"Prosecutors believe millions have been laundered for a drug cartel out of a recycling factory in Texas"

Court Watch:

[The recycler] was honored a local chamber of commerce luncheon last year which featured the local district attorney and local law enforcement. Texas State Senator ... was the keynote speaker and warned of the dangers of the Mexican drug cartels. 

Remarkable thread about segregation in an area of Texas famous for producing top athletes

"The magic of all this segregation is that Highland Park residents pay a school property tax rate ~10% ***less*** than Dallas residents do — but their tax base means they still get to spend 78% ***more*** per student than Dallas schools can."

"Powerful judge in Texas' smallest county...charged with cattle theft"

NBC:

Lawmen came to remote Loving County, Texas, on Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands on one of Texas’ oldest crimes — cattle theft.

...

 the scion of a powerful ranching family

...

For decades, a handful of prominent families in Loving County have feuded bitterly for control of the local government, with the [judge's] finally largely coming out ahead. [He] has served as the judge for more than 15 years. His sister is the county clerk. His cousin’s husband is the county attorney. His nephew is the constable.

...

he presided over a period of unprecedented growth, as fracking boomed in the Permian Basin, feeding money into the county’s coffers

"Officials stunned to learn of Kyle Housing Authority and its problems"

Statesman:

When Kyle [Texas] Mayor Todd Webster received a scathing letter this month from the federal government suggesting rampant mismanagement at the city’s independent housing authority, he was shocked by the findings — particularly because he hadn’t even known the agency existed.

...

The authority, which receives federal funding to manage two apartment complexes offering subsidized rent, is independent of the city. It is supposed to be overseen by a board of commissioners appointed by the mayor.

But it has apparently been operating without any mayoral appointees for an unknown period of time — possibly since the agency’s inception in 1977

...

the authority’s executive director doubled the HUD-funded portion of her salary between 2012 and 2015 without any outside approvals.