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Thursday, December 11, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1944, actress Lynda Day George was born in San Marcos. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and Emmy Award for her portrayal of the character Casey in the 1970s television series Mission: Impossible.

Did you see the fireball streaking across the sky Tuesday night? If not, check out some videos here.

In yesterday's report about the death of former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, we incorrectly stated that David Dewhurst succeeded George W. Bush as governor following the 2000 presidential election. Rick Perry got that job, and Dewhurst succeeded Ratliff as lieutenant governor after the 2002 election. We apologize for the mistake.

For anyone staring down a stubborn name on their list, The Flyover Christmas Guide has you covered—go shop our favorites.

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Patrick Unveils Property Tax Proposal

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has proposed increasing the homestead exemption by another $40,000 and lowering the age at which homeowners' appraisal values are capped from 65 to 55.

Patrick's plan, dubbed "Operation Double Nickel," differs significantly from the one proposed by Gov. Abbott when he announced his reelection bid last month. Limits on tax rate and appraisal increases are the main components of the governor's plan to eliminate school property taxes.

Patrick claims Abbott's plan would stagnate the housing market and require a sales tax of 15% to eliminate school property taxes, and as high as 25% to eliminate all property taxes. "I don't think that is realistic," he said.

The average age of homeowners in Texas is 58. If Patrick's plan were implemented, roughly 3.3 million of the state's 6.1 million homeowners would qualify for capped appraisals.

Ike Dike Contracts Awarded

Engineering firms in Dallas and Nebraska have been awarded contracts to design components of the Coastal Texas Project, or "Ike Dike"—a proposed coastal barrier that would protect the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel from storm surges.

A Texas A&M professor suggested the ambitious project in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008, and state lawmakers established the Gulf Coast Protection District in 2021. So far, nearly $1 billion in state funding and $5.5 million in federal funding have been allocated for the project.

Dallas-based Jacobs Solutions will design a series of floodgates spanning the two-mile waterway between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, while Omaha-based HDR has been contracted to build up the dune system along both shorelines.

The cost estimate for the Ike Dike is currently $57-60 billion, and it could take up to 20 years to complete. The plan proposed by the Corps of Engineers calls for the federal government to fund 65% of the project.

Drones Banned for Fishing

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department issued guidance Monday stating that using drones to deploy fish bait is prohibited by federal law.

The announcement cited the 1956 Federal Airborne Hunting Act, which bans the use of aircraft to "take or attempt to take wildlife, or aid in the act of fishing."

After receiving requests for clarification and consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, department staff determined that the prohibition should apply to drones.

According to a National Fisherman article cited by the Houston Chronicle, some commercial anglers use drones to locate fish or deploy bait over a large area. Others like Williams Yearsin, a disabled veteran and Clute business owner, use the technology to fish in areas they can't access from the shore.

"I don't see how, when they wrote this in 1956, they thought about using drones to drop the bait for and then catch the fish by legal means, which is rod and reel, which is what is required by law," said Yearsin.

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➤ Arlington: The city council voted 5-4 Tuesday to remove "sexual orientation" and "gender identity and expression" from its anti-discrimination ordinance, citing a potential loss of millions in federal funding if they kept the policy. (More)

➤ Houston: Dr. Rod Paige, a former Houston ISD superintendent and U.S. Secretary of Education, died Tuesday at the age of 92. Paige was the architect of President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative. (See Details)

➤ Fort Hood: Military prosecutors preferred four charges and 61 specifications against Maj. Blaine McGraw, an OB-GYN accused of secretly recording more than 100 patients in multiple states during exams. (More)

➤ Lacy Lakeview: The city council voted 6-1 Tuesday to annex 520 acres for a proposed $10 billion data center, despite vocal opposition from residents concerned about higher utility bills, lower property values, and the environmental impact. (More)

➤ Austin: State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt announced she is running for state comptroller on Monday. She faces investment manager Michael Lange for the Democratic nomination, while Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick, and former State Sen. Don Huffines are the notable candidates on the Republican ticket. (More)

➤ Houston: Claire Tracy, a 19-year-old star soccer player for Rice University, died Sunday at an off-campus apartment after posting a disturbing TikTok video in which she participated in a game dubbed the "devil trend." (More)

➤ Dallas: Hobby Lobby CEO David Green gave a matching donation of $7 million to First Baptist Dallas to help the historic church rebuild its sanctuary that was destroyed in a fire last year. The church hopes to break ground on its new sanctuary next year. (More)

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➤ The Houston Astros are selling their three minor league affiliates—the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys, the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, and the Single-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers—to Diamond Baseball Holdings. They will remain farm teams for the club and retain current leadership. (More)

➤ Texas A&M soccer is hiring Bobby Shuttleworth as the program's next head coach. The 14-year MLS veteran was an assistant coach at Florida State for the past four years. (More)

➤ Baylor defensive coordinator Matt Powledge is leaving the program to become the defensive coordinator at North Texas under new head coach Neal Brown. (More)

➤ The Dallas Mavericks are exploring trade options for veterans Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis. Davis was acquired from the Lakers less than a year ago in the now-infamous exchange for superstar Luka Doncic. (More)

➤ The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, have reportedly discussed trading Corey Seager to the Boston Red Sox. Seager signed a 10-year, $325 million deal with the Rangers in 2022. (More)

Yesterday's Results: NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer

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➤ Google will spend $880 million to expand its existing data center in Midlothian. Last month, the tech giant announced plans to invest $40 billion in Texas through 2027, including three new data centers in West Texas and the Panhandle. (More)

➤ ERCOT has received large load interconnection requests of more than 230 gigawatts this year—nearly four times last year's total of 63 gigawatts. New data centers represent over 70% of those requests. (See Details)

➤ Glenn Hamer resigned as president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business after an unidentified woman alleged sexual assault and retaliation in a $10 million lawsuit filed last month. (More)

➤ Dallas-based petroleum consultant DeGolyer and MacNaughton will provide production capacity estimates for 19 of the 22 OPEC+ nations to help the cartel evaluate output quotas. (More)

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➤ AT&T Stadium in Arlington has been named the most "iconic" stadium of the 16 that will host a World Cup game next summer. It earned a score of 8.64 out of 10 in a ranking that analyzed capacity, fan ratings, social media popularity, and architectural symmetry. (More)

➤ A beachgoer spotted an octopus on Padre Island National Seashore this week. (See Photos)

➤ SpaceX has launched more than 7,800 Starlink satellites into orbit, and the company wants to boost that number to 34,000. A study published in Nature predicts that satellite trails could appear in 96% of photos taken by some space-based telescopes within the next decade. (See Details)

➤ Air Force veteran Christina Swope has opened a selfie museum called Oooh Snap! in Abilene. The studio offers guests 10 themed rooms to snap the perfect selfie. (See Photos)

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