Texans planning to travel to Mexico or currently visiting there are urged to closely follow warnings from the U.S. Department of State, which advises U.S. citizens to not travel to the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas. Travelers to other states in Mexico are urged to either reconsider or at least exercise increased caution. This comes after violence broke out in Jalisco following the death of a cartel leader in a gunfight with Mexican authorities.
Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to increase security along the border region.
“Mexican drug cartels pose a significant threat to public safety and national security,” Abbott said. “By increasing proactive efforts to defend against cartel violence, Texas will continue to utilize every tool and strategy to protect our state and our nation. We will not cower to criminals who impose terror on our fellow Texans and Americans.”
Texans in need of immediate assistance can call the U.S. Department of State (from outside the U.S: 1-202-501-4444; from inside the U.S.: 1888-407-4747) or the Texas Fusion Center (1844-927-0521).
PATRICK SEEKS TO BLOCK CAMP MYSTIC’S REOPENING
Texas should not renew the license for Camp Mystic this summer until necessary changes are made to ensure more lives aren’t lost in a flood, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wrote in a letter to the state health commissioner, according to the Texas Standard.
“It would be naive to allow Camp Mystic to return to normal operations before all of the facts are known,” Patrick wrote to Department of State Health Services Commissioner Jennifer Shuford. “Camp Mystic should have decided on their own to suspend operations this coming summer, but it appears they are planning for camp in 2026 and will likely be seeking your approval to operate with a renewed license.”
Flooding last July 4 killed 25 campers, two counselors and the camp’s executive director.
Parents of some of the campers who died have sued Shuford and other DSHS officials, claiming the state failed to follow Texas law when licensing the camp without ensuring it had adequate evacuation plans. In the months following the flood, Camp Mystic has announced plans to reopen its Cypress Lake property, which it says is independent from the older Guadalupe River location where the girls died.
WILDFIRES POPPING UP ACROSS THE STATE
Dry conditions and brisk winds are fueling a rise in wildfires across the state. The Texas A&M Forest Service reported that forecast rain could lessen the wildfire risk in early March.
As of Sunday, the service reported two active wildfires: one in Orange County, in Southeast Texas, and the other in Schleicher County, in Central Texas. Most of the wildfires reported last week and now contained were in East Texas. Burn bans are in place in 184 of the state’s 254 counties.
EDUCATION BOARD APPROVES 4,200 CURRICULUM CORRECTIONS
The State Board of Education last week approved roughly 4,200 corrections and revisions to its elementary and secondary school curriculum, The Texas Tribune reported. The cost of making the corrections and changes has not been determined, but it will come at taxpayer expense, since the Texas Education Agency developed the materials using state funding. A TEA official said the agency planned to determine the costs now that the changes and corrections have been approved. The vote was delayed in January.
The state has been using the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum since November 2024. When unveiled, it attracted national attention for its references to the Bible and Christianity.
Approximately 1 in 4 school districts have indicated that they are using at least some portions of the reading curriculum, covering about 400,000 students. The materials come with a $60 per-student incentive for districts.
TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky said not all the changes to Bluebonnet are to fix errors.
“Some updates are simply improvements based on teacher feedback,” Kobersky said. “Every change and/or edit made to the product must be submitted individually for SBOE approval, regardless of the nature of the change, hence the large number.”
NEW STATE PARK OPEN AFTER YEARS OF DELAYS
The gates to the state’s newest park are now open. Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, located about 75 miles west of Fort Worth, consists of 4,871 acres of former ranchland, according to The Dallas Morning News. It marks the first time in more than 25 years that a new state park has opened in North Texas.
“I am proud of the dedication of our [Texas Parks and Wildlife Department] team but also the unwavering support of the Texas Legislature and the voters of Texas that have brought us to this moment,” Rodney Franklin, director of Texas state parks, said in a news release. “State park staff stand ready to welcome families far and wide to begin making memories at Texas’ newest state park.”
The park’s planned opening in 2023 was postponed by safety concerns during construction. It has more than 16 miles of trials, a 90-acre lake and both recreational vehicle and tentcamping sites.
The site was purchased by the parks department in 2011. Funding for its construction came from a combination of legislative appropriation, the Sporting Goods Sales Tax, federal funding, and $10 million in private philanthropy.
FOUR TEXAS COUNTIES REPORT MEASLES CASES
Measles cases have been reported recently in four Texas counties: Frio, Bandera, Kendall and Lubbock. With five reported cases, Bandera had the most, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Lubbock was the center of last year’s outbreak when people from surrounding counties with measles came there for hospital care.
The current outbreak of measles has been centered around South Carolina. Last year, Texas led the nation with more than 800 cases, mostly in West Texas.
Measles is highly contagious, spread by airborne particles. It has a 90% infection rate among unvaccinated people who are exposed to someone with measles. It can cause people to also lose their immune protection against other diseases.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress. com.
