Legislator: Don't use the Chilean flag emoji to mean Texas!

Quiz: Which one is Texas?

We ran across this gem today while reading bills filed in the 85th Legislative session. See below, and take note, social media savvy Texceptionalists!

Don't know what an emoji is? Don't worry: It's about as new a word as is the resolution's author, Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Houston).

Dickey: Sanctuary City policies 'need to stop immediately'

Dickey with Sheriff candidate Joe Martinez, who told you so.

Travis County GOP Chairman James Dickey said via Travis GOP social media that it's time to light up the phone lines in opposition to Sheriff "Sanctuary Sally" Hernandez' new policies.

He quotes an article from Fox 7:

"... [I]n the first two days of the Hernandez policy nearly 50 undocumented offenders were allowed back on the streets. The charges include; drunk driving, assault, sex crimes, strangulation, as well as endangering and injury to a child. To get out, most of the inmates only had to sign a document promising to come back for court hearings." 

This needs to stop immediately. The Travis county sheriff must put the legal residents of the county first. Contact her office at (512) 854-9770 and let your voice be heard. 

For some background on this horrendous turn of events see here and here.

The Travis Tracker recommends Sheriff Hernandez host a series of town halls and study groups to craft a more sensible illegal immigrant detention policy, and consider reverting back to the policy of her predecessor Greg Hamilton.

Dawnna Dukes watchers take to Twitter

Those wondering if Rep. Dawnna Dukes' (D-Austin) notorious reputation for playing hooky in the Legislature would hold up after her indictment now have a way of checking on that.

The Twitter account @WDawnna tracks her whereabouts on the House floor and in key committee meetings.

(Wait, what was that? Yes, surprisingly Rep. Dukes kept her seat in the powerful House Appropriations Committee.)

According to the Twitter handle's description, it is not an official account of Dukes (obviously) but "an attempt to hold Dawnna Dukes accountable."

"To be clear, this account was created only to address DD's presence during the legislative session," the anonymous tweeter(s) commented. "It is not politics to want your representative to show up for work."

Celia Israel, Kirk Watson: You don't get to vote on rail projects (UPDATED)

Voters more than a decade ago opted to build the Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority's MetroRail "red line" -- 32 miles of track from downtown Austin to Leander utilizing much of an abandoned Katy rail line.

But if an Austin Democrat in the Texas Legislature gets her way, future rail plans under 31 miles of track-length will not require a vote at all.

Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin) filed House Bill 1762 on Friday which seeks to amend the Texas Transportation Code's section related to the Cap Metro. Under existing law, Cap Metro must seek voter approval if the proposed expansion involves the addition of 12 miles of track or more to the system. Under Israel's bill, that threshold jumps to more than 30 miles. To put that in perspective, CapMetro could build a railway the distance from Sunset Valley to Cedar Park, or Lakeway to Pflugerville, without putting a single word on the ballot.

If you take a look at the map attached to this article, you'll see that any of the proposed stops are well-within the distance of the red line. So no voter approval would be necessary to fulfill the wishes of local transit czars.

Austin City Council exempts themselves from ethics rules?

There may be more to it than what Spectrum News picked up on here:

The draft ordinance gave the City Auditor the ability to investigate the City Council and their staff members for allegations of a violation related to interfering with personnel matters. It was intended to prevent elected officials from pressuring city staff to go against their best professional judgment.
"The city auditor shall hire an external party to investigate the allegation if the city auditor finds that an allegation merits an investigation," the draft ordinance read. 

[...] That means a City Council member, their direct staff and the City Manager are not subject to due process.

Does this amount to a power-grab by city staff or a play for immunity by the City Council (or both)? It's all a tangled mess, but we'll keep an eye on this.

Read more: http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/news/2017/02/10/austin-council-exempts-itself--staff-from-ethics-review.html

(Hat-tip: Matt Mackowiak for posting this to Facebook.)

Trump supporter beaten in Austin: Not fake news, in our own backyard

Disbelief filled the minds of many conservative Austinites who read blog posts this week of a 20-something being beaten and knocked unconscious because of a lighthearted Donald Trump cigarette lighter.

We wish this was another example of fake news and "alternative facts." The Tracker verified the details in the report that was originally published in Gateway Pundit.

According to Austin Police Department incident records obtained by the Tracker, the beating took place around 2 a.m. Monday at 1515 Wickersham Lane, steps away from the Riverside Golf Course and near several apartments.

The Tracker contacted the victim, Scott Sauter, a law clerk and newcomer to Austin. Sauter confirmed Gateway Pundit's report. On his walk home from the New Movement Theater comedy club downtown a man noticed the whimsical Trump decoration on his lighter as he lit up a cigarette.