Free Republic

Governor DeSantis removes Hillsboro Cty prosecutor (Soros minion) from elected office

North Dakota legislators have proposed a bill allowing public high schools to offer an elective Bible studies class as part of its social studies curriculum. "The intention of this bill is to provide an option to schools to teach a class on the bible from a historical perspective," State Rep. Aaron McWilliams, R-Hillsboro, a co-sponsor of the bill, told Fox News. "My position is that no religious text should be excluded from being taught as it relates to the historical or philosophical influences in our history or on our society today." But the Republican lawmakers have come under heavy criticism...

An Oregon high school student who was suspended over a shirt that touted President Trump’s proposed border wall has agreed to settle his lawsuit after the school agreed to pay $25,000 for his legal fees and have its principal write him an apology. Addison Barnes, who graduated this year from Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Ore., outside Portland, filed a lawsuit in federal court in May alleging that the school violated his First Amendment rights when it punished him for wearing the shirt to a politics class discussion about immigration. The shirt said “Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.,”...

An Ohio professor is reportedly under investigation for making a Facebook post calling for anti-gun activists to "storm the NRA headquarters" and "make sure there are no survivors." James Pearce, an adjunct professor at Southern State Community College in Hillsboro, wrote the post on June 13, the day after the terrorist mass shooting attack in Orlando.

A school district in Oregon is joining many others around the country in a controversial decision to refrain from using religious-themed decorations during the holidays, including images like Santa Claus. KATU reports Santa Claus decorations are no longer welcome in Hillsboro Schools, outside Portland. The district sent this memo to staff: "You may still decorate your door or office if you like, but we ask that you be respectful and sensitive to the diverse perspectives and beliefs of our community and refrain from using religious-themed decorations or images like Santa Claus."

When a transgender high school student in Missouri received backlash for her request to use the girls’ bathroom and locker room, she found one very important ally: the school board, which granted her permission to use the facilities. According to Kelli Hopkins of the Missouri school board’s association, 17-year-old Lila Perry has been granted her request because of recent guidance issued by the US Department of Education. While there is no “policy per se on transgender students use of bathrooms”, Hopkins said, there is a policy that says “districts cannot discriminate against students based on their gender”. “The Office of...

A judge has sentenced a former Oregon jail worker to four years in prison for having sex with an inmate in a supply closet. The liaisons happened 13 times last year, a Washington County prosecutor said Monday. When a sheriff's deputy in the maximum-security wing went to lunch, that left jail services technician Jill Curry alone in the control room so she could press a button to let the 25-year-old inmate out of his cell.

Drivers who get safely off Interstate 35E after arriving in Dallas from Austin or San Antonio have a certain look of relief – like they just outran a buffalo stampede. Only on I-35, the stampede is trucks. The white-knuckle experience helps make the case for some kind of reliever road, even a tolled one. Making that same case has been a harder sell for U.S. highways along the Gulf Coast and East Texas. Drivers there can judge their own level of congestion, and they have insisted that their mostly rural corridor doesn't warrant the major undertaking of a parallel turnpike....

BELTON - There appears to be no easy way to address the challenges that inflation has brought to the Texas Department of Transportation. “We’ve seen 60 percent inflation over the last five years for transportation projects,” said Chris Lippincott, a TxDOT spokesman. To look to the federal government for assistance would appear foolhardy at this point as the Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent by 2009. The fund was created in 1956 to ensure a dependable source of financing for U.S. interstates and highways. “The Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to go into the red very...

Not one of the 11 East Texans who approached the podium at Wednesday's hearing on Interstate 69 voiced support for the planned highway. "This is highway robbery, and we should not pursue this project," said David Simpson, a Longview resident and fifth-generation Texan. "This process has bypassed the Constitution. It has bypassed the U.S. Congress, and I'm opposed to it because of the unconstitutional way that it has been pushed through." The public hearing, held at Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center, was a chance for residents to comment and ask questions about Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor. The corridor would extend...

Could high-speed rail service with a stop in the Hillsboro area be a reality by 2020? That is the goal set by the Texas High-Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation (THSRTC) following the final planning and design charrette in Fort Worth. The charrette preceded the 10th annual Transportation Summit held in Irving Tuesday through Friday, August 7-10. THSRTC board members met in Houston in May at the Continental Airlines headquarters for the first of the charrettes. Attending were eight international suppliers of high-speed rail for nine different systems in France, Germany, Korea and Spain. In addition, 14 consulting firms of varying...

Four days ago Warblogging reported on the story of Maher (Mike) Hawash. Mr. Hawash's problems have now been the subject of an article in the New York Times. Mr. Hawash is a programmer, working at Intel, who was detained by the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force as a material witness. He has so far spent just about two weeks in jail without being charged with a crime and without being questioned or told why he is detained. He is being kept in solitary confinement. Mr. Hawash was detained by FBI agents wearing helments, body armor and carrying assault rifles...