Election Day wait times at 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2025 saw the majority of polling locations have lines 10 to 30 minutes long.
Bud Kennedy
bkennedy@star-telegram.com
A Democrat on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court is upset that there will be fewer polling locations in the Senate District 9 runoff than there were in November’s constitutional amendment election.
Commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday, with the two Democrats abstaining, to set 143 locations for the Jan. 31 runoff between Democrat Taylor Rehmet and Republican Leigh Wambsganss, who advanced to the runoff to fill the North Texas district following a Nov. 4 special election. They approved 21 locations for early voting Jan. 21 through Jan. 27.
In November, when there was a statewide ballot, voters had their choice of 214 Election Day sites and 33 early voting locations.
Some of those sites saw lines up to half-an-hour long. Because lines were long, Commissioner Alisa Simmons, an Arlington Democrat, said there should be more polling locations available.
Elections Administrator Clint Ludwig said voters’ habits are to blame for long wait times, not the number of voting sites.
In August, the commissioners made a partisan decision to reduce the early voting locations by a fourth and Election Day sites by a third compared to 2023, saving the county over $1 million.
One early voting center costs “on average, a little over $10,300” to operate, Ludwig told the court in August.
Ludwig said the average wait time on Nov. 4 was about seven and a half minutes. Up until 4 p.m., the longest wait was less than five minutes, but lines lengthened once people started getting off work.
Republican Commissioner Matt Krause, from Keller, said there’s always a rush on Election Day because of voters’ traditions.
“I don’t think that’s an anomaly or that we didn’t have enough polling places,” Krause said. “Then you look at the average, and if it’s 7.25 minutes on Election Day, that’s a pretty good efficient process.”
Some wait times were up to 45 minutes.
Simmons has said long wait times are unacceptable because they can persuade voters not to vote at all. On Election Day, she had planned to vote at the Mansfield Subcourthouse but had to vote elsewhere.
“I left and went somewhere else to vote because I refused to stand in that line that was wrapped around the building,” Simmons said. “You can’t tell me that wait time was 7 minutes or 15 minutes or anything. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Ludwig said voters should have planned to vote early or use the wait time map on the county website to decide where they would go.
“You did not need to go there and wait in line. Don’t wait till 5 o’clock on Election Day to show up to the polls,” Ludwig said at a November Reagan Legacy Republican Women meeting. “You had 12 days of early voting and a lot of hours before that. Because if you do, you may end up waiting in line.”
Ludwig said people instead went to the location they knew at the end of the last day, and some lines were long because of it.
Roughly 50% of voters cast their ballots during the 11-day early voting period and about 49% came to the polls on Election Day. The remaining 1% were mail-in ballots. The election had a total turnout of 17.39%.
For comparison, the 2023 election had a 12.23% turnout rate. About 40% of people voted early and 58% cast their ballots on Election Day.
“We have 1.3 million registered voters in this county,” Ludwig said earlier in November. “Your vote matters, and I will count it if you care to cast it. Now, if it’s not supposed to count, I’m not going to count it. So understand that, but it is your voice. You need to get out to the polls.”
Senate District 9 run-off
The November ballot had 17 constitutional amendments and, for the roughly 1 million residents in Senate District 9, a choice between three candidates. None got more than 50% of the vote, so the two highest vote getters will be on the Jan. 31 ballot.
The majority of the district spreads across County Commissioner Precincts 3 and 4, but law requires at least half the number of polling locations in one precinct as in another.
There are 50 Election Day voting sites in Precinct 3, so there are 25 polling locations in Precincts 1 and 2.
Ludwig told commissioners on Tuesday 35 locations had no wait time on the Nov. 4 Election Day.
“Como Community Center, on Election Day, average wait time was 25.26 minutes,” Ludwig said. “But within 1.7 miles was a Baptist church that had an average wait time of 1.15 minutes all day long. People did not choose to use the app and the features we have available to find locations. They just went to the main ones that they know.”
There’s no need to wait in line, Ludwig said. Voters need to check wait times before going to vote.
Simmons agreed that the tools are useful, but it’s not feasible for residents with limited access to transportation.
She said it will always be her belief that more polling locations are better and that lessening the number of sites is voter suppression, especially when the disappearing locations are in communities of color.
Simmons attempted to add more voting locations to the list, but the amendment didn’t receive a majority of votes. Ludwig said the polling sites listed are primarily within the Senate District 9 bounds.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM.
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
Three-year-olds play at stations while attending pre-K at The Morris Foundation Child Development Center on Sept. 24, 2024.
Amanda McCoy
amccoy@star-telegram.com
Local and statewide child care advocates celebrated earlier this year a $100 million investment toward child care scholarships that were anticipated to lift children and their families off of the state’s lengthy waitlist. But inflation has soured the hopes of expanding state scholarships, including in Tarrant County.
Texas lawmakers earmarked $100 million toward child care services and scholarships over the next two years, in hopes of serving about 10,000 children awaiting financial assistance who are on a waitlist that now exceeds 95,000. But a rise in the cost of care has absorbed the funding source that child care advocates viewed as a highlight of the 2025 regular legislative session, which concluded this summer. The scholarships help qualifying parents go to work while their child receives care and early childhood education.
In Tarrant County, there will be a decrease of about 450 child care scholarships compared to last fiscal year because of the increase in the cost of care, even with the additional state investment, according to Fort Worth-based Child Care Associates. The nonprofit distributes state scholarships to local families as a contractor of the local workforce development board.
Kara Waddell, CEO and president of Child Care Associates, said the rising cost of care impacts families of all income levels, precluding many parents from affording the care that allows them to go to work.
“We know Texas families were hopeful that this additional funding would enable us to offer additional child care scholarships for those on the scholarship waitlist. Child Care Associates knows how much both families and child care operators need Texas to expand scholarships,” Waddell said. “In actuality, what we experienced was a significant increase in child care expenses statewide, and the additional state investments prevented scholarship loss while keeping up with real cost increase of about 9% in Texas last year alone.”
The Texas Workforce Commission, which manages the state’s child care scholarship program, sets its scholarship payment rates at or above what 75% of child care providers in a region charge based on a market rate survey. In a child care and early learning newsletter from the Texas Workforce Commission released in August, officials noted that its most recent market rate survey showed an increase in the cost of care by 9% in the 75th percentile. The overall projected cost of care jumped by 12.7%.
“Ultimately, we’re grateful to the legislature making this initial investment happen. It is a critical first step. We also hope that they will not only continue to use unexpended TANF funds for child care access, but also consider new funding and revenue options to ensure hard-working Texas families access the quality child care that they need,” Waddell added.
By the numbers
The additional $100 million in child care scholarships for Texas children over the next two years is coming from unused TANF funding, or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
The Texas Workforce Commission originally projected $1 million to serve about 106 children per day in the 2026 fiscal year before the legislative session began in January, according to state officials. The state agency now projects $1 million to serve about 99 children per day.
Of the annual $50 million, there is $3 million set aside for child care quality improvement. This means $47 million is dedicated specifically to child care scholarships. The scholarship funding is estimated to serve 4,653 children daily this fiscal year — a decrease of 329 children from the state agency’s original estimate.
The agency’s full budget for child care services is estimated to support about an average of 148,000 children daily this fiscal year. There was an average of almost 149,000 children being served daily through the state’s scholarship program in fiscal year 2025.
“The projection of 10,000 children was not an overall increase to the total number served; it only reflects how much an additional $100 million was estimated to serve,” Texas Workforce Commission officials told the Star-Telegram in a statement.
Texans Care for Children, an Austin-based child advocacy organization, released a policy brief earlier this month on the $100 million child care investment, saying the funds were needed “just to keep up with rising payment rates.”
“Without the $100 million lawmakers provided, Texas would be serving thousands fewer eligible families in the coming biennium. But if Texas wants to avoid backsliding — and start serving more of the tens of thousands still on the waitlist — lawmakers will need to take steps to address the rising costs of child care and find more substantial, longer-term funding solutions,” the policy brief states.
David Feigen, director of early learning policy for the organization, said it was “disappointing” that the funding didn’t translate to an increase in the number of scholarships, but it was also a relief that thousands of working parents were spared from losing child care.
“Thanks to this investment, today there are parents walking in the door to work at restaurants, hospitals, and grocery stores while their kids are thriving in child care classrooms — creating memorable art projects and listening attentively as their teachers read them children’s books,” Feigen said. “There’s a lot of focus on partisan disagreements these days, but in this case Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature worked together to help Texas parents get affordable, high-quality child care so they can go to work.”
Lina Ruiz covers early childhood education in Tarrant County and North Texas for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A University of Florida graduate, she previously wrote about local government in South Florida for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Tim Davis became the Tarrant County Republican Party Chair on Nov. 22, 2025. He will finish out Bo French’s term.
Rachel Royster
rroyster@star-telegram.com
Tim Davis is the newly elected chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party after his opponents threw their support behind him in the runoff.
In the first round of voting, Davis earned the majority with 87 votes. John O’Shea was second with 58 votes. Shellie Gardner had 26 votes, and Marshall Hobbs received 16 votes.
“Understanding our democratic process that as representatives, our job is to represent you, and in that, we have decided that as a team, we are going to go ahead and throw our endorsement behind Tim Davis,” Hobbs told the audience of 184 precinct chairs who participated in the election.
Davis is an attorney with the law group Jackson Walker and has been general counsel for the county’s Republican Party and the Grapevine-Colleyville school board. Davis was also paid $172,000 by the Keller school board in five months, during which the board considered a proposal to split the district in half.
“Can you believe that that just happened? It’s so incredible,” Davis said in his first remarks after being elected. “I thank those three for their support deeply, because it shows how united we really are. It shows how we have to be a force as we go into the next months and weeks ahead.”
Davis said that as a child, his parents taught him two key things: that Jesus is his savior and to never give up.
“I make that promise to you,” Davis said. “I’ll never give up, and I want you to make that promise to me and to each other and to our county that you’ll never give up. Because if we keep it, if I keep it to you, and you keep it to me, we’ll have a better county tomorrow than we do today and the day after and the day after.”
In his speech prior to the election, Davis said his priorities would be to ensure secure, fair elections and to give the party chairs a budget to hold events and hand out flyers.
The proudest thing he has ever done for the Republican party, Davis said, was as an electorate in the 2024 election, when President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were elected into the White House.
“We have to never let up,” Davis said. “We have to fight, fight, fight, as he told us, to make sure that the things that matter to us continue to be the values that define our county, our state and our country.”
O’Shea, the second-highest vote getter behind Davis, said he believes Davis represents the whole party. When Davis asked the opponents to endorse him in the runoff, O’Shea said it made sense because the others realistically would not be able to get the required votes to be elected.
“He’s been involved in and been a hard worker for a long time,” O’Shea said. “So, yeah. I mean, I genuinely think any one of the four of us up there would do a good job, and I think Tim’s got experience and know-how. If he opens the doors and keeps everybody involved, I think we got better days ahead.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 12:08 PM.
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons, an Arlington Democrat, and County Judge Tim O’Hare, a Southlake Republican, listen to public comment during a Commissioners Court meeting May 7, 2024.
FortWorth
The words “preservation, not politics” were heard over and over at Wednesday’s Tarrant County Historical Commission meeting. Yet multiple people said there was something more at play when the proposed slate of executive committee nominees were replaced with a new set of more conservative nominations.
Some people fear the county commissioners got involved in the election of the executive committee in reaction to a proposed LGBTQ+ marker that was rejected in May after County Judge Tim O’Hare, a Southlake Republican, asked the Texas Historical Commission to rescind approval.
The Fort Worth marker, detailing the LGBTQ+ history in the city, was rejected without further investigation by the Texas Historical Commission, but Todd Camp, who helped with the marker application, said he would try again in the spring.
The county historical commission has limited say in what markers get approved and which get rejected. Bill Perdue, the newly-elected chair, said the Tarrant County Historical Commission can give its two cents, but really the Texas Historical Commission makes the decision. The Tarrant County Historical Commission primarily exists to help residents apply for a historical marker.
Tarrant County commissioners appoint three Historical Commission members each and three at-large members. On Tuesday, the Historical Commission members elected their five-person executive committee.
Ahead of the new Historical Commission executive election, Perdue said he had multiple phone calls with O’Hare. Perdue said members of the Commissioners Court had said who they wanted on the executive committee, though he didn’t detail who said what. Perdue did say that not all of those wishes were granted.
The nominating committee made up of Historical Commission members proposed a slate of officers on Oct. 29. Only the treasurer, Preston Patry, and parliamentarian, Floreen Henry, were voted in as proposed. Members who had been appointed by O’Hare and Commissioner Matt Krause, a Republican from Keller, were elected chair, vice chair and secretary.
Tammy Nakamura, a member of the commission who was appointed by Krause, was one of the members who made new nominations to put other Krause appointees on the executive committee.
She said she nominated who she did because she knows their history and the board needed to go in a new direction.
“I just think we needed some new leadership,” said Nakamura, a former Colleyville City Council member and Grapevine-Colleyville school district trustee.
Though Nakamura didn’t specify why or what direction she wanted the commission to go, Perdue said he thinks some of the people on the commission were worried there would be another LGBTQ+ marker issue.
As far as what direction Perdue will take the historical commission in his two-year term, he said: “Really, I want to get this thing back on track again. We had so much distractions last couple of years.”
Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons said O’Hare meddled in the nomination process to ensure history he doesn’t agree with is not memorialized.
“I think that he was attempting to manipulate the outcome, because, like he does with everything, he makes it political,” Simmons said.
History should never be controlled by politicians, Simmons said. She thinks the Historical Commission should be reflective of the diversity of the county and the election process should be independent of politics.
“In a Republican county, with a Republican Commissioners Court and every countywide office held by a Republican, Democrats are upset that a Republican is the new Chair of the Historical Commission,” O’Hare said in a statement. “Nothing new under the sun.”
Perdue said no matter who anyone wanted on the executive committee, the commission will be apolitical and continue preserving history for the entire county.
Perdue said he’s known O’Hare a long time.
“He and I talk a lot,” he said. “In fact, I was on the phone with him before the meeting today, but I will tell you that he understands where I’m from, I understand where he’s from, and he is not going to dictate to me how I’m going to run my job.”
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
Tanisha Thomas plays with her son Kingston, 3, in one of the child care rooms following the grand opening ceremony of the new Riverside Campus of the Center for Transforming Lives in the Morningside neighborhood of Fort Worth on May 2. With the help of the organization, Thomas was able to find stability after experiencing homelessness and battling suicidal thoughts.
Chris Torres
ctorres@star-telegram.com
In the first two weeks of the program, Center for Transforming Lives has distributed $45,000 to Tarrant County residents in need of emergency rental and utility assistance.
In August, Tarrant County Commissioners decided to outsource the assistance that the Human Services department had previously done because it was not being run efficiently. The Center for Transforming Lives subsequently won the $2.3 million contract to provide rental and utility assistance to residents beginning on Nov. 3.
Carol Klocek, CEO of the Center for Transforming Lives, said people were already lined up at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 3 waiting to apply for the program. In four hours, the center received 170 applications without ever having advertised the program. Thirty of the county’s in-process applicants were also transferred over that day.
On Tuesday, Klocek said 23 households will receive the assistance they requested on Nov. 3. Once that is done, the portal will open back up for more applications to be submitted.
Klocek said the center has been charged with getting the allotted $2 million of aid to the community as quickly as possible, but she’s not sure how long the funds will last. The county gave a grant of $2.3 million to the center with only $300,000 of that going toward administrative costs. The remainder is designated for aid.
“Will that aid run out in six months? In seven months? And then, will there be a gap until the next year, or will there be, you know, additional funds?” Klocek said. “But what we want to do is stabilize as many households as we can and do that quickly, and that’s our primary charge.”
Commissioner Roderick Miles, who hosted the public town hall at the center, said if the money is spent before the year-long contract ends, that will give the commissioners a strong case to say more investment is necessary.
“How can you refute the evidence?” Miles said. “If we run through $2 million, then it’s incumbent upon us to say the need is greater than we anticipated, and we need to earmark, and we need to put more money into this program. It makes my colleagues and I reexamine how we’re doing our budget every year.”
Before the county opted to outsource the utility and rental assistance programs, Human Services was only giving out about $1.5 million in aid. Budget director Helen Giese said the $4.5 million budget wasn’t being maximized to help residents in need.
By spending over $2 million less of taxpayer money, the county is helping more members of the community through the partnership with Center for Transforming Lives.
Rand Otten, acting director of Human Services, said at the October commissioners court meeting that in one month, the county’s department helped about 30 to 40 individuals pay rent in emergencies and about 100 people who needed help paying for utilities.
According to the county staff report, Center for Transforming Lives proposed to assist approximately 2,200 households from Nov. 1 through Sept. 30, 2026.
There is a great amount of need and a severe shortage of affordable housing in Tarrant County, Klocek said.
“The problem is that for so many households, a flat tire, an illness, a gap in child care, all of those kinds of situations can cause people to destabilize,” Klocek said. “A lot of people are also having to take care of an older relative, and so maybe they have child care issues, but an older relative gets sick, so they have to take off work for that, and they work for an employer who doesn’t allow sick time, or doesn’t have flexibility. So all of those kinds of situations can mean they can’t make rent payments.”
Under the Center for Transforming Lives, residents will no longer be able to receive long-term utility assistance as they could under Human Services. They will be allowed to apply for aid once a year and receive up to three months of help.
“We’re really limiting this to an emergency assistance program,” Klocek said. “So with our goal of preventing homelessness and allowing people to really weather those things that come up, … but where people are going to be able to pay their rent.”
Residents in need will be able to get connected with the other resources the center offers and other organizations who can help through the process of applying for emergency assistance at the Center for Transforming Lives.
Miles said with the number of people ready to apply on Day 1, he saw that the center is a safe and trusted place for the community.
“People know where it is, and they’re here waiting because they know, once the door is open, they’ll get what they need,” Miles said. “So I feel really good about how we’ve started.”
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
Zach Rausch (left), senior research scientist and managing director of the Tech and Society Lab at New York University’s Stern School of Business, speaks with Brent Christopher (right), president of Children’s Medical Center Foundation, during a symposium at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. The symposium hosted by Children’s Health discussed the pediatric health system’s latest report on the quality of life of children in North Texas.
Courtesy of Children’s Health
North Texas children’s mental health is being compromised by overuse of technology, experts emphasized on Tuesday as a piece of a larger, comprehensive report.
A new biennial report released by Children’s Health examines the quality of life for children in North Texas counties, including Tarrant, specifically through the lens of health, economic security, safety and education. During a symposium at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, leaders of the pediatric health care system discussed the report’s findings alongside a research scientist, focusing on the current state of mental health and child well-being in the area. The findings also included statistics on the state of education, child care and general youth health in Tarrant County.
Too much screen time and exposure to social media were pinpointed as culprits of poor health outcomes in children. Children’s Health President and CEO Christopher Durovich said technology has become a source of stress and anxiety for young people that needs to be addressed through creating safeguards to protect them from online harm and expanding behavioral health access.
“The mental and behavioral health of our children is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. The National Institutes of Health reports that nearly one in five children ages 3-17 now have a mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral disorder,” Durovich said. “In Texas, experts point to high social media use and problematic online patterns as major contributing factors.”
Zach Rausch, senior research scientist and managing director of the Tech and Society Lab at New York University’s Stern School of Business, described “a tragedy in two acts” where a play-based childhood first started to disappear from 1980-2010. The second “act” is the full transition to a phone-based childhood centered around iPhones, social media and high-speed internet from 2010-2015.
He recommended four “new norms”: No smartphones for children before high school; no social media before 16 years old; phone-free schools for the full school day; and more independence, responsibility and free play in the real world.
“We want to protect childhood like a refuge,” Rausch said. “Because we’re entering into this… whole new age of digital technologies that are untested and being thrown into kids’ lives, which are AI chatbots and ed tech.”
The Children’s Health report is extensive, touching on several statistics across eight counties. Here’s what it revealed about the health, child care access and education of Tarrant County youth.
Tarrant County findings
Tarrant County’s youth population of more than 548,000 has continued to diversify, according to the report. The percentage of children identifying as multiple races more than doubled from about 15% to about 31%, reflecting statewide trends. Children of Hispanic and/or Latino descent make up about 38% of the youth population, a percentage that’s held steady since 2019, the report states.
From 2019 to 2023, the county’s median family income increased 4.5% to more than $99,000 when adjusted for inflation. This was among the statistics signaling the county’s ongoing economic growth, anchored by “strong migration and job creation in the Fort Worth area.”
Although Tarrant County’s child poverty rate declined from about 17% in 2019 to about 15% in 2023, demographic disparities remain.
“…21.9% of Black/African American children and 19.1% of Hispanic/Latino children live in poverty, compared to 7.7% of non-Hispanic white children. The sharpest improvement was among Hispanic/Latino children, whose poverty rate dropped by 5 percentage points,” the report states.
In regard to health, the report states:
More than 50% of pediatric visits to the emergency department in Tarrant and Dallas counties were considered avoidable in 2023, reflecting obstacles in accessing primary care for those who are Medicaid-eligible and uninsured.
“Asthma remains one of the most common chronic conditions among children, with more than 176,000 affected regionally and hospitalization rates highest in Dallas and Tarrant counties.”
There was “mixed progress” in early childhood health, as immunization rates declined regionally, with most of them “falling below the 95% threshold for community protection.” But there was a statewide expansion of Medicaid postpartum coverage in 2024 that could improve infant mortality outcomes in the future.
“Denton and Tarrant counties experienced steady declines (in childhood immunizations) across all vaccine types over the five-year period, with Tarrant’s DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) and varicella (which prevents chicken pox) coverage falling to about 90%.”
“Dallas and Tarrant counties’ rates (of early prenatal care) remain below both state and national benchmarks.”
The report also touched on child care access, noting it as a “major concern.” Subsidized child care enrollment declined in 2021 due to COVID-19 disruptions but recovered in 2022.
Although licensed child care slots have increased, the number of licensed facilities decreased in both Tarrant and Dallas counties.
“Providers cited rising liability insurance costs and administrative burdens as barriers to operating, and a recent state system transition disrupted subsidy access, leading to enrollment losses. Employer-supported child care and public-private partnerships were highlighted as promising but not yet widespread,” according to the report.
The report also noted a decline in Head Start enrollments in Tarrant County from 2024 compared to previous years, “indicating possible access challenges in urban areas with higher poverty rates.”
In regard to education, the report underscores underwhelming reading proficiency scores across North Texas, which reveal early literacy challenges. There were about 46% of Tarrant County third-graders meeting grade level in STAAR reading in 2024.
“Third-grade reading proficiency declined across North Texas in 2024 with only Collin County exceeding 65% of students being at grade level,” said Durovich of Children’s Health.
Factors impacting student achievement include a child’s economic security. There were more than 62% of Tarrant students eligible for free or reduced-fee meals in 2024.
“Childhood hunger and malnutrition can cause weaker school performance and elevate risks of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, diabetes and developmental issues. Programs offering free or low-cost meals at school to at-risk children are vital in fighting food insecurity,” the report states.
Lina Ruiz covers early childhood education in Tarrant County and North Texas for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A University of Florida graduate, she previously wrote about local government in South Florida for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
Ashley Thomas of Euless can’t believe she was given a free 2013 fully refurbished Toyota Prius. The young mother of a 1-year-old was this year’s recipient in the Autos of Love giveaway.
Rick Mauch
Special to the Star-Telegram
When Ashley Thomas, a young mother with a 1-year-old son named Justin showed up at Auto Experts of Colleyville on Thursday, Nov. 13 — World Kindness Day, by the way — she thought she was arriving for an interview and a chance to receive a free car.
Tears began to flow when Cathy Bailey, who owns Auto Experts with her husband Dane, handed Ashley the keys to a restored 2013 Toyota Prius, looking as new as it once did on the showroom floor. She was the latest recipient in the Autos of Love nonprofit program that provides refurbished cars to people in need of transportation but without the means to purchase one.
“It’s really been a struggle with no transportation,” Ashley said between the tears. “I walk everywhere I can, and when I can afford it I take Uber, but it’s been so hard.
“I’ve been praying for some miracle. I’ve been praying for a scooter — and I got this! I’m so happy and so grateful.”
Ashley, who lives in Euless, is studying to be a nurse and attending classes at Tarrant County College.
How Autos of Love got its start
The Baileys got the idea for Autos of Love after visiting with some friends in the automobile industry in California. After learning of the success their friends on the West Coast were having, they decided why not bring that idea back home?
“They have been giving away cars for about 10 years now through their initiative ‘Wheels to Shine,’” Dane said of their friends. “Cathy and I immediately thought this was a great concept and asked ourselves, ‘Why couldn’t we do something similar?’”
Then, when General Manager Jerry Maxey joined Auto Experts they were able to get the ball rolling. He had done a similar car giveaway at his previous employer and knew how to turn an idea into reality.
That’s when Autos of Love was born late last year.
“It shows that we care, that we do everything with a servant’s heart,” Maxey said. “They’re going through hardship. This isn’t a handout, it’s a hand up.”
In 2024, Dane learned of a client with an older vehicle that had reached the end of its usefulness. Maxwell approached them with the thought of donating the car to someone who could put it to better use.
“Shortly thereafter, we had a second client in the same situation. Jerry made the pitch, and both clients said yes,” Dane said.
First donation in 2024
Cathy began reaching out to local nonprofit organizations, as well as churches and synagogues, for potential recipients. It was then they realized they needed a name for this new outreach initiative.
After several brainstorming sessions between the two of them, along with searching for an available domain, they created Autos of Love. Then, they implemented their friends’ idea for a selection committee of community leaders.
The first donation was made in October 2024.
The cars they have received so far have been donated by existing clients who have decided that they no longer want to invest money in their vehicles.
“All of the cars reached a point where they needed fairly extensive repairs with a sizable price tag,” Dane said.
The first donor car was a 2004 Lexus ES 330 with over 300,000 miles. They replaced the faulty alternator and battery, fixed the oil leaks, and performed all necessary fluid services.
The second car was a 2007 Lexus LS 460 with 160,000 miles. They repaired all the coolant and oil leaks and performed all necessary fluid services.
‘Laundry Car’ back in shape
Mike Blumberg was the donor of this year’s vehicle. If it looks familiar to folks, that’s because it’s been traveling around town quite a bit for several years, accumulating over 230,000 miles.
“It’s the Laundry Car,” Blumberg said with a chuckle. “I own a laundry business, and we originally used it as a pickup and delivery vehicle. That’s what we all called it, the Laundry Car.
“I can’t believe how brand new it looks. I’m so happy it’s going to someone who needs a car — and what a wonderful person she is.”
Auto Experts replaced the engine and performed all necessary maintenance items to bring it back into shape.
Partners now sharing in the effort
In 2024, Auto Experts underwrote the entire cost of everything for Autos of Love — from vehicle refurbishment to marketing, catering, event hosting for the giveaway, and even photo/video production. They now have partners who want to share in this effort. For example, Worldpac and Dallas JDM provided parts, the Auto Experts technician staff donated their time for the repairs, and Loveria Caffe donated food and catering.
In addition to clients who donated their cars, others have made cash donations.
“What began as just a way for us to give back to the community has already started to expand,” Dane said.
Auto Experts covers the cost of transferring the title to the recipient. And they provide free maintenance on the vehicle for the first year.
All that is required of the recipient is to be a resident of Tarrant County, have a valid Texas driver’s license, maintain insurance on the vehicle, and put it to use every day.
“Our intent with Autos of Love is to make a gift to someone who will put it to the greatest good,” Cathy said.
Following the success of the first giveaway in 2024, Cathy said the goal and challenge to the team and community was to make the event an annual occurrence — perhaps even more often if possible.
“We’re only limited by the number of donor vehicles we receive,” Cathy said.
For potential donors, she said it’s important to remember that Autos of Love is a Tarrant County initiative for residents of the county. Any gift to Autos of Love stays local.
Cathy added that the next giveaway is already in the planning stages. It will be in October 2026.
Roderick Miles Jr., the Tarrant County Commissioner of Precinct One, speaks on the dias during a Commissioners Court Meeting at the Tarrant County Administration Building in Fort Worth on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
Chris Torres
ctorres@star-telegram.com
Tarrant County will be donating $200,000 to food banks across the county to aid families in need during the government shutdown.
Of the sum, half will go to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. The other $100,000 was equally divided between the five members of the Housing Finance Corporation: County Commissioners Roderick Miles, Alisa Simmons, Matt Krause, Manny Ramirez and County Judge Tim O’Hare.
Miles came up with the idea to grant money to the food banks after Tarrant Area Food Bank president Julie Buckner expressed the challenges the organization was facing while the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were partially suspended due to the shutdown.
When the government shut down on Oct. 1, the food bank doubled its operations to provide enough provisions to food pantries trying to meet the extra need the SNAP suspension created.
“For me, it’s important to make sure that people have what they need,” Miles said. “If our safety net resources are being taxed and they’re feeling pressure, then it’s important for local government to step in and to help remove some of that stress.”
Because the federal government is showing signs of reopening, Krause and Ramirez wondered how that would affect the donation’s impact on families.
Miles said the Tarrant Area Food Bank will be using the money solely for emergency food purchases and will be able to serve 500,000 meals to residents in need.
The motion to give money to food banks was unanimously approved by the five-member committee. The members did not say how they would divide up their allotted $20,000 or what organizations they would give the money to.
“It’s important to note for the community that we got it right on this one,” Miles said, “We’re putting the people first, and all of us worked together. It wasn’t party-related. We did what was in the best interest of our residents, and it was a beautiful thing for us to all come together and work together. Hopefully, that’s a sign of things to come.”
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email. Support my work with a digital subscription
A demonstration voting machine at the Tarrant County Election Administration displays the screen voters will see after casting their ballot on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, in Fort Worth. The 2025 local runoff election will take place on June 7.
FortWorth
Unless there’s a major swell Tuesday, just a small fraction of Tarrant County’s registered voters will decide the results of Tuesday’s election.
During early voting, 111,291 of Tarrant County’s roughly 1.3 million registered voters cast ballots in person, according to an unofficial tally from the Tarrant County Elections Administration. The in-person early voting period started Oct. 20 and ended Friday.
Eleanor (Elly) Dearman is a Texas politics and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She’s based in Austin, covering the Legislature and its impact on North Texas. She grew up in Denton and has been a reporter for more than six years. Support my work with a digital subscription
Two people died after a crash on South Freeway in Fort Worth Monday night, police said.
Officers responded to a major accident about 8 :15 p.m., at 1800 South Freeway, also known as Interstate 35W.
When officers arrived, they found that a single vehicle crashed with a parked semi-truck. One of the occupants of the vehicle was pronounced dead on scene, police said.
The other occupant was taken to an area hospital where they later died, police said.
Shambhavi covers crime, law enforcement and other breaking news in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. She graduated from the University of North Texas and previously covered a variety of general assignment topics in West Texas. She grew up in Nepal.
What kind of attorney general announces a supposedly secret plan before it’s over?
Getty Images
Intolerable
Ken Paxton is the most incompetent attorney general Texas has ever had. His announcement of an undercover operation to infiltrate so-called “leftist” groups proves it. (Oct. 12, 1C, “Ken Paxton is absolutely ridiculous. It’s because he’s losing”)
Such operations should not be disclosed until an investigation concludes. Paxton risks endangering law enforcement officers. I hope the groups he’s targeting sue to stop his attempts to distract voters from his scandals.
In 2027, he should be out of office. What he has done as an elected official would not be tolerated elsewhere.
– John Davis,Fort Worth
‘Not for me’
I agree with the Star-Telegram’s Oct. 12 editorial on Pride Kel-So (C6, “How Tarrant leaders should have responded to church pride event”). Tarrant County Commissioner Matt Krause, Judge Tim O’Hare and Keller Mayor Armin Mizani could have said simply that the LGBTQ-friendly event at a Southlake church “is not for me” and moved on instead of turning it into a controversy.
I also appreciate how the editorial emphasized that Pride events aren’t inherently sexual and compared their level of innuendo to classic cartoons such as Looney Tunes. This comparison clearly puts things into perspective, showing how unreasonable it is to condemn events such as Pride Kel-So as inappropriate for children, when they’re no more suggestive than the cartoons many kids watch.
– Marshall Carroll,Fort Worth
Credit due
I’m a proud liberal who always votes for the Democratic candidate in the hopes of building a better nation and society for our future, and I despise most of President Donald Trump’s behavior and actions. But he deserves congratulations for helping implement the hostage exchange in the Israel-Hamas conflict, and I hope he continues working to bring peace to the Middle East.
Now, if he would stop using the U.S. military to patrol American cities, that would be nice, too.
– Mark Bauer,Haslet
Medicare reality
Merrill Matthews wrote in the Oct. 12 guest commentary ”Medicare Part D premiums are soaring under Biden’s IRA now” (6C) that the average monthly cost now is $179.45 and is expected to jump next year to $239.27.
My wife and I, age 71 and 77 respectively, have been on Part D for six years, and each pays less than $90 per month. No co-pays have suddenly appeared where there were none before.
Matthews obviously has a political agenda, but it does not jibe with the facts of our cases.
– Tracey Smith,Fort Worth
Real impact
U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman’s paltry concession of halting his paycheck during the government shutdown pales compared with the dark times that will be upon us with the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill. (Oct. 10, 1A, “2 area congressmen pause paychecks during shutdown”)
Goldman will receive back pay once the shutdown is over. Why doesn’t he offer to really make a difference by putting it into a fund l to help the thousands of his constituents who will lose Medicaid and food-assistance benefits?
– Preston Matthiesen,Fort Worth
Leftist wishes
Senate Democrats have fully exposed their true colors, voting many times to keep the government shut down. This is a crisis intentionally created by Democrats to hold the American people hostage for a left-wing wish list. .
For weeks, Democrats have put their priorities ahead of hardworking Americans. President Donald Trump and budget director Russ Vought are using every tool they can to secure pay for our troops, Border Patrol, law enforcement officers and essential services.
Texans appreciate Sen. Ted Cruz for holding Senate Democrats’ feet to the fire to pass a clean resolution to keep the government open. Trump and Vought are fighting to ensure the federal government serves the American people, not Democratic political games and interests.
Alex Montalvo began the inaugural People’s Commissioners Court meeting on Oct. 21, 2025 with an overview of the evening agenda before opening up the floor for public comment.
Rachel Royster
rroyster@star-telegram.com
In response to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court deciding to only meet once a month, local residents decided to start their own version of commissioners court “where the voices of the people will be privileged,” according to an Instagram post.
The inaugural People’s Commissioners Court was hosted on Tuesday evening at Blanc Co-Work & Studios by Tarrant4Change, an advocacy organization, and co-founder Alex Montalvo. About 30 people came to take part. Many of those were familiar faces from the county commissioners meetings, but there were new faces as well.
Much of the meeting was used as a listening session through public comment and small groups to find out how it can best serve the participants. Attendees were given 3 minutes to speak, same as in the commissioners court, and primarily spoke about jail deaths and the freedom of speech being eroded.
Montalvo said the meeting will be recurring on the third Tuesday of each month — a week after the county commissioners have their meeting — and always at 6 p.m., with a potluck. This week’s offerings included a fan-favorite frito pie, tortilla soup, Hawaiian roll sandwiches and an array of desserts.
People’s Commissioners Court attendee Nydia Cardenas notified the public commenters how much time was left for them to speak in their allotted three minutes. Rachel Royster rroyster@star-telegram.com
Among the crowd was Commissioner Alisa Simmons, a Democrat from Arlington, and two of her staff members. Jamal Williams, the chief of Commissioner Roderick Miles’s staff, was also present.
Williams said People’s Commissioners Court gives the citizens a place to formalize their ideas and solutions to county issues that they can then present to the commissioners for action.
“My linear mind wants to put this in a box and structure it, but I thought Dr. (Harriet) Harral made a really good point earlier today: It’s about the people, and allowing the people to lead the effort, and seeing what this looked like and seeing where it goes,” Williams said.
Commissioner Alisa Simmons sat alongside the other People’s Commissioners Court attendees to hear what residents wanted to see the group’s monthly meetings to serve as. Rachel Royster rroyster@star-telegram.com
After the meeting, Simmons said the fact that the citizens feel the need to create their own version of the commissioners court tells her that they are not being properly served by the people in charge.
“We’ve disrespected them so much that they’ve had to pivot and come up with new strategy for getting their concerns heard and addressed,” Simmons said. “And I think the People’s Commissioners Court is their effort to strategize differently and become more cohesive, so that when they do show up at commissioners once a month, their presentations are titled, their messages are communicated.”
Simmons said she will be receptive to the ideas the People’s Commissioners Court brings her, whether it be putting something on the agenda for more information or a possible solution to an issue at the county.
Through small group brainstorming, the People’s Commissioners Court heard from attendees who said they would like to see the meetings be a place for delving deeper into county issues, breaking down what all is on the agendas and coordinating what they will speak out about in the county’s public comment section.
The People’s Commissioners Court attendees broke up into small groups to discuss what they would like the monthly meetings to serve as. Rachel Royster rroyster@star-telegram.com
Zoe Wilkerson, who uses they/them pronouns, said their full-time jobs means attending the 10 a.m. commissioners court meeting isn’t possible without taking time off. Getting to the 6 p.m. People’s Commissioners Court meeting on the third Tuesday of each month is much more doable for them.
“This is an opportunity for me to be involved and figure out those times that it is important for me to take that time off without necessarily having to be constantly on top of what’s happening in the Commissioners Court,” Wilkerson said. “What’s happening is important, but it also can be exhausting for those of us that are doing a million other things.”
Joe Palmer, who is a regular at the county commissioners meetings, said he wasn’t surprised to be the only Republican in the group, but he hopes more people from the right or middle will join him next month. He said it would bring more attention to the issues that really do affect everyone in the county, indiscriminate of their party affiliation.
“If I can bring in people from the right or people from the middle, it would add legitimacy to anything that comes out of this group,” Palmer said, “because, you know, it’s going to be bashed as ‘Oh, it’s just another leftist activist group, and shocker, they’re complaining about stuff we’re doing.’ But if somebody goes to the meeting and says, ‘I’m a Republican voter, I went to that meeting, and here’s a new idea or a new understanding that I have on this agenda item,’ that’s powerful.”
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
A man who stabbed his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son to death with kitchen knives in a Bedford apartment in 2013 is to be executed by the state on March 11, a state district judge in Tarrant County ordered on Monday.
A jury found Cedric Ricks guilty of capital murder and in May 2014 returned a death punishment verdict.
Ricks repeatedly stabbed Roxann Sanchez, with whom he was arguing, and Anthony Figueroa.
Ricks has exhausted his available legal remedies in state and federal courts, and there are no stays in effect in the case. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office sought an order setting the execution date and a death warrant from Judge Ryan Hill, who currently presides in the 371st District Court.
The state will use an injection of pentobarbital to execute Ricks in the death chamber at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Huntsville Unit. He is 51.
Two other children were in the apartment when the killings occurred on May 1, 2013. An 8-month-old boy, Isaiah, was not injured. He is Ricks and Sanchez’s son.
Also there was the 30-year-old woman’s eldest son, 12-year-old Marcus Figueroa. The boy was himself stabbed and watched his mother and brother die.
From left, Marcus Figueroa, Anthony Figueroa and Roxann Sanchez were stabbed by Sanchez’s boyfriend Cedric Ricks on May 1, 2013. Family
“He held my head down with one hand and stabbed me with the other hand,” Marcus Figueroa testified at Ricks’ trial. “He stabbed me a bunch of times. He didn’t say anything. After he stabbed me, he pushed me to the ground.”
Marcus Figueroa made a gurgling noise, a sound that had come from Anthony, to try to suggest to Ricks that he was dead and stop the stabbing. Marcus mimicked the last breaths of his younger brother.
Ricks testified in the trial’s punishment phase. He told the jury that he wanted to die.
Ricks avoided the specifics of the homicides.
“It’s irrelevant what happened that night,” Ricks testified. “The jury made a decision to convict me on the facts that were presented. Maybe if I had testified [in the guilt-innocence phase] it would have been different.”
The last defendant in a capital murder case in Tarrant County who the Texas Department of Criminal Justice executed was Steven Nelson, who was put to death in February. Nelson beat Arlington pastor Clinton Dobson and suffocated him with a plastic bag.
Defense attorneys Bill Ray and Steve Gordon were appointed to represent Nelson and Ricks. Bob Gill represented the state in the prosecution of both defendants. Robert Huseman joined Gill in the Ricks case.
Ricks has a brain that predisposes him to violent behavior, according to a neuroscience researcher called by the defense as a witness.
Jeffrey Lewine concluded from reviewing images of Ricks’ brain that one area, the putamen, is larger than that area in the brains of control subjects. Larger putamens are associated with increased aggression, Lewine testified.
The defendant’s mother recounted in testimony her son’s misbehavior in early life.
“We tried everything we could to help him,” Helen Ricks testified. “We tried whipping him, we went to counselors, we did what we could. We never thought we would be in a position like this, where he would be tried for [capital] murder.”
Emerson Clarridge covers crime and other breaking news for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He works days and reports on law enforcement affairs in Tarrant County. He previously was a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald and the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez hasn’t been seen since late 2022 and is presumed dead, even though his body has never been found. A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Rodriguez-Singh with capital murder of a person under 10 years of age in October 2023.
Rodriguez-Singh, 40, is being held in the Tarrant County Jail on a $10 million bond, according to court records. She was arrested in India and extradited to the United States in August.
At Thursday’s hearing, prosecutor Ashlea Deener received permission from Judge Julie Lugo to photograph the defendant’s tattoos and obtain a swab for DNA testing. The state intends to display the tattoos to the jury during the trial. Rodriguez-Singh was in the courtroom for less than five minutes.
The search for Noel began more than two years ago after a concerned relative from out of town alerted Texas Child Protective Services that the child hadn’t been seen since the previous fall. On March 20, 2023, Everman police showed up at the family’s home on Wisteria Drive for a welfare check.
Rodriguez-Singh told them the boy was with his biological father in Mexico. Investigators spoke with Noel’s father, who told them that wasn’t the case. Federal authorities confirmed there was no record of Noel crossing the border into Mexico.
Police tried to get in touch with Rodriguez-Singh again, but were unsuccessful. An Amber Alert was issued for Noel the morning of March 25, 2023. That night police learned that Rodriguez-Singh, along with her husband and six of her other children, had left the United States for India three days before.
After a two-year international investigation, Rodriguez-Singh was apprehended by FBI agents in India. In September, she was indicted on charges of abandoning a child without intent to return, leaving a child without proper care and two counts of injury to a child, according to court documents.
Authorities haven’t publicly revealed the whereabouts of her husband, Arshdeep Singh, who was charged in U.S. district court with flight to avoid prosecution. It’s also not clear whether Rodriguez-Singh’s other children have been brought back to the U.S.
What happened to Noel is the question that persists. Rodriguez-Singh’s next court date is set for Jan. 15. Attorneys Bob Gill and Eric Nickols have been appointed to represent her.
Two people died in a plane crash in the 12700 block of N. Saginaw Boulevard in Tarrant County near Hicks Airfield on Sunday afternoon, the Fort Worth Fire Department said.
Just after 1:30 p.m., multiple calls reported a plane crash on N. Saginaw Blvd., Fort Worth FD said, adding that crews arrived on the scene within 5 minutes. The area is between Fort Worth Alliance Airport and Fort Worth Meacham Airport, west of DFW International Airport.
Fort Worth FD said the plane hit 18-wheelers and trailers, igniting a heavy fire. Crews fought the fire and began searching the area for any victims. Within 35 minutes, the fire was brought under control.
Witnesses describe fiery plane crash near Fort Worth
Gregory Delano, who was at a nearby business, said he ran to the crash.
“Ran around the corner and just seen a giant ball of fire and smoke… Walked around the fire, not getting too close. Trying to see if there was an access point, maybe a cockpit that I could see or anything that would lead me to anybody that was inside of it, but it was completely engulfed,” said Delano.
Two victims were pronounced dead on the scene. The victims have not been identified.
“We ran out here and there was smoke, it was black, but what was bad was the fire. It was so, I mean, you can just feel how intense it was. It was so bad, and people were like, stopping their cars running down there, then … we hear total ‘booms,’” said Theresa Brown, neighbor.
At least 10 tractor-trailers were damaged from the crash, which also sparked grass fires, Fort Worth FD said.
“You just knew nobody survived that… I don’t know what else to say. It’s just heart-wrenching. You don’t wish that on anybody,” said Brown.
North Texas plane crash under investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) identified the plane as a Beechcraft King Air C90 that crashed in Fort Worth on Sunday afternoon and confirmed it is investigating the crash. The FAA is leading the investigation.
Fort Worth FD said the plane took off from Alliance Airport in Fort Worth. It is not known where the plane was headed.
Emergency responders from multiple agencies responded to the crash, including crews from Tarrant County, Haslet, Lake Worth, Newark, Saginaw, Eagle Mountain, and Fort Worth. After the fire was brought under control, Fort Worth FD transferred command of the incident to Tarrant County Fire.
This is a developing story. We will bring you updates as soon as they become available.
A small plane crashed in northwest Tarrant County near Saginaw on Sunday afternoon, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Two people were killed during the crash, a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesperson confirmed.
The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. near the 12000 block of North Saginaw Boulevard, according to a 911 call log. A large fire and heavy black smoke billowed out near an industrial park, not far from residential homes. The Fort Worth Fire Department confirmed that multiple semi-trucks were on fire.
The site is near Hicks Airfield but it wasn’t clear whether the plane had come from there or elsewhere. The crash site is about 10 miles north of Fort Worth Meacham International Airport.
Authorities have not provided any details about the crash. A Sheriff’s Office spokesman said around 2 p.m. that it would likely take time to gather information.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash, the Sheriff’s Office said.
When the Star-Telegram contacted the FAA on Sunday afternoon, an automated response said the agency was not responding to “routine media inquiries” due to the government shutdown.
Multiple agencies responded after plane crashed near Hicks Airfield on Sunday afternoon, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. Shambhavi Rimal srimal@star-telegram.com
Neighbors react to fiery crash
Theresa Bown, 59, lives at a ranch home across the highway from the business parks where the crash happened. She told the Star-Telegram she and her husband heard a boom, went outside and saw “black massive smoke.”
“You’re always wondering if somebody’s going to come up in your yard; you don’t think planes are gonna drop from the sky – but now, I’m going to think about that,” Brown said.
A neighbors were trying to look at the crash site through binoculars. One of them was Tammy Shirley.
Shirley said she received a text about a plane hitting the business park. She was about 15 minutes away and had to rush to the scene.
“I can’t get back there, but from the video that I’ve seen, it looks like we just got a bunch of smoke,” Shirley said.
Pointing towards the business behind Five Points Business Park, Shirley said the crash has impacted the 287 business park, “on the other side of the fence,” where many semi trucks were parked.
This story was originally published October 12, 2025 at 4:42 PM.
Shambhavi covers crime, law enforcement and other breaking news in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. She graduated from the University of North Texas and previously covered a variety of general assignment topics in West Texas. She grew up in Nepal.
Elizabeth Gutierrez worked extra jobs and overtime for 15 years to get her red brick one-story home paid down in half the time. She is semi-retired from her clerical job, but never lost the habitual organization that made her so valuable throughout her career.
Gutierrez diligently tends to bills and opens every letter she receives in the mail — much of which someone else would throw in the bin without a second thought.
On April 1, Gutierrez was stunned to learn she would have her homestead exemption revoked if she didn’t protest by the end of the month. According to the letter, she had been renting out her River Oaks home and would need to pay $2,600 in back taxes for the past three years.
But Gutierrez was not renting out her home. She was one of 18,000 Tarrant County homeowners the appraisal district’s new auditing system erroneously flagged as having an invalid homestead exemption.
The house she lives in is warm and tidy, with pillows overflowing on the couches in her small living room. She’s lived there since 2000 and has never rented it out to anyone, though she considered it when her mother was nearing the end of her life. In 2017, she posted the house on Zillow thinking it best to move in with her mother so she could tend to her.
She ultimately decided against that plan and tried to remove the listing, but Gutierrez could only deactivate it.
Several years later, when she applied for her homestead exemption and subsequently her over-65 exemption, the deactivated listing was never a point of contention. But with the appraisal district’s new systemdesigned to catch ineligible exemptions, that changed.
Chicago-based TrueRoll developed a system that scrapes thousands of datasets to ensure each homestead exemption is aptly granted. Homestead exemptions remove a portion of the taxable value of a home and result in tax breaks for people who live in their homes. Other exemptions are available for disabled veterans, seniors or first responders’ widows.
In the first year of use, the system flagged 27,000 of 424,000 homesteads, according to TAD Chief Appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt. Only a third of those flagged exemptions were accurate.
Gutierrez was one of the 18,000 homeowners who received a letter wrongly stating she was ineligible for an exemption and that she would need to reapply.
Despite protesting the revocation with proof that she’d lived in her house throughout the three years TAD said she hadn’t, the bill for back taxes still came 10 days later.
The money was due on May 31, and with only a small pension as income, the amount was enough to take her breath away.
As tears began to collect in her eyes, she asked God for wisdom and guidance. It’s the same prayer she’s recited every day for most of her life.
“I’m a woman of faith, and so I just said, ‘Lord, you’re going to have to help me with this, because I don’t know what to do,’” Gutierrez said. “He reminded me that I had a friend, Chandler Crouch and (his assistant) Jennifer, that would help me through this.”
Crouch, a Fort Worth tax consultant, helps hundreds of Tarrant County residents with protesting their appraisals at no cost and is a fixture at TAD meetings. He explained that once the appraisal district believes a tax exemption had been improperly granted, the burden of proof lies on the taxpayer.
Armed with letters from Gutierrez’s electric, gas and water providers, Crouch and his assistant were able to convince the appraisal district that it was mistaken. They were told nothing could be done to halt the bills, and Gutierrez would need to pay them while the exemptions were being reinstated.
By dipping into her untouched savings account, Gutierrez got the bill paid to avoid the amount increasing with fees and penalties. She didn’t see that money again until July and was wrought with stress until the refund came.
Crouch estimated that he had 10 clients who also had their exemptions revoked, though some were more “entertaining” than others.
“I think the cases that are more entertaining are the ones where the appraisal district sends out a notice to inform the homeowner that they are, in fact, dead, and the living homeowner has to then inform the appraisal district that they are not, in fact, the dead,” Crouch said. “They are living in and still there. Those are more entertaining, because the absurdity is off the charts.”
Crouch said it’s never right to take exemptions away incorrectly.
“With that said, we understand there are going to be some errors, inevitably,” Crouch said. “It’s unavoidable, because we don’t live in a perfect world. However, the appraisal district needs to do everything they can to make sure that they are not taking away people’s exemptions unless it’s quite certain that it’s being incorrectly applied.”
Fortunately, Crouch said, the leaders of the Tarrant Appraisal District are reasonable and compassionate.
Bobbitt said TAD is still learning how much it can trust the flags from TrueRoll. He said the appraisal district reviews each of the flags, but if it can’t determine the accuracy, it asks the homeowner to renew their exemption application.
“Sometimes it’s informational, we’ll request information, and sometimes, if we have enough information, then we’ll just go and send them a letter saying we’re denying their exemption,” Bobbitt said. “And then they have 30 days from that point to basically get in touch with us and file a protest.”
Bobbitt said though they may have put too much trust in the system at first, the appraisal district has made improvements and will continue to refine the process to minimize errors moving forward.
Rachel Royster is a news and government reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, specifically focused on Tarrant County. She joined the newsroom after interning at the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Capital Community News in DC. A Houston native and Baylor grad, Rachel enjoys traveling, reading and being outside. She welcomes any and all news tips to her email.
NORTH TEXAS — The founder of a North Texas adoption agency has been arrested on allegations of paying pregnant female inmates in the Tarrant County Jail to put their unborn babies up for adoption.
The head of Adoptions International Inc. posted a $50,000 bond after being booked into a Central Texas jail last week.
Jody Hall is an attorney and founder of an adoption agency promoted as a licensed nonprofit.
Back in May, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office says it began looking into what it calls unethical adoption practices involving Hall.
Jody Hall
Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office
“During this investigation, information was discovered that Jody Hall was paying money to multiple, pregnant Tarrant County inmates for the purpose of placing their unborn children up for adoption with Hall’s agency,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Two months later, sheriff’s detectives served arrest warrants on Hall at her home in Kyle, Texas.
In 2019, the U.S. State Department canceled Adoptions International’s accreditation, which prevents the agency from engaging in adoptions outside the U.S. for failing to maintain standards.
The crime of selling or purchasing a child is a felony in Texas.
It’s unclear at this point whether any inmates in the Tarrant County jail actually received any money or put their babies up for adoption.
CBS News Texas has not been able to reach Hall for a comment.
Grace, 16, center, a participant in the Youth Advocate Programs, and VJ Smith, left, an advocate with the program, listen to criminal defense attorney MarQuetta A. Clayton during a meeting in April. The program works with children in the juvenile justice system as an alternative to detention.
Bob Booth
Special to the Star-Telegram
Grace, 15, remembers when a judge called her a junkie.
Her lawyer and probation officer told her to keep quiet in the courtroom at the Scott D. Moore Juvenile Justice Center last July, but she couldn’t.
“I didn’t have a reason to do the drugs, but it was all I knew,” Grace told the judge.
That month, she had been charged with a misdemeanor for evading police. She was later tested for drugs and had narcotic painkillers and alcohol in her system. The path that led her to that point began long before her arrest.
She said she was raped when she was 13. Later that year, she overdosed and was sent to a mental hospital. While there, she spent more time working to get out then to get better, she said. She adopted the coping mechanisms of the other patients, meaning she smoked and abused alcohol. She had nothing to look forward to in life and lost herself, she said.
In her mind, she wasn’t a junkie. She didn’t love using drugs — she used them to suppress her pain.
“We don’t realize we have potential because of how bad we’ve been hurt,” Grace said. “We don’t believe in ourselves, and we don’t believe we’re capable of more because of how the world has treated us.”
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is only identifying Grace and other young people quoted in this story by their first names because of their age. Grace is one of hundreds of juveniles with traumatic experiences in Tarrant County who come in contact with juvenile justice services every year. Some are referred to the Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. of Tarrant County, which provides alternatives to detention and state incarceration by providing counseling, mentors and community service, helping to reduce the number of repeat offenders.
Alternative to detention or jail
Youth Advocate Programs is a national nonprofit located in 35 states and Washington, D.C., providing trauma-informed services that reduce the nation’s over-reliance on youth incarceration, residential care, and group home foster placements. The program offers juvenile justice services, child welfare services, reunification programs, summer school, after-school programs, behavioral health services, and Santa Fe Youth Services, which address substance abuse and anger management.
Tarrant County’s program focuses on juvenile justice and has had a contract with Tarrant County Juvenile Services since 1992. It receives referrals from District Court judges, who handle child welfare and juvenile delinquency cases, or from probation officers. Participants spend two to four months and seven hours minimum a week in the program gaining skills and connections, and once they complete the program they finish the remaining time of their probation.
The program serves juveniles from low-level nonviolent offenders, such as those charged with burglary, to higher-level offenders, such as those charged with aggravated assault. The program is an alternative to incarceration and the youth detention facility, keeping young people safely in their communities.
The Tarrant County program had over 270 referrals last year and averages 200 referrals a year.
Alex Alvear began working with the Youth Advocate Programs in 2016 and worked his way up to the executive director position in December 2023. His wife said he is an example of what the program stands for. He grew up in a single family home with little support, which delayed his graduation from high school. He graduated at 20 years old after a teacher, who never gave up on him, encouraged him along the way.
When finishing his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at UT Arlington, a professor suggested he apply to the Youth Advocate Programs, where he has been in ever since.
“I wanted to be that person for somebody else,” Alvear said. “Another youth that’s probably going through the same thing as me or just needs that little bit of support or encouragement, or showing that somebody cared.”
The program focuses on the three E’s: economics, education and emotional. The program provides job readiness skills, like learning how to interview and dress, and offers a service that gives participants paid employment training with community partners. Participants can ask for tutors, transportation assistance to school, and wellness checks on their families.
The program offers substance abuse help, volunteer opportunities, and chances to have fun with activities like going to a Dallas Mavericks or Texas Rangers game.
Research by John Jay College of Criminal Justice , located in New York City, found 86 percent of the program’s youth justice participants remain arrest-free, and six to 12 months after completing the program nearly 90 percent of youth served still lived in their communities with less than 5 percent of participants in detention and jail.
Jeremy, 16, is in his second stint in the Youth Advocate Programs. He first came because of an aggravated assault charge, and he is back after stealing a car with friends. He was put on probation and says this time around he wants to stay focused.
Youth Advocate Programs participant Jeremy, 16, right, and his advocate, VJ Smith, left, listen to criminal defense attorney MarQuetta A. Clayton during a meeting in April. The program provides counseling, mentorship and training as an alternative to detention to children in the juvenile justice system. Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth
Growing up, Jeremy saw the men in his family belong to gangs. His father went to prison, and his mother went to jail. When he was 6, Jeremy and some of his brothers and sisters were separated, and he went to live with his stepfather’s mother in Butler Place, a public housing complex. He and the four younger siblings who went with him slept on the floor with a thin blanket, were treated unfairly and received the bare minimum in care, love and support, he said.
He would sit alone outside on the stairs and stare into the distance to gather himself. Jeremy said he became quiet and heartless.
After a year, his grandmother picked him and his brother up, and they lived on the east side of Fort Worth. They would walk to the south side and steal from houses with his older cousins when he was just 8 years old. It continued as he got older, when he stole electronics and whatever he wanted from stores.
Today, he is thankful to be in the program, to have an advocate, and be around other young people going through the same challenges as him. He has clear goals, such as getting a job, staying in school, and taking care of his family. Even when he has felt life is meaningless, the program has shaped him to want the best for himself.
“I want to be something instead of what the world sees me as,” Jeremy said.
Childhood trauma
Stephen Phillippi is chair of Behavioral & Community Health Sciences at the LSU School of Public Health. He says children of color are disproportionately in contact with the juvenile justice system in comparison to their white counterparts. Even while the number of referrals or arrests may decrease, children of color are still affected at higher rates in many systems, from the child welfare system, to school discipline, or contact with law enforcement.
The Tarrant County Disproportionate Minority Contact Report from 2015-2019 notes that the previous two reports, for 2009-2013 and 2011-2015, showed African American and Hispanic youth were consistently over-represented in the number of overall referrals or those processed within the juvenile justice system through arrests, detention, and petitions, a court document stating a minor committed a unlawful act, in the Tarrant County Juvenile Services.
Between 2015-19 African American and Hispanic youth were referred or petitioned at a significantly higher rate than white youth in the Tarrant County Juvenile Services . In all years reflected in the report, except for 2017, African American and Hispanic youth were arrested at a significantly higher rate than white youth. In all five years, African American juveniles were detained at a significantly higher rate than white youth. Hispanic youth were detained at a significantly higher rate than white youth in 2015 and 2016 but showed no difference in 2017-2019.
African Americans in 2016-2019 were significantly less likely to be diverted, or removed from the juvenile justice processing, than Caucasian youth, according to the report.
Phillippi said children in the juvenile justice system have generally experienced more trauma than the average child. They’ve been traumatized by physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or witnessed violence in their home or neighborhood.
Phillippi says trauma changes the way we react to the world around us and how our brain responds. People become hyper vigilant, reactive, or become indifferent to the consequences of their actions. For children who have experienced trauma, the world becomes unsafe, as everything that is happening to them is outside their control, he said. Children abuse controlled substances to check out of the world, and thoughts of suicide may increase, he said.
“They’re trying to cope, and they don’t have a lot of life experience to try and cope and figure it out,” Phillippi said. “Particularly if they don’t have role models that show them how to cope through these horrible devastating events in their life.”
Mentors provide support
Grace and Jeremy sit quietly in a room as they listen to a Youth Advocate Programs instructor on a Wednesday.
On the whiteboard, the words “Emotional Intelligence” are spelled out in red permanent marker. Underneath, it says, “Who do you want to be rich for?” The room has nine teenagers in it from a variety of neighborhoods in Fort Worth who are seeking a second, third, or fourth chance to fulfill their probation requirements.
Jeremy, dressed in a white shirt, dark blue sweatpants, and white Nike Air Force 1 shoes, raises his hand and says he wants to be rich for his family. Grace, who is wearing a sky blue Champion sweatshirt and jeans, says she would give the money to her mother and donate the rest.
The instructor, V.J. Smith, keeps it simple. “Everyone wants to be rich but rich doesn’t always mean money,” Smith said
Smith has been an advocate in the program for the last five months and works with Jeremy.
Advocates serve as mentors and provide a support network for participants in the program. They connect participants with job opportunities, tutors, and provide emotional support.
Smith has taken Jeremy to meet business professionals, to the library and to sporting events. He has worked with children and families for over 20 years as the former national director of MAD DADS (Men Against Destruction, Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder), a nonprofit that connects communities with resources.
Ask a young person in the program why they are angry, upset, and defiant toward the world and they will be able to tell you a series of events that led them to that place, Smith said. But they have not been educated on dealing with trauma or grief, so it’s up to the advocates and others in their lives to teach them.
“You’re going to be a part of this program, and they’re going to be some men and women who care enough about you, to want to see you do better, they want to see you change, to want to see your life transform, to want to see you in a better place,” Smith said. “And if you allow them, not only will your life be different, but your goals will be different, your ambition will be different.”
Tyisha Heath has been an advocate for 14 years and previously volunteered to help children at the Boys and Girls Club.
Youth Advocate Programs participant Grace, 16, shows some phone photos to her advocate, Tyisha Heath, during a meeting in April. Advocates serve as mentors and provide support to children in the program. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram
Heath is Grace’s advocate and tells her and other participants she is available 24/7 for them. She helps them with coping skills and with how to regulate their emotions in different situations. She also teaches classes for the program that focus on stress, anger management and hygiene.
The classes Heath and Smith teach help participants because they are among their peers with similar backgrounds in an environment where they are comfortable to express themselves without judgment.
Heath says to “dispose” of children by putting them in detention centers or jails for their mistakes is not the way to help them. They need a loving, caring, and nurturing community to guide them, she said.
“Some of these kids have been robbed of their childhood,” Heath said. “They haven’t really been able to experience a healthy childhood. They’ve been forced to grow up quick, and they’re doing things and operating out of trauma.”
Giving traumatized children a voice
Alvear, the program director, says he has been told by supporters that his program is Tarrant County’s best kept secret, and he envisions the program being more visible. He wants to connect participants with more community worksites to provide them with employment opportunities and expose them more to the community by introducing them to city council members or going to local college events.
He wants to make sure participants are positive and contributing members of their communities and society.
“I want to give my kids a voice,” Alvear said. “I feel it is important that we are able to hear from the youth, so every opportunity that I get for my youth to speak or be a part of something, I’m gonna expose them to that.”
Grace, while still in the program, was arrested again in March for violating her probation and is working to get adjusted again to life and school.
Advocate VJ Smith, (clockwise from left) participant Jeremy, 16, advocate Tyisha Heath, participant Grace, 16, and criminal defense attorney MarQuetta A. Clayton visit during a Youth Advocate Programs meeting in Fort Worth Texas, Wednesday Apr 03, 2024. The program has a staff of 22 that currently serve more than 65 participants. (Special to the Star-Telegram Bob Booth) Bob Booth Bob Booth
She hopes to return to the program. Grace said she didn’t care about school, or the people who loved her. She was living to die, she said. The Youth Advocate Programs allowed her to be herself, express her emotions, and speak about her pain without judgment and punishment.
“It’s just everything is all bottled up in my mind so you tend to explode and go off on people and don’t have a voice,” Grace said. “So being here has given me a voice, and it’s helped me learn boundaries. I never knew about boundaries, and I never had any guidance.”
After spending a year searching for a job, Jeremy was able to land a position at his apartment complex working with the maintenance crew. He attends program events and classes to improve himself because he doesn’t want to feel the judgment of delinquency in people’s eyes anymore.
“I’m trying to do something good. I’m just trying.” Jeremy said. “So give us a chance. We’re trying, we are doing our best.”
Even as these children in the juvenile justice system grow and make progress they make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on them, Phillippi says.
Phillippi emphasizes that the community should care about youth in the juvenile justice system because they need mentors and people who believe in them. We must look deeper and see the traumatic events they have been victims of, he said. Finally, it must be understood that they are teenagers who need development and will come back to their homes, schools, and communities, which must be ready to support them.
“These kids have been victims of lots of stuff in life, to get them to this place where they are,” Phillippi said. “It doesn’t give them an excuse to do their delinquent behavior but it certainly says somewhere along the way, somebody missed the opportunity to intervene and lessen the trauma and toxic stress in this kid’s life.”
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Kamal Morgan covers racial equity issues for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He came to Texas from the Pensacola News Journal in Florida. Send tips to his email or Twitter.
Education: Political Science degree from UTA, JD from Wesleyan School of Law (now A&M School of Law)
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought, with years): Precinct chair (Giardino was Republican Party Precinct Chair and Young Republicans Vice President in the ‘90s and 2000s.)
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism
In the 90’s/early 00’s I was a Republican Party Precinct Chair and Young Republicans Vice President. Since then I have worked on numerous campaigns for conservative candidates over the years.
Other than politics, I have taught Texas and Federal Government as a second job at Tarrant County College since 2010. During that time I wrote a joint Texas Government textbook and then collaborated with other professors on a published textbook. I wrote a book for the 100th anniversary of the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in 2019 at the request of then CDA Sharen Wilson. I have donated time on several Habitat for Humanity builds, various school and coat supply drives, and I have been a judge at the Arlington 4th of July Parade since the 90’s, I have been head judge for several years now as well.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: Ticketed for a class C MIP back in 2001, later dismissed.
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
I have put in the bulk of the money, then members of my family.
Why are you seeking this office?
I do not agree with the behavior, policies, and practices of this court and judge. I think voters want a change and a judge that is willing to hold repeat offenders accountable for their actions, and a place where victims of crime may be heard.
What are the biggest challenges facing the 396th District Court?
Changing the culture. I will end the practice of using open pleas to circumvent trials or put insert my will into the plea negotiations.
If elected, what would your top 3 priorities be?
Changing the culture in this court, reforming bail policy, and trying more cases.
How will you measure your success as the judge for the 396th District Court?
I will quietly run a fair and open courtroom where both parties can be heard and shortcuts are not taken. I don’t know of a way to quantify that other than the impact on the community in ensuring a fair venue for people to defend themselves and for victims to seek justice.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent?
I bring integrity and conservative values. My opponent uses his authority to attack others and takes too active a role in plea negotiations. He does not share the values of the party he represents, including accountability. There must be consequences for repeat criminal behavior and victims of crime have a right to be heard as well.
How would you define the role of the judge in the 396th District Court?
To quietly administer the law and ensure no one uses shortcuts to circumvent the will of the voters and citizens who own the court.
What else should voters know about you?
I am a conservative and passionate about those values. There must be accountability and consequences for repeat behavior, and victims of crime must also be allowed their rights in their courtrooms. I also strongly believe that in order to enforce the law, officers and courts must follow the law. Finally, none of this is about my personality overwhelming the process as ego has no place on the bench.
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought, with years)
Presiding Judge, 396th District Court, January 1, 2000 – present
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism
Longtime Member St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Member of Tarrant County Bar Foundation. Member State Bar of Texas Bar Foundation
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain:
Yes. As a district judge I have been sued in my official capacity. All of the suits were dismissed.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Jill Davis. Mark Daniel. Jerry Wood
Why are you seeking this office?
I have served with distinction as the presiding judge of this court for 25 years. I have consistently been rated the highest criminal district judge by the Tarrant County Bar Association. I am endorsed by the police associations. My court has always maintained one of the courts with the least number of pending cases.
What are the biggest challenges facing the 396th District Court?
As the county’s population continues to increase it will cause additional criminal cases to be filed. We need to use our resources in a manner that ensures cases are tried swiftly but to also ensure justice for all the parties.
If elected, what would your top 3 priorities be?
Continue to work daily and efficiently. Work in such a manner that the State and the defense receive equal and fair treatment. Make wise use of all resources to maintain a small backlog.
How will you measure your success as the judge for the 396th District Court?
In 24 years as a judge I have disposed of over 47,000 felony criminal cases. I have presided over 300 felony trials. I want to continue this record of service to the residents of Tarrant County.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent?
I have 42 years as a lawyer. I’ve been Board Certified in Criminal Law for 37 years. My opponent has been licensed as an attorney since 2010. He has not tried a case since 2016. In the last two years as a criminal magistrate he took 748 vacation hours which caused the county to spend $169,000 for part time magistrates to do his job. He has never tried a serious felony case. He lacks the experience and the work ethic to do this job.
How would you define the role of the judge in the 396th District Court?
A judge in a felony court needs to know the law, apply that law in an impartial manner, and to be available to the lawyers and law enforcement.
What else should voters know about you?
I’m an honest, hard working person. I’ve been married to my wife for 38 years. We have two sons and three beautiful grandchildren. It has been my honor and a privilege to have served the citizens of Tarrant County for the past 25 years. It is my request that they vote for me to allow me to continue doing so.
James Hartley is a breaking news reporter with awards including features, breaking news and deadline writing. A North Texas native, he joined the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2019. He has a passion for true stories, understated movies, good tea and scotch that’s out of his budget.
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