Daily Dispatch 3/17/25: Abbott Backs Bogus "Furries" Bill In Voucher Push, And More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Governor Abbott backs that bill to ban "furries" from public schools in his push for private school vouchers, even though he knows it targets a fictitious problem: https://www.kut.org/politics/2025-03-14/furries-texas-school-choice-vouchers

...Meanwhile lobbyists for "voucher vendors" - private companies that profit handsomely from managing voucher program money - are also pushing hard for a landfall: https://www.texasobserver.org/school-vouchers-vendors-millions-legislature/

...A great new rundown of the endgame of the 2025 voucher fight in the latest Texas Take podcast: https://megaphone.link/SFO3084352092

A Lubbock hospital has experienced a major measles exposure as an infected woman was admitted to its maternity ward, potentially re-igniting the outbreak: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/texas-measles-outbreak-hospital-newborn-babies-exposed-rcna196519

Over 1,000 mourners attended the funeral service for Congressman and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Saturday: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/15/texas-sylvester-turner-funeral-houston/

...Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has declared his intent to run for the resulting vacancy in D.C.: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/16/christian-menefee-congress-sylvester-turner/

Battery discharge, solar power and wind power have all set new records for providing power to the Texas grid this month: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/texas-broke-its-solar-wind-and-battery-records-in-one-spring-week

With fire danger up today (and maybe from now on) in Texas, grab the Watch Duty app to monitor: https://app.watchduty.org/

Women's History Month, being observed throughout March across Texas, serves both as a celebration of the history of breakthroughs for women, and a reminder that Texas is the worst state for them: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org/blog/celebrating-women%E2%80%99s-history-month-worst-state-women⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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