Zach Despart @zachdespart Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Zach Despart

@zachdespart

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Covering politics & power for @texastribune . Alum @houstonchron & @uvmvermont . NY native. Dalmatian dad.

Texas

https://t.co/1wDqtcNdyM

Joined February 2015

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

1 year

This is a story about a gun. How it was made for military use & later surged in popularity among civilians & mass shooters. How it stopped Uvalde police in their tracks. And how its lethality meant even a flawless response would've made little difference.

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“He Has a Battle Rifle”: Uvalde Police Waited to Enter Classroom, Fearing Firepower From Gunman’s...

In previously unreleased interviews, police told investigators they were cowed by the Uvalde shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team to engage...

www.propublica.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Wow. Polls still haven’t closed because of long lines in Harris County ( #Houston ), but with 128,000 voters and counting we have surpassed the entire state of Georgia’s first-day turnout yesterday. Our old record was 68k. Just remarkable. 🗳✔️🇺🇸

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Zach Despart

1 year

New: Previously unreleased investigative interviews w/ police officers who responded to the Uvalde school shooting revealed they abandoned their plan to quickly confront the gunman after learning a crucial piece of information: He was armed with an AR-15.

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“He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15

In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait f…

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

🚨 Just now: U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, a W. Bush appointee, has ruled Republicans lack standing to challenge 127k drive-thru votes cast in Harris County ( #Houston ).

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Zach Despart

4 years

With an astounding 100,000+ votes again on Day 3, Harris County ( #Houston ) is nearing 400k total and has now exceeded 2016's **Election Day** turnout (353k). 🗳️☑️🔥

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

We keep it simple in Houston. 😷 🌮

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

New: We investigated all 254 Texas counties to find each death caused by February's cold & blackouts. We found 194, almost 2x the state's count. And toll will almost certainly increase. It's now clear: This was one of worst TX disasters in past century.

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Analysis reveals nearly 200 died in Texas cold storm and blackouts, almost double the official count

The deaths of nearly 200 people are linked to February’s cold snap and blackouts, a...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

If you need extra motivation to get to the polls today, 25 #HarrisCounty residents who are at least 100 years old voted **in person** during the early vote period, per @HarrisVotes data. Three were born in 1915. 👵🧓🗳️☑️🔥

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Los Angeles County Pop: 10.4 million (1st in US) Mail ballot dropoff sites: 398 Harris County ( #Houston ) Pop: 4.7 million (3rd in US) ✉️🗳️ dropoff sites: 1 (h/t @stiles )

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

For 2 years, I've tracked how Texas is spending billions in post-Harvey federal disaster aid. The latest: We found the new TX plan steers aid disproportionately to whiter, more conservative inland counties with a lower risk of disasters than the coast.

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New Texas plan for federal Hurricane Harvey aid yields same old resul…

Despite an admonition from federal authorities, Land Commissioner George P. Bush’s plan still steers aid disproportionately to whiter, inland counties at less risk of natural disasters.

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Take a bow, #Houston . After 90,306 ballots today, the final early vote tally: 1.44 million. 58% of eligible voters have turned out so far. If we have Election Day turnout of 353k like '16, we'd have 1.79m votes, 450k more than any previous election. Ever.🗳️🔥🗳️🔥

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

The Texas Legislature cut tuition assistance for Guard members by nearly 50% last year and applied cuts retroactively, blindsiding some troops deployed to the border who were expecting payments.

@RepJimBanks

Jim Banks

2 years

Student loan forgiveness undermines one of our military’s greatest recruitment tools at a time of dangerously low enlistments.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Of GOP argument that drive-thru sites are less secure than in-person polling sites, Hanen says “I ain’t buying that.”

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

9 months

Ken Paxton's team said there was no evidence to support the articles of impeachment against him. The House released 4,000 pages last night. I stayed up all night to review them. The scope & depth of the investigation is stunning. w/ @PatrickSvitek ⬇️

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Ken Paxton’s team said there was no evidence to support impeachment. …

The Senate, which is conducting the trial, published the exhibits Thursday night. House impeachment managers say Paxton abused his office to help friend and political donor Nate Paul.

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Just now: The Supreme Court of Texas has declined to halt drive thru voting, ruling against plaintiffs including state GOP and Harris County Republican Party.

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

New: @LinaHidalgoTX just asked @GregAbbott_TX in a letter to confirm that drive-thru voting is legal, amid worries that the Texas Supreme Court will block the voting method & invalidate 70k+ votes.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

I have been allowed inside. Other reporters have not. Fix this ASAP, Southern District of Texas!!

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Reporters & public have been kicked off line. Court says technical issue. The hearing is happening now anyway. This is unconscionable. We were told we'd have this access instead of in-person.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

. @TXMedCenter hit 100% base ICU capacity on Thursday for the first time during the #COVID -19 pandemic. Then the #Houston hospitals — comprising the largest medical center in the world — stopped reporting that data. Scoop w/ @mmorris011 -->

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Houston hospitals hit 100% base ICU capacity. Then they stopped reporting data.

Texas Medical Center hospitals stopped reporting key metrics showing the stress rising...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

11 months

Hard to overstate how insane it is that the Texas Legislature has passed a bill increasing access to police records, but it hasn't become law — and maybe won't ever — because Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick simply hasn't signed it, as he's legally required to do.

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Texas bill to increase transparency in public records law left in lim…

The bill would close a long-standing loophole in state law that allows officials to withhold law enforcement records if no one was convicted in a case. The measure was the only bill sent to the Senat…

www.texastribune.org

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Zach Despart

2 years

Reviewed the two #Uvalde news conference transcripts: DPS Wed: Shooter was confronted outside school by brave police officer DPS Thu: Shooter confronted by no one before entering

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

I'm not sure I've ever seen a news conference that raised more questions than it answered. Texas officials contradicted some of their own responses from yesterday.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

Because the NRA convention in Houston ran behind schedule, @GregAbbott_TX 's pre-taped speech went on at the exact same time he was speaking live in #Uvalde . He sent 2 messages re: new laws In Uvalde: "All options are on the table" At NRA: Gun laws don't stop mass shooters

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

New: The Texas state police have refused to provide records from the Uvalde shooting to more than a dozen news outlets, even as they have selectively released info in Lege testimony and news conferences. We think this is illegal. So we're suing! ⬇️

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Coalition of news organizations sues Texas Department of Public Safet…

The lawsuit alleges that the state police have unlawfully withheld records, including body camera footage and emergency communications, during the Robb Elementary shooting.

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

1 year

The investigative interviews w/ police who responded to Robb Elementary reveal their unwillingness to confront the AR-15 was a major cause of the disastrous response. In other mass shootings like Pulse & Parkland, police have also hesitated vs. this rifle.

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“He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15

In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait f…

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

. @HoustonChron front pages, 70 days apart. How #Texas ' reopening plan unraveled: w/ @jblackmanChron + @jaspscherer

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

1 year

The first responding officers told investigators that entering the classroom would get them killed, repeatedly referencing the fact that the rifle's bullets could penetrate their body armor, our investigation found.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

New: The Texas state police director said police could have stopped the Uvalde shooter within 3 minutes and faced *0* locked doors, yet did not because of the inexplicable hesitation of the incident commander, who put officer safety ahead of rescuing kids.

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Uvalde school police chief “decided to place the lives of officers be…

Steve McCraw testified before a Texas Senate committee, laying blame on local police officers in Uvalde for not acting faster to save children during the school shooting.

www.texastribune.org

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Zach Despart

1 year

Even though some officers had AR-15s themselves, they concluded they needed more firepower. They opted to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team, with better body armor, shields & tactical training — even though the unit was based more than 60 miles away.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Right now Biden is losing Zapata County, #Texas , which is 95% Hispanic, by 5 points. Clinton won here by **33**. Shaping up to be a very poor performance for Biden in heavily Democratic South Texas.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

🚨 Early vote warning signs for Biden in heavily Latino South Texas. In Hidalgo, Starr, Cameron & Webb counties, Clinton averaged 72% support. Biden right now averaging 57%. Underperforming by 15 points.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

Congress to TX: Here's $4.3B in Hurricane Harvey disaster aid. TX to Houston: OK, you can have $0? Houston to TX: We literally had the most deaths and damage from the storm. $1B? TX to Houston: Best we can do is... $0. (Ask Harris County to share?)

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Houston, epicenter of Harvey damage, still would get $0 under Texas’ latest disaster aid plan

Harris County and the city of Houston this week blasted the Texas General Land Office’s...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

2 years

That public records may be embarrassing to public officials is an argument *in favor* of disclosure, not against it. There is no exemption in the Texas Public Information Act for "sorry, but this would make us look bad."

@jason_koebler

Jason Koebler

2 years

SCOOP: Uvalde and Uvalde Police have hired a private law firm to fight against being required to release body camera footage and other records related to school shooting Files could be 'highly embarrassing,' involve 'emotional/mental distress,' it argues

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Zach Despart

2 years

376 police — a force larger than the garrison that defended the Alamo — responded to a chaotic, uncoordinated scene that lasted for more than an hour. The group was devoid of clear leadership, basic communications & sufficient urgency, the report says.

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“Systemic failures” in Uvalde shooting went far beyond local police, …

In total, 376 law enforcement officers descended upon the school, according to the most extensive account of the shooting to date. It says that better-equipped departments should have stepped up to f…

www.texastribune.org

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Zach Despart

1 year

An under-appreciated part of living in Texas is every other February you get to “camp” inside your house until the power & heat come back. Like a trip to Big Bend, except replace a day on the Rio Grande with a day refreshing the outages page of an unresponsive utility.

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Zach Despart

3 years

Yesterday @LinaHidalgoTX said she hoped we could soon move to recovery mode. I thought, recovery from what? Houston is still recovering from the pandemic, the chemical fires, Harvey. We limp between disasters and can't seem to catch a break. Small victory: We'll hit 40° today.

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Zach Despart

3 years

New: For 37 minutes after Houston officials declared a "mass casualty" event at #Astroworld , with fans crushed near the stage, #TravisScott kept performing. @houstonpolice say Live Nation agreed to cut show short. Scott played whole set. 8 are dead.

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Officials declared a ‘mass casualty’ at Astroworld. For the next 37 minutes, Travis Scott continued...

While paying respects at a memorial outside of NRG Park, some attendees raised more...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

1 year

Some politicians have taken the position that the kind of weapon used in the attack made no difference.

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Zach Despart

2 years

I'm not sure I've ever seen a news conference that raised more questions than it answered. Texas officials contradicted some of their own responses from yesterday.

@reeseoxner

Reese Oxner

2 years

Breaking from law enforcement presser in Uvalde: - There was *not* a school officer on scene, despite initial reports - The backdoor gunman used was unlocked - It took an hour to take the gunman out after he entered - Gunman shot at witnesses in the street before entering

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Zach Despart

4 years

Harris County is presenting its case: That drive thru voting is legal, was approved by SoS and plan has been public knowledge for months.

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Zach Despart

3 years

New: @LinaHidalgoTX has issued a mandatory mask order for all students, staff, teachers, and visitors at K-12 schools & daycares in Harris County, regardless of vaccination status.

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Judge Hidalgo issues mask mandate for Harris County schools and day cares, defying Gov. Abbott

Hidalgo's order requires students, teachers, staff and visitors to K-12 schools and...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

2 years

3 things to consider at the end of this horrible year: - COVID vaccines have been available to all adults since March - Texas virus deaths are ⬆️ 35% over pre-vaccine 2020 - Our 75k deaths just shy of California, even though CA has 10 million more people

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Despite vaccines, more Texans died of COVID-19 in 2021 than in first year of pandemic

The climbing death toll, public health experts said, is almost entirely driven by people...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

4 years

Arguments conclude. Judge Hanen says he will return in 15-20 min and announce his ruling 🚨

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Zach Despart

1 year

Just a stunning hearing. Investigators now listing crimes they believe Paxton has committed, including ones that are impeachable offenses in Texas Constitution.

@evanasmith

Evan Smith

1 year

NEW and wowza from ⁦ @zachdespart ⁩: Investigators detail years of alleged misconduct by @txag ⁦ @KenPaxtonTX ⁩ in stunning House committee hearing #txlege

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Zach Despart

2 years

Docs I spoke with are pessimistic Texas (or US, for that matter) will ever reach herd immunity. Unvaxxed will continue to drive COVID hospitalizations and deaths.

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Zach Despart

4 years

Richard Mithoff, for Harris County, says Purcell Supreme Court precedent should guide here: federal courts should not intervene in election case when the election is already underway.

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Zach Despart

1 year

Texas House General Investigating Committee has unanimously adopted articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton.

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Zach Despart

4 years

Good morning from #Texas — dead-last-in-historical-turnout-no-online-voter-reg-one-mail-ballot-dropoff-per-county-Texas — where we have cast 7.2. million ballots so far, more than any other state. 🗳️☑️🔥 []

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Zach Despart

2 years

Too much at stake for Texans for us at @TexasTribune to mince words

@jayrosen_nyu

Jay Rosen

2 years

Now that's how you report the damn news when the news is inaction. @TexasTribune

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Zach Despart

4 years

Harris County has approved $2M for a taxpayer-funded legal defense program for poor immigrants facing deportation, as well as $500k to assist those who are crime victims secure special visas. The #Houston area was the largest in US without such a program.

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Harris County OKs $2.5M to help poor immigrants fight deportations

Harris County on Tuesday approved $2.5 million for a taxpayer-funded legal services...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

3 years

New: @georgepbush says it's not his office's fault that Houston/Harris County failed to win a dime of $1 billion in flood protection 💰 it disbursed. He blamed rules set by HUD. We read those rules. This is false. Like, 👖-on-🔥 false. w/ @jaspscherer ⬇️

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George P. Bush blamed federal rules for Houston's lack of flood aid. Our analysis shows that's...

Not only does the federal government grant states significant discretion to decide how to...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

4 years

Brief recess. @sam_kett and I charging our phones. Back soon.

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Zach Despart

2 years

My investigation last year found the original TX plan shifted $ away from urban coastal cities. Feds cited this in finding Texas had discriminated against Black & Latino residents. We found the new plan would result in a similar pattern of $ distribution.

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

New: Texas disbursed $1B in federal Hurricane Harvey aid. We found it disproportionately went to inland counties with less damage than coastal ones that bore the brunt of the storm — and are most at risk for stronger hurricanes fueled by climate change.⬇️

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Zach Despart

3 years

Narrator: There was a problem.

@HoustonChron

Houston Chronicle

3 years

No mask, no social distancing, no problem for Gov. Greg Abbott: ‘Another standing room only event.’

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Zach Despart

4 years

County Clerk @CGHollins confirms all 10 drive thru sites will be open on Election Day. 1 million eligible voters still haven’t cast ballots.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

I’m so excited to announce I'll be joining the @texastribune politics team, with a focus on accountability. I’ll investigate power—who wields it, how & to what ends—through the lens of Texas government. This is a dream beat, and the possibilities for impactful work seem endless.

@sewellchan

Sewell Chan

2 years

NEW: @zachdespart , one of Texas’ finest accountability journalists, is joining @TexasTribune as our newest politics reporter. This is thrilling news for us and our readers.

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Zach Despart

1 year

My first newspaper job was at a twice-weekly in a Vermont county of 36,000 people. Never in a million years did I think I'd be published on the front page of the @washingtonpost . So proud of our team for this Uvalde investigation. (And thanks @addyindy for my start!)

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Zach Despart

4 years

This will change slightly, but at the deadline last night Harris County had 2,442,314 registered voters. That's an increase of **207,643** since 2016. (For context, that's adding the population of Salt Lake City, into one county, in four years). 🗳️☑️🇺🇸🗳️☑️🇺🇸🗳️☑️🇺🇸

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Zach Despart

4 years

Another atty whose name I missed said drive thru voting was perfect option for wife, who was 35 weeks pregnant. Accuses Republicans of attempting to throw out legitimate votes.

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Zach Despart

7 years

Sorry to say @HoustonPress has effectively closed. All editorial staff laid off. Will miss very talented colleagues. #Houston #journalism

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Zach Despart

3 years

We are constructing a timeline of the #TravisScott #Astroworld event to understand what promoters & police did — and did not — do as the emergency unfolded. We need your help. If you were at the show and took photos or video, please DM me.

@HoustonChron

Houston Chronicle

3 years

THREAD: The morning after Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival ended in a deadly tragedy, OSHA documents reveal the concert's organizers had a lengthy record of safety violations, @GabMoBanks reports. 📷 @mrkmully ➡️

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Zach Despart

4 years

Just now: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied motion by Republican plaintiffs to halt drive-thru voting in Harris County ( #Houston ) on Election Day. County clerk has shut down 9 of 10 sites anyway ➡️

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

🚨 Harris County Clerk @CGHollins reverses his position from this afternoon, will shut down 9 of 10 drive-thru voting sites as a precaution as lawsuit challenging their legality remains before Fifth Circuit.

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Zach Despart

4 years

🚨 Re: certain pending 5th Circuit appeal, Hanen says if he did find GOP had standing, he would likely halt drive-thru voting tomorrow. He orders Harris County to keep all drive-thru memory cards separate in case higher court intervenes.

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Zach Despart

1 year

🚨 The Texas House has approved 20 articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton, immediately suspending him from office. He will now face trial in the Senate.

@TexasTribune

Texas Tribune

1 year

Some Republican Texas House members are pushing back against the impeachment proceedings, saying the process has been rushed and is unfair to Attorney General Ken Paxton.

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Zach Despart

4 years

Houston atty Larry Veselka, an intervenor, argued Republicans waited to sue until after they saw how popular drive thru voting was. 127k ballots are about 9% of total so far.

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Zach Despart

4 years

Back now. Christina Ford, for Harris County’s side, argues that there is no evidence that drive thru voting leads to voter fraud, as Republicans have alleged.

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Zach Despart

4 months

Texas has an $18 billion budget surplus

@RyanChandlerTV

Ryan Chandler

@RyanChandlerTV

4 months

Texas turned down about $150M a year to feed hungry children. Why? They simply don't have the resources to administer it -- part of longstanding issues inside Texas HHSC. "It is not feasible for Texas to successfully launch Summer EBT in 2024." More:

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

NEW: Hurricane Harvey devastated the #Houston area and killed 49 here. Our latest tally from last week's storm & blackouts: 51. Mostly people who froze to death inside their homes. I fear the statewide tally will be several hundred. w/ @serrano_alej ➡️

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Winter storm's death toll rivals Harvey, with count still rising

More than 40 Houston-area residents died last week because of the subfreezing...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

2 years

New: 14 Texas Republican lawmakers (so far) plan to support legislation that would ban any corporation from the state if that business helps employees or customers or anyone else access abortion care in other states.

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Businesses that help employees get abortions could be next target of …

Fourteen GOP legislators warned Lyft that they’d seek to ban companies that pay for abortions from doing business in Texas. The extent of support for the idea is unclear.

www.texastribune.org

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Zach Despart

4 years

Court says they will admit reporters. I'm gonna hoof it down there. Stay tuned.

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Zach Despart

2 years

In #Uvalde , everyone wants to hear from Pete Arredondo. But the police chief who state officials said mismanaged the response to last week's school shooting is hiding. Residents are still grieving. But they want to know:Who do we hold accountable? And how?

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In battered Uvalde, where a police chief is in hiding, grief gives wa…

As chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, it was Arredondo’s call to wait more than an hour for backup instead of ordering officers on scene to immediately ch…

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

Two minutes into Travis Scott's #Astroworld set, crowd science experts say a telltale sign of a crush is visible: People packed so tightly the mass begins to behave like a liquid, where individuals lose control over their bodies. Read our investigation ⬇️

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Zach Despart

11 months

Ken Paxton's lawyer, Tony Buzbee, said today that the charges against Nate Paul have "nothing whatsoever" to do with the attorney general. But we found a link between the charges and Paxton's impeachment. Let us explain ⬇️

@TexasTribune

Texas Tribune

11 months

Breaking: Nate Paul, an Austin real-estate developer known for his connection to suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s misconduct, was booked into the Travis County Jail Thursday on a federal warrant requested by the FBI.

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Zach Despart

2 years

New: The Texas House report on the Uvalde shooting extends blame for the disastrous police response far beyond the local schools police chief, saying hundreds of state + federal police who responded could have taken charge of the scene, but didn't.

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“Systemic failures” in Uvalde shooting went far beyond local police, …

In total, 376 law enforcement officers descended upon the school, according to the most extensive account of the shooting to date. It says that better-equipped departments should have stepped up to f…

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

. @MenefeeForHC won last night and will become #HarrisCounty 's 1st Black county attorney. Striking how much younger county leadership has gotten since '18: Menefee is 32. County Judge @LinaHidalgoTX is 29. County Clerk @CGHollins is 34* (interim) All replaced 60+ white officials

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Zach Despart

6 months

Vouchers stripped from the Texas House education bill by a vote of 84-63. Not even close.

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

6 months

Gov. Greg Abbott still hasn't broken the alliance of rural House Republicans blocking his push for school vouchers. They've filled an amendment that likely has enough support to remove vouchers from the House's massive education bill today.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

(Other reporters have been allowed in. Shouldn’t have taken us getting our lawyers involved, but thanks to court for relenting)

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Zach Despart

4 years

Reporters & public have been kicked off line. Court says technical issue. The hearing is happening now anyway. This is unconscionable. We were told we'd have this access instead of in-person.

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

The hearing hasn't started yet. Lots of reporters can't get through. The line is just a bunch of pings, clicks, and people breathing. Don't really know what's going on. Standby.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

If you thought yesterday's story about the former #Houston cop accused of pointing a gun at an A/C repairman while searching for 700,000 stolen ✉️ ballots that never existed, read this. w/ @jaspscherer ➡️

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

Texas Dept. of Public Safety: We've arrested 100s of migrants who are gang members during Operation Lone Star. ProPublica: Plz send us your stats on that DPS: We don't track gang affiliation

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Reality Check: Seven Times Texas Leaders Misled the Public About Operation Lone Star

As they investigated Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative, reporters repeatedly found situations where Abbott and DPS officials cited accomplishments that lacked crucial context or did not...

www.propublica.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

The plan, under @georgepbush 's Land Office, would spend 2x-4x per person in inland areas with lower risk of natural disasters — by the state's own metric — over coastal areas that bear the brunt of hurricanes.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Crucial context:

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

🚨 Huge find by @mmorris011 re: the 127,000 #HarrisCounty drive-thru ballots challenged by Republicans: Most were cast in precincts that @HillaryClinton + @BetoORourke won in '16+'18. ➡️

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Most common surnames of in-person Harris County ( #Houston ) voters so far (994k total) - Nguyen 8.8k - Smith 8.0k - Williams 7.6k - Johnson 7.4k - Jones 6.0k - Garcia 5.7k - Rodriguez 5.7k - Martinez 5.1k - Brown 5.0k - Davis 4.8k 🗳️☑️🇺🇸 (We can tell you how many with your name!)

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Zach Despart

2 years

We did. And not lightly— we thought what’s the best way to explain the sheer size of this police response in a way most Texans can understand?

@KJKnodell

Kevin Knodell

2 years

Oh man, Texas media went there

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Zach Despart

3 years

In 24 hrs, we were able to compile a detailed timeline of the #ASTROWORLDFest disaster. Only possible b/c dozens at concert shared their stories & want accountability. We found: A critical 37-minute window where danger was known, but show continued. 📰 ➡️

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Zach Despart

4 years

My mother recently joined Twitter to follow my stories. She's concerned so many people reply to COVID articles saying the virus is a hoax and they won't wear masks. Her this morning: "Is every idiot in the world on this website?"

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Zach Despart

3 years

A record # of Texans are hospitalized for COVID-19. The governor refuses stricter rules. Cities don't really enforce existing ones. And many residents have simply stopped following health guidelines. Here's the story of how TX failed to stop a 2nd surge ➡️

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Why was Texas unable to stop a second COVID surge months in the making?

For a second time, a surge in COVID-19 cases has pushed Texas hospitals beyond their base...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Zach Despart

2 years

This is a good question. I put it to the 3 docs I interviewed. They estimated having COVID, depending on the severity = one vaccine dose. They stressed this is *absolutely not* a better strategy than getting fully vaccinated & boosted. (Plus, you could get COVID again ‼️)

@j3669

Jennifer Asper

2 years

@zachdespart What about natural immunity? Why don’t medical professionals and the media want to talk about natural immunity? Herd immunity is achievable.

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Zach Despart

2 years

#Uvalde residents said their distrust of local poliice existed before last week's school shooting. And they hope firing Pete Arredondo is just the start of reforms. “We don’t want those policemen to be here. I pray that they get new jobs somewhere else.”

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In battered Uvalde, where a police chief is in hiding, grief gives wa…

As chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, it was Arredondo’s call to wait more than an hour for backup instead of ordering officers on scene to immediately ch…

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

1 year

60 Republicans, or 71% of the caucus, voted for impeachment. The pro-Paxton messaging the past few days by conservative figures — including today by Donald Trump — did not work.

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

1 year

🚨 The Texas House has approved 20 articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton, immediately suspending him from office. He will now face trial in the Senate.

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Zach Despart

2 years

A theme of the Uvalde report: individual acts of courage stymied by a collective leadership failure

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

New: The Texas House report on the Uvalde shooting extends blame for the disastrous police response far beyond the local schools police chief, saying hundreds of state + federal police who responded could have taken charge of the scene, but didn't.

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Zach Despart

2 years

A tremendous burden on the Bexar County medical examiner lately. They did autopsies for the 21 Uvalde victims and now must handle the 51 migrant deaths from the tractor trailer.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

#Houston ’s hottest club is... the ⁦ @TXMedCenter ⁩ cafeteria 24hr ⁦ @HarrisVotes ⁩ polling site at midnight! 🗳☑️💥🕺🏿🦅

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Zach Despart

2 years

Harris County commissioners hide where millions in campaign contributions come from by omitting donor occupations on their disclosures. I found 79% are from county vendors, whom commissioners steered 93% of no-bid infrastructure contracts the past 2 yrs.⬇️

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How Harris County commissioners hide the source of their political contributions

From 2020 through 2021, Harris County commissioners relied on vendors for 79% of their contributions while simultaneously steering 93% of engineering, architecture, surveying and appraisal work to...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

Milam County, which is 145 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, is set to receive $31m despite only asking for $27m in the original funding competition and ranking 122nd of TX counties for disaster risk...

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

Low-income housing advocates say Texas is failing to meet the most basic requirement for the money: to spend disaster aid in the areas at highest risk for disasters.

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New Texas plan for federal Hurricane Harvey aid yields same old resul…

Despite an admonition from federal authorities, Land Commissioner George P. Bush’s plan still steers aid disproportionately to whiter, inland counties at less risk of natural disasters.

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

Took us 46 days to investigate every Texas county but we finally have an answer: Nearly 200 deaths linked to February cold and blackout crisis, twice state's official tally. & number will almost certainly rise. A1 today w/ @serrano_alej + @stephanierlamm

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

2 years

Attended the NRA convention today. The quote that will stick with me: “Each one of my girls has a ballistic plate in their backpack. Each one of my girls knows how to put a tourniquet on.” Is this the kind of country we have to settle for?

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At NRA convention after Uvalde massacre, attendees describe a culture…

Deflecting blame from guns, attendees said a breakdown in society — including removing God from schools and a rise in mental illness — causes mass shootings, echoing the rhetoric of Gov. Greg Abbott …

www.texastribune.org

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

A testament to how big and rural #Texas still is: Biden outperformed Clinton by 378k in the five largest counties but still lost the state by **657k**.

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Zach Despart

2 years

In 28 days, we went from @GregAbbott_TX saying officers displayed "amazing courage by running toward gunfire" to state police admitting: - Police had rifles, shields & breaching tool but waited 50 min to engage b/c they assumed (but didn't check) classroom doors were locked.

@TexasTribune

Texas Tribune

2 years

Breaking: Video and transcripts reviewed by The @TexasTribune of the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting show police officers were equipped to confront the shooter with guns, shields and tools. Then they didn’t — for more than an hour.

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Zach Despart

3 years

Two days ago Texas announced a "forensic audit" of '20 results was underway in 4 of the largest counties (3 which Biden carried) and we still don't know who authorized this, what it entails & how much it will cost because @GovAbbott & the sec of state's office won't answer.

@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

There is no evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities in Harris County’s 2020 election. @LinaHidalgoTX said Texas's "forensic audit" of the results here is a political ploy by @GregAbbott_TX to appease conspiracy theorists and former President Trump.

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

Harris County ( #Houston ) recorded 81,967 votes today, bringing the grand total to 801,807. 🗳️☑️🔥 This is 60% of the 2016 total and 32% of all registered voters. There are 11 voting days left. #Election2020

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

4 years

COVID-19 has ravaged #Texas — especially its Latino residents. Consider this stat: At the height of the pandemic in mid-July, Latino deaths here were 134% above average, compared to 45% for Black residents and 38% for whites. An astounding disparity.

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COVID's true toll in Texas is even higher than reported, data shows

Since the start of the COVID pandemic in Houston and the rest of Texas, the state’s...

www.houstonchronicle.com

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@zachdespart

Zach Despart

3 years

2.6 million power outages in TX now, from Red River (-2°) to Rio Grande Valley (21°). To Northerners who don't understand the big deal: - Many TX 🏘️ lack heat; rely on 🔌 space heaters - 🏘️ improperly insulated & vulnerable to pipes freezing - Few snow plows, salt, snow tires ❄️

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