MONDAY TOP NEWS LINKS:
Video: Local Reaction to Federal Agency’s
Push for Lower DWI Limit (KRIV 26 News)
Erin Mulvaney, Jayme Fraser, Chron.com
A 16-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was killed by an alleged drunken driver who ran a red light early Sunday.
Sgt. Dwayne Polk, 47, most recently assigned to the transportation unit, was in uniform driving his tan-colored Chevrolet Silverado around 3 a.m. at the intersection of West Little York and North Shepherd.
Andres Munos-Munos, 22, sped through the red light at the intersection in his white GMC pickup, crashing into the driver’s side door of Polk’s truck, said Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon. The deputy died at the scene.
“Tough morning,” tweeted Sheriff Adrian Garcia at 6:03 a.m. “The HCSO suffered a terrible loss & we are all grieving. Keep HCSO members & their families in your prayers.”
Followers responded they would indeed pray. One called for stricter drunken driving laws that would more strongly equate the crime to murder. A federal panel last week recommended that states reduce the allowable blood-alcohol content to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent.
(Read more of this story at Chron.com)
LOCAL AREA HEADLINES:
- Child dies after drowning in apartment pool: Houston police respond to third drowning this week (KPRC 2 News)
- Why Texas Makes Kindergarteners Take Standardized Tests (KUHF Public Radio)
- Jobs Outlook Improves For All But Youngest Vets (KUHF Public Radio)
- Houstonians help fight hunger at 9th annual Empty Bowls (Your Houston News)
- The Final Countdown: Galveston County Puts Up Massive Countdown Clocks/Billboards for Hurricane Season (Houston Press)
- Financial Hurricane Preparations (KRIV 26 News)
- Weather Sucks: Thank God We Only Have Hurricanes to Deal with in Houston (Houston Press)
- Memorial Hermann moving rapidly to get students into clinical training to increase supply of APRNs (Your Houston News)
STATE HEADLINES:
- Bill-passing flurry expected in final week (Austin Statesman)
- New Measure for State Water Plan Heads to the House Floor (State Impact Texas)
- State Left Family-Planning Money Unspent While Clinics Closed (Texas Observer)
- Legislators Devote New Funding to Mental Health (Texas Tribune)
NATION & WORLD:
- Advocates Struggle To Reach Growing Ranks Of Suburban Poor (NPR)
- CDC Report Paints Bleak Picture of American Kids With Mental Disorders (Daily Beast)
- Turning Up The Heat On Civil Rights-Era Cold Cases (NPR)
- Confusion and Staff Troubles Rife at I.R.S. Office in Ohio (New York Times)