C APITAL Highlights State officials began sending out the first notices to families awarded education vouchers last week, the Houston Chronicle reported. In the first round, 42,644 qualified, mostly students with special needs who are considered the highest priority.

Recruiters did not suspect a thing, when a 19 year old male impersonator from Canada enlisted in the Union Army on May 3, 1861. Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmundson was born in New Brunswick just across the border from Maine.

“Keep in your heart a green bough And the singing bird will come.” Do you wish you could improve your life outlook, feel more satisfied with your life, increase your “happiness meter rating” on an average day? Then consider the ancient Chinese proverb above. It holds a meaning similar to advice from the Persian poet Hafez (13101390).

Ranchers often hire me after they’ve had other consultants who didn’t deliver their hopedfor results. These new clients often ask me why I dig so many holes and pay so little attention to their soil tests. Well, digging holes frequently tells me more about the soil than those lab reports. I want to know how the soil works, so I ask some questions.

In a state known for low voter turnout, South Central Texas stands out. The five-county region served by the League of Women Voters South Central Texas — Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, and Lavaca counties — has a consistent record of outperforming the state in voter participation.

After about 15 years, this spring marks one of the final times Texas students will take the STAAR, according to the Chronicle. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, that end-of-year assessment will be replaced by three shorter tests. Backers of the change say it will reduce classroom time spent preparing for the test and be a more accurate measure of students’ progress. Critics say the changes will still place too much emphasis and classroom time preparing for the tests. “The only evidence is that it will create more testing,” said state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, Gov. Greg Abbott’s Democratic challenger for governor. “We’re going from 15 tests to 51 tests by the time a kid’s done with eighth grade. It’s outrageous.”

I planted some borage from seed a couple of months ago, and it started blooming this week. I love this herb.

To the Editor: Reflecting on our patriotic ancestors 250 years ago, we ask: did they need to justify seeking independence and would that help their chances of success? We might joke that independence was so we could have speeches, parades, fireworks, beer and hotdogs on every July 4. The decision to rebel followed robust debate, fragile negotiation, and desperate planning.

To the Editor: The administration under President Trump is a disaster, and a historical threat to America’s representative democracy. Contributing to Trump’s erratic and chaotic style of governance are the congressional Republicans who lack the courage to honor their oath to the Constitution and tell the president that he is wrong.

To the Editor: For years, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has told Fayette County that the groundwater beneath the Fayette Power Project (FPP) is safe. They have told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that the toxic spikes in our water are just “naturally occurring.” We now have the hard evidence to prove otherwise, and we need our state representatives to step in before the damage becomes irreversible.