Local/state roundup: Planned Parenthood, Ben Taub.
On Tuesday, a federal judge stopped Texas officials from booting Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid system, providing a reprieve that will at least temporarily allow the organization to continue receiving reimbursements for providing non-abortion services to about 10,000 poor residents. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks said in a 42-page ruling that he was not swayed by the state’s explanation for the eviction — and undercover video that purported to show Planned Parenthood was illegally selling tissue of aborted fetuses — and would not allow the move until and unless the state provides a better rationale at a full trial. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately announced plans to appeal the ruling. The case will head to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which will be friendlier territory for the state. Tuesday’s ruling continues a long-running saga over the state’s attempt to stop Planned Parenthood from getting reimbursements for providing birth control, cancer screenings and other services to Medicaid recipients at 30 clinics. About $4 million annually is at stake for Planned Parenthood.
No evidence found of a shooting in scare that shook up Ben Taub
On Tuesday afternoon, reports of an active shooter at Ben Taub Hospital caused an evacuation, a two-hour lockdown and a swarm of SWAT officers after a “Code White” was initiated. Although an early report indicated a shooter had been cornered on a floor of the hospital, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said that no evidence was found of an active shooter. No evidence — such as spent cases, broken windows or bullet holes — were found in the building. Police did not find any victims during their first and second checks. Witnesses reportedly said they heard a man yell, “Drop the gun, drop the gun!” The case has been closed for now unless new information emerges. The last shooting at Ben Taub happened in October 2016, when an officer shot an inmate who had taken a medical student hostage.
U.S. Supreme Court grants new hearing for condemned Texas man
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Texas death row inmate Duane Buck the right to ask for a new court hearing on his capital sentence. In a 6-2 decision, the high court mandated that Buck, 53, who has argued for years that his sentence was influenced by racially biased evidence at his trial, be allowed to go back to lower court and request a new sentencing hearing due to legal questions in his 1995 case. Among those reasons was that Buck’s own lawyers introduced evidence at his trial that he was more likely to be dangerous in the future because he is black. The justices sent the case back to a Houston court for further review. He could now be sentenced again to death or given a life sentence. Wednesday’s case is one of the highest-profile death penalty appeals pending in Texas due to its racial overtones and because of the effect it could have on other cases should Buck’s sentence eventually be overturned.
Lawmakers target districts, schools over teacher-student relations
Fed up with headlines about teachers having sex with students, state lawmakers plan to crack down on schools, districts and administrators who protect them. Legislators’ plans, announced Thursday, include building a $3 million registry of educators who are banned from employment, imposing tough penalties for school and district leaders who hide teacher misconduct and mandatory training about what constitutes an improper student relationship. The legislation comes as the number of educators accused of having sex or inappropriate relationships with students has increased by 42 percent over the past five years. Since the 2011-12 fiscal year, the Texas Education Agency has opened 908 cases; the agency opened 222 investigations in the 2015-16 fiscal year.