Texas Railroad Commissioner Resigns
Elizabeth Ames Jones, chairwoman of the Texas Railroad Commission, yesterday afternoon. The former chair is running for the Texas Senate to represent District 25.
Jones posted a statement on her website stating the reason for her resignation is to allow her to devote full energy to the upcoming election against incumbent , R-San Antonio. But Jones' recent move from Austin to San Antonio also called her eligibility to serve on the Railroad Commission into question,.
Jones was appointed to the ; she was then elected to a six-year term in November 2006. The has not commented on Jones鈥� resignation.
Redistricting Court to Reconvene Today
, a federal court in San Antonio will reconvene today to continue hearing negotiations over redistricting plans. Meanwhile, hangs in the balance.
The court ordered for further negotiations between the minority groups suing over the redrawn maps, and the state. Despite , negotiations have not yet yielded a mutually-agreeable map.
鈥淭he continued deadlock further dampens prospects of a deal, which a three-judge panel in San Antonio favors over drawing the maps themselves,鈥� says the AP.
Democrats and several minority groups argue that district maps do not reflect minority growth in the population and that the original maps violate the Voting Rights Act.
CAMPO Talks of an Austin to Houston Rail
last night the (CAMPO) discussed plans to 鈥渆xplore a new passenger rail service that would connect Austin to Houston and, several cities in between.鈥�
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Rail Division gave a presentation discussing their proposal for the new rail service at . They outlined the rail route, including four stops which would connect Elgin and Giddings and a stop in College Station, says KXAN.
Jennifer Moczygemba with TxDOT鈥檚 Rail Division is quoted by KXAN as saying the service would be 鈥渧ery important in Texas. There鈥檚 a lot of inner-city travel, especially for business purposes,鈥� reports KXAN.
The projected cost for the project would be $1 billion. This rail service is only in the planning stages.
