Free Republic

Barry Johnson tells FOX 44 News that he is switching political parties as he runs for 19th District Court Judge. Currently, Republican Thomas West holds that position. West announced in October that he plans to run for re-election. Johnson was a Republican when he held the position of McLennan County District Attorney. During the 2022 Republican Primary, Johnson lost his re-election bid to Josh Tetens, who is the current district attorney. When FOX 44 News asked why he switched political parties, Johnson said there is no longer room in the Republican party for a moderate.

A federal judge lifted a stay Friday in the civil rights lawsuits filed by more than 100 bikers arrested after the 2015 Twin Peaks shootout in Waco and said the lawsuits can proceed. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright’s ruling during a 40-minute teleconference with attorneys in the cases does not include the two dozen bikers with pending criminal cases in McLennan County, only those with civil suits pending whose criminal cases have been dismissed or those who were never indicted. The lawsuits allege McLennan County, city of Waco and state officials violated the plaintiffs’ civil rights by wrongfully arresting the...

***Officers said there were multiple types of weapons used, including guns, chains, knives, bats and clubs.******“There were maybe 30 guns being fired in the parking lot, maybe 100 rounds,” said Michelle Logan, 37, who was at Twin Peaks at the time of the shooting and said she knows some of the victims. “They just opened fire.”*** UPDATE, 4:00 p.m.(CDT): At least nine people are confirmed dead in a shooting around noon Sunday at Twin Peaks restaurant, said Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton. All of the fatalities are members of biker gangs. No patrons, servers or less enforcement officials were...

As the state's population continues to grow in its urban centers, expansion plans for the highway system continue to be the focus for transportation improvements. The Trans Texas Corridor proposal is aimed to alleviate traffic congestion, improve air quality and provide safer traveling for drivers, among other goals. In 2002, Texas Governor Rick Perry released the plan to create the passageway, which spans northeast from Laredo to Oklahoma and is set to total 4,000 miles in the next 50 years. The $140 billion project calls for the incorporation of new toll roads, commuter railways, power lines and gas pipelines, while...

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...

Supporters say the Trans-Texas Corridor will relieve congestion on I-35 and spur new business. But the people who live along its path say the highway will devastate their communities. “I like the serenity and the peacefulness of it," says Chris Hammel. He bought his slice of heaven 15 years ago in the form of a rolling farm outside Holland. It's a place where man and nature co-exist beautifully. "Love to work with the cattle. We have a big lake. I love to fish… It's a lovely place to be." Holland is a town where "skyline" takes on a different meaning...

TOURS – Trans-Texas Corridor critics denounced the state's handling of the project on Tuesday and called on McLennan County residents to organize against the proposed transportation network. In a meeting at Tours Hall in eastern McLennan County, speakers urged the roughly 200 attendants to slow down or stop the Texas Department of Transportation's plan to build a network of tolled highways, railways and utility infrastructure from San Antonio to Dallas. “We have to raise the political cost, and how you raise political cost is you organize,” said Chris Hammel, chairman of the Bell County anti-corridor group Blacklands Coalition. The McLennan...

The Texas Department of Transportation's fight to guard the financial details of the Trans-Texas Corridor has sparked a rallying cry for corridor opponents and resulted in a court battle over open records. Corridor watchdogs argue that the state should make public its financial and development master plans with Cintra Zachry LP, the group chosen by the state to help plan and build the first section of a proposed transportation network that would criss-cross the state with roads, railways and utility infrastructure. “This is the largest land grab in Texas history, and to not let the people see the financial details...

The Texas Department of Transportation went on the offensive Friday to quash rumors that it was surveying land in Central Texas for the Trans-Texas Corridor or preparing to acquire property for the proposed tollway project. “We have taken this unusual means of releasing a special statement to assure the people of Bell and McLennan counties that this rumor is untrue,” the department said in a statement. Some local officials and corridor critics said they had encountered similar rumors, which they attributed to uneasy landowners who fear the state's plan to build a 1,200-foot-wide network of roads, railway and utility infrastructure...

Gov. Rick Perry, in satellite interviews with TV stations around the state Monday, said the $184 billion Trans Texas Corridor project is the best solution to the growing congestion on Interstate 35, especially in urban areas."It will take that massive amount of congestion out of city centers," Perry said.Perry's Trans Texas Corridor Plan calls for a 4,000-mile network of transportation corridors that would crisscross the state with separate highway lanes for passenger vehicles and trucks, passenger rail, freight rain, commuter rail and dedicated utility zones for water, natural gas and broadband communications. Click Here For Interactive Map Of Proposed Corridor...

McLennan County Commissioners and the Waco Chamber of Commerce have voiced their concern about the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor and Thursday, county residents got a chance to voice their opinions on the proposed superhighway. The superhighway and train corridor is expected to cost $184 million. A hearing was held in Bellmead where the big argument surrounding the proposed Corridor doesn't seemed to be if it's needed, but where to put it. The proposed superhighway would have six passenger lanes, four commercial lanes and high speed passenger rail lines. It's goal is to alleviate traffic on Interstate 35. But many in McLennan...

The Texas Department of Transportation held one of its 27 public meetings at NT's Gateway Center Wednesday, concerning the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor, a highway that will run from Oklahoma to Mexico. The highway is estimated to cover an area approximately 800 miles long and will include 77 counties. The Trans-Texas Corridor is a long-term project. Its estimated completion date will not be for another 30 to 60 years. The corridor will come with a price tag of somewhere between $145.2 billion and $183.2 billion. Paying for the highway was one of the major concerns addressed at the meeting. Obtaining funds...

Texas Department of Transportation officials sought to allay the fears of a skeptical McLennan County Commissioners Court on Tuesday regarding the Trans-Texas Corridor and the potential for a new tollway running through the county. Highway officials said they will continue to seek input from the public and local governments as the massive project's design takes shape. They also said they're committed to pushing forward on the corridor based on the need to alleviate traffic congestion on Interstate Highway 35. "The congestion, we think, on 35 is reaching critical mass," said Phillip Russell, director of the transportation department's turnpike division. "We...