AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has issued a six-month emergency closure order effective Dec. 2, 2024, for a massage establishment in Austin for suspected human trafficking. Bang Kiet Tran, d/b/a JT Spa located at 11416 N. Ranch Road 620, Suite I, in Austin was ordered to stop operating this massage business and is prohibited from operating a different massage establishment at this location for six months. In late October, TDLR received a […]
Texas News
Texas Renaissance Festival attracts a half million patrons for its 50th anniversary season
Nation’s largest Renaissance festival’s anniversary jubilee achieves record numbers in 2024 TODD MISSION, Texas (Dec. 3, 2024) – The Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF) closed out its epic 50th anniversary season this past weekend at the festival grounds in Todd Mission with its annual Celtic Christmas holiday finale. The three-day celebration saw 104,014 patrons enter the grounds over the long holiday weekend, including 35,718 patrons visiting the day after Thanksgiving. The festival’s 50th anniversary season clocked in with 533,356 […]
Beaumont Art League Hosts Darrell Troppy Retrospective Exhibition
BEAUMONT – The Beaumont Art League announces the Darrell Troppy Retrospective Exhibition Reception, Saturday, December 14, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Troppy was a graduate of Lamar University and went on to become an international renowned artist. With a studio in Beaumont, Troppy was not only a master painter he was extremely talented in several mediums of art. He was a mentor to many and well-remembered after his passing in 2021. The Beaumont Art League […]
Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Death Sentence For Murderer Who Killed a Police Officer While Carrying Drugs Across State Lines
LONGVIEW – Gregory Newson was sentenced to death for murdering a police officer in 2019. On December 31, 2019, Deputy William Christopher Dickerson was murdered by Newson during a traffic stop in Panola County around 2:00 AM while traveling through East Texas from his home in Shreveport, Louisiana. Newson was transporting a large quantity of marijuana, $5,500 in cash, and an illegally possessed AR-15 with a 60-round capacity drum magazine loaded with armor-piercing bullets. Prosecutors […]
Freeman F. Martin Assumes Command of DPS
Martin Becomes 14th DPS Director Following Swearing-In Ceremony AUSTIN – Today, Freeman F. Martin assumed command of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) during a special swearing-in ceremony held at DPS Headquarters in Austin. Martin, the first Texas Ranger to lead the department, was unanimously selected to serve as DPS’ 14th Director by the Public Safety Commission (PSC) last month. Director Martin was joined at the ceremony by Texas Governor Greg Abbott; PSC Chairman Steven P. Mach; PSC […]
State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled $4.3 Billion in November
(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $4.3 billion in November, 4.7 percent more than in November 2023. The majority of November sales tax revenue is based on sales made in October and remitted to the agency in November. “Following the increase seen in October, November state sales tax collections grew strongly once again with revenues from most major sectors increasing over their totals from last year,” Hegar said. “Receipts from most […]
Public Access Lease Opening for Guadalupe River Trout Fishing
AUSTIN – Texas anglers have access to a prime location for rainbow trout fishing during the peak of the winter stocking season thanks to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) “no fee” access lease on the Guadalupe River. Camp Huaco Springs, located between New Braunfels and Sattler, features nearly a half mile of bank access along alternating pools and riffles on the Guadalupe River. Anglers can use the bank, which is gently sloped and […]
DPS Director Steven McCraw Retires After 15 Years
AUSTIN – After 15 years as the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Colonel Steven C. McCraw, today, he said goodbye to personnel as he left DPS Headquarters in Austin for a final time. “Director Steve McCraw has headed the Texas Department of Public Safety with integrity and dedication for the last 15 years,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “I thank him for his exceptional service to the state and for always upholding the rule of law […]
Cornyn on Release of Texan Mark Swidan
AUSTIN – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement on the announcement that Mark Swidan, a Houston resident, was released from Chinese prison: “After 12 long years of unjust imprisonment, Houstonian Mark Swidan is finally free,” said Sen. Cornyn. “Mark has suffered unimaginable conditions and treatment after being wrongfully detained at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, which has proven time and time again that it has zero regard for human rights, truth, or justice. […]
Sen. Cruz Issues Statement on Release of Unjustly Held Americans from China
“I could not be happier for Mark’s mother Katherine Swidan, who has spent 12 years waging an unremitting battle to ensure Mark’s release and make today a reality.” WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on the release of unjustly detained Americans from China: “I am overjoyed that Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung have been released and are returning to their families. I […]