The Williamson County commissioners on Tuesday approved funding for its felony diversion program grant for the third year in a row.
The grant for the Transformative Justice Program is funded through the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and requires a 60% cash match from the county next fiscal year totaling $250,607. The grant will require an 80% match in the program s fourth year, but Scott Matthews, the county s director for juvenile services, said they hope to apply to other grants by that time.
The program helps those ages 17- to 24 who have been convicted of low-level felony offenses to find education, housing and employment opportunities while participating in community service projects. If they graduate from the program, their records could be expunged. Matthews said there are 12 active participants, 12 who have graduated and five who were not successful in completing the program.
Austin s elite funded $1 9M campaign to reinstate homeless camping ban
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Strong thunderstorms are expected to roll through the Austin area and the Hill Country this evening, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a sever thunderstorm watch.
“The storm currently is producing around tennis ball sized hail and is currently moving towards the southeast” from Mason County, about two hours west of Austin, said meteorologist Matthew Brady with the National Weather Service.
Risks to the Austin area include hail 2 inches in diameter and wind gusts up to 70 mph. The watch is set to expire at 10 p.m. A lower chance of additional strong to severe storms continue Monday and Tuesday.
Aaron Richie said when his son, Landon, came out as transgender, what scared him the most was the thought of a medical transition.
After seeing Landon’s daily struggles with his body and consulting with psychiatrists and pediatricians, Richie decided to help his then 13-year-old son begin the process of transitioning.
“I thought to myself, ‘Why am I going to make him do this five more years?’” Richie said. “So that I feel better, so that my parents feel better, so that when I tell other people they are not freaked out? It just became an indefensible position that this has to wait until 18.”
Transgender Texans, allies rally at Capitol against bills targeting gender-affirming care
About 100 community members, activists and transgender youth rallied on the south steps of the state Capitol on Wednesday to denounce efforts in the Texas Legislature that would limit a transgender minor’s participation in sports and access to gender-affirming care.
Equality Texas, a Texas LGBTQ political action group, organized the rally and invited several state representatives and activists from across the state to speak, including several parents. Ricardo Martinez, the CEO of Equality Texas, said the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills across the nation is not an accident.
“It is a coordinated effort nationwide that we are seeing,” Martinez said. “These are almost identical bills regardless of what state legislature you are looking at. It’s cruel, it’s unnecessary, and it’s a waste of time when we have actual emergencies.”
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