Animal groups have special names: a gaggle of geese, for example; or a pride of lions, a school of fish, a parliament of owls. For swallows, like the barn swallows nesting on my front porch, there are at least three accepted collective nouns: a gulp (presumably for how many insects they eat every day), a flight, or a swoop. All three are quite appropriate, but I like the third one the best because of the swooping word’s alliteration with swallows.

I have a confession to make. I’m not controlling. I’m just... aggressively helpful. At least that’s what I like to tell myself. The truth is, most of us have something we’re always trying to control. It might be our schedule, our finances, our kids, our health, our future, or even what other people think about us.

Elliott Roosevelt stepped off a passenger plane and into a swarm of reporters at the Chicago airport on Jul. 18, 1933.

C APITAL H ighlights Preliminary data indicates Texas home insurers earned a 22% profit on premiums collected last year, according to the Houston Chronicle. It was the best year insurers have had in two decades and follows several years of double-digit rate increases and flat or slightly negative returns for insurers due to increased natural disasters.

Every yard I have owned with sandy soil had grass burrs at one time or another. Even if they weren’t in the yard when I moved, they soon found their way in. They probably came on the bottom of my boots or from truck tires. Our family ranch was the source of the seed.

The Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office has been working in conjunction with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Texas Rangers on a sensitive criminal investigation involving Lavaca County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Travis Hill. As a result of that investigation, Mr. Hill was arrested (July 11) in Lavaca County.

My mother had a gift for criticism disguised as conversation. She preferred subtlety.

To the editor: Have you seen the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America? It has been reported “socialists are sweeping the nation”, and the membership of the DSA “has been exploding” and “the organization is now merging with the Democratic Party,” not just in New York but elsewhere. The DSA 2025-2026 platform claims “Relying on Democrats to defeat Republicans isn’t working.

To the editor: In her recent letter, Sandy Hooper rightly encouraged citizens to educate themselves on current laws. However, a half-hour of research can easily lead to half-truths if one relies on selective data and personal preferences rather than established legal reality.

To the editor: Some recent editorials have complained about our local law enforcement cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement. They cite the arrest of some illegal immigrants who have committed no crimes (other than violating federal immigration laws).