They reported that Paxton is trying to line up fundraising commitments as he tries to decide.
Paxton said he would need to raise more money than he’s ever raised before in his career if he’s going to defeat a sitting U.S. senator in a primary.
“I think I can win if I have $20 million,” Paxton, 62, told Punchbowl News.
That’s a huge number given that Paxton raised just under $8 million in 2022 when he was challenged for re-election by former Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, U.S. Rep. Louis Gohmert and Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. Currently he has about $2.8 million in his reelection account for Texas attorney general.
Cornyn, 73, spent more than $36 million on his 2020 reelection and already had $4 million in his main campaign account at the start of 2025. The fourth-term senator just had a campaign fundraiser in Washington, D.C. last month and another big one in Houston on Monday. Totals from those events will be reported in campaign finance reports next month.
Even though Cornyn has never won less than 75 percent of the vote in his past Senate primaries, Paxton says he's vulnerable.
“I think it’s just time,” Paxton said. “He’s had his chance. He hasn’t performed well and the voters know it. You can go a long time without people paying attention, and they’re paying attention now.”
The last time Texas had a truly competitive GOP primary for the U.S. Senate was in 2012. Ted Cruz spent about $15 million to win that race over then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who spent more than $34 million.
But there was no incumbent in that race. No incumbent U.S. senator has lost a primary in Texas since 1970.
Paxton isn’t the only Republican kicking the tires on challenging Cornyn for reelection. Last week I told you how U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, has been running statewide ads during conservative radio talk shows to build up his name identification for a possible challenge.
If all three get in the race, be prepared to hear a lot about who is most supportive of President Donald Trump.
“I look forward to again working hand in glove with President Trump to implement his agenda,” Cornyn said after his D.C. fundraiser.
In Hunt’s ad, the 43-year-old Army veteran focuses almost entirely on how much he’s supported Trump over the years. Hunt campaigned in Texas and other states in support of Trump in 2024 and was a featured speaker at the Republican National Convention.
Paxton has also been a major ally of Trump. In 2020, he tried to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory and later spoke at the rally in D.C. before some Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol." SAEN ($)
“Lina Hidalgo endorses Christian Menefee in race for U.S. Congress,” Houston Chronicle's Abby Church — "Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has endorsed Christian Menefee in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner in Congress.
Turner, one of Hidalgo’s longtime friends, died March 5 following “enduring health complications.” He was 70 and had just started his first term in the seat replacing U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
In a statement on X, Hidalgo wrote that Congress needed “effective, principled” leaders as the administration “threatened” the U.S. Constitution and critical services.
Hidalgo has worked with Menefee all four years he’s been Harris County attorney.
“From the very beginning, he has been a compassionate, courageous, ethical, and persuasive for the people of our nation’s third-largest county,” Hidalgo wrote. “He is also a great leader and has built an effective and brilliant team.”
Menefee filed for the race hours after Turner’s funeral in west Houston on Saturday, becoming the first to express interest in the position.
In his race’s first 24 hours, Menefee’s team led a “stunning” fundraising effort that ended with more than $200,000 raised by more than 5,000 donors. Around $100,000 of that cash was raised in his campaign’s first six hours, his campaign said.
Menefee has not only been endorsed by Hidalgo, but other top Democrats in the state and region like former U.S. Rep. Erica Lee Carter, U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Houston Controller Chris Hollins and former U.S. Reps. Beto O’Rourke and Colin Allred, along with several Harris County commissioners and Houston City Council members.
Menefee’s bid in the race under state law meant he automatically resigned from his post as county attorney. Texas law prevents officials from holding one seat while campaigning for another, unless their announcement for their next campaign comes less than a year and 30 days before the next election.
His replacement will be chosen by the Harris County Commissioners, and voters will choose a replacement to fill the seat in November 2026, as well as November 2028.
Menefee is joined in the race by former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, as well as consultant Isaiah Martin and former senate staffer James Joseph." Houston Chronicle ($) | | | “Southwest Airlines cuts back at four more airports,” Dallas Morning News' Kyle Arnold — "Southwest Airlines is cutting employees at four major airports in California and Maryland, the latest belt-tightening in the carrier’s ongoing shakeup.
The Dallas-based carrier will cut a combined 120 ground handling and provisioning frontline employees at four international hubs: Burbank, Los Angeles, San José Mineta and Baltimore/Washington-Thurgood Marshall.
“Our current flight schedule and modest growth plan for 2025 require alignments to our workforce at four airports where we operate,” Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Perry said in a statement.
“We always try to minimize the impact to our Employees and all will have an opportunity to remain with Southwest.”
The cuts will be effective June 1.
Southwest is in the middle of a series of cutbacks, after activist investor Elliott Management waged a contentious fight over the company’s strategies and leadership. The battle culminated in a board shakeup and changes to signature Southwest offerings.
These latest reductions will impact employees who help prepare planes to fly at airports, including loading luggage and other supplies onto aircraft.
“With a Companywide focus on maximizing efficiencies and minimizing costs, Southwest continues to identify opportunities to optimize our network,” the company said in a memo to employees.
“We always try to minimize Employee impact when making tough decisions, and any decision that affects our People is considered only after exhausting all other possibilities,” the memo said.
“Reducing our staffing in these locations in no way reflects our employees’ performance, and we’re proud of the hospitality and the efforts you have made and will continue to make with our Customers in all our locations.”
Southwest said in February that it would lay off 1,750 corporate positions across the company, and last year it made reductions at two airports in Atlanta and at Chicago O’Hare.
The company also completely pulled service at airports in Bellingham, Wash., Houston’s Intercontinental Airport, Cozumel in Mexico and Syracuse, N.Y.
The carrier is also implementing assigned seating and announced earlier this month that it was getting rid of its “bag fly free” philosophy.
However, Southwest is still waiting for the moves to pay off. The company’s stock price has made gains in the last month, but is essentially flat year-to-date." DMN ($) | | | > TPR: "Texas continues to be a major player in Trump's immigration enforcement plans" TPR | > THE TEXAN: "Justice Department Withdraws From Challenge to Texas Border Security Law, Trial Set for July" THE TEXAN | > AAS: "Texas House panel advances 'Trey's Law' to ban NDAs in sex abuse settlements" AAS | > THE TEXAN: "Cell Phone Ban in Public School Classrooms Discussed in House Committee Hearing" THE TEXAN | > KXAN: "‘This is a poison’: Texas Senate passes bill that would ban THC products from being sold" KXAN | > MRT: "Texas legislators, businesses urge EPA to give state primacy on CO2 wells" MRT | > MRT: "Justice Department moves to drop lawsuit that would allow Texas police to arrest migrants" MRT | > AAS: "Are new religious displays coming to Texas schools? Here's how the Senate is paving a way." AAS | > THE TEXAN: "Texas Senate Passes Bill Banning Most THC Products, Packaging Appealing to Minors" THE TEXAN | > EP TIMES: "Texas bill would ban K-12 students from using cell phones during school hours" EP TIMES | > THE TEXAN: "Texas House Committee Takes up Bail Reform, Denial of Bail for Illegal Immigrants" THE TEXAN | > THE TEXAN: "Priority Water Infrastructure, Nuclear Power Bills Considered in Texas House" THE TEXAN | > AAS: "Texas House committee hears testimony in favor of 'Trey's Law,' see the photos" AAS | > TPR: "Israeli airstrikes shattered ceasefire and killed hundreds in Gaza" TPR | > TPR: "Sexual misconduct allegations in UN missions topped 100 in 2024" TPR | > TPR: "Weaponizing antisemitism makes students 'less safe,' says drafter of definition" TPR | > MY RGV: "$280M announced for Valley farmers struggling amid water scarcity" MY RGV | > MRT: "Alert: Turkish police arrest Istanbul mayor, rival of President Erdogan, over alleged terror links and corruption, reports say" MRT | > SAEN: "California has a $6.2 billion Medicaid funding gap partly due to expanding immigrant coverage" SAEN | > MRT: "Germany reopens its embassy in Syria, 13 years after it was closed" MRT | > TPR: "After historic indictment, doctors will keep mailing abortion pills over state lines" TPR | > MY RGV: "DPS sergeant from Edinburg arrested for creating ‘deepfake’ child porn" MY RGV | > FWST: "5-year-old North Texas boy killed by school bus identified. Community plans vigil, funeral" FWST | > SA REPORT: "Small Business Development Centers nurture entrepreneurial spirit in our community" SA REPORT | > COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Garbage truck fires cost Plano more than $1.2 million since 2023" COMMUNITY IMPACT | > AAS: "2 guilty verdicts reached in Texas migrant smuggling case resulting in 53 deaths" AAS | > FWST: "Mom accused of drunk driving crash that killed two ‘sweet, loving’ kids in California" FWST | > KXAN: "WATCH: Dramatic car chase ends in discovery of missing Texas teen" KXAN | | | Last night's Texas sports scores:
> NCAAM: #11 Xavier 86, #11 Texas 80
> NBA: Indiana 135, Dallas 131
> NBA: Houston 116, Orlando 108
> NBA: San Antonio 120, New York 105
Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 1pm: NCAAM: #1 Houston vs. #16 SIU-Edwardsville (TBS)
> 6:25pm: NCAAM: #13 Yale vs. #4 Texas A&M (TBS)
> 7pm: NHL: Tampa Bay at Dallas (ESPN+)
> 9:10pm: NCAAM: #14 UNC-Wilmington vs. #3 Texas Tech (truTV)
DALLAS COWBOYS: "Ex-Cowboys WR Michael Gallup signs with Washington Commanders" DMN ($)
HOUSTON ASTROS: "Houston Astros: Pitcher Luis Garcia shut down with elbow soreness" Houston Chronicle ($)
TEXAS RANGERS: "In a colorful history of Rangers managers, Bruce Bochy is the best" DMN ($)
TEXAS MEN'S BASKETBALL: "March Madness: Xavier rallies to beat Texas 86-80 in First Four" AP
TEXAS MEN'S BASKETBALL: "UT basketball: A decision on Rodney Terry's future up next" Houston Chronicle ($)
TEXAS A&M MEN'S BASKETBALL: "Texas A&M takes on Yale in first round of NCAA Tournament" AP
SAN ANTONIO SPURS: "Next few weeks crucial for San Antonio Spurs' Blake Wesley" SAEN ($) | |
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