Roughly $34.3 million in unfunded mandates will go unpaid by Hays County after commissioners March 12 passed a resolution pushing for state officials to foot the bill.  Hays County Commissioners, who approved the resolution by a 5-0 vote, argued Texas counties cannot responsibly plan annual budgets ...

Lingering questions on how Kinder Morgan’s proposed Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP) could affect local groundwater sources led Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) leaders to withhold judgment Thursday. While progress was made in gathering information on the project, some dis...

Over the past few months, Barton Publications staff has penned several articles relating to Kinder Morgan's proposed Permian Highway Pipeline, a 430-mile underground natural gas pipeline that's to go from far west Texas to near the Houston area. Below are links to all Barton Publication stories on t...

A high-ranking member of Hays CISD’s executive leadership team has resigned after an employee within the district filed a complaint against him in February. Jim Baker, who had served as Hays CISD’s chief human resource (HR) officer, resigned Tuesday, according to a district statement. Baker had been...

Accusations of “inappropriate behavior” involving a Head Start employee with a student is forcing authorities to investigate the matter, according to a letter sent to parents Sunday. Cynthia Vasquez, Uhland Elementary principal, said school officials received a report late Friday of possible miscond...

The fight over Kinder Morgan’s proposed 430-mile Permian Highway Pipeline has now reached Hays County’s courthouse. On Feb. 26, Hays County Commissioners approved by a unanimous 5-0 vote a resolution opposing the Permian Highway Pipeline, a $2 billion project that is expected to cut through Hays Cou...

A new bill in the Texas House could allow more than 600,000 Texas public university students to vote with their student identification cards, adding to the list of acceptable forms under Texas Law.  House Bill (HB) 1950, filed by Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood), would affect nearly 39,000 college st...

Roughly one wreck every 2.5 days since 2016 is the rate of vehicle incidents along U.S. Highway 290 in the Dripping Springs area, according to a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) report. The data, requested by the N ews-Dispatch , recorded vehicle wrecks from 2016 to the present on U.S. 290...

A new bill filed by State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) would bar new billboards on a number of scenic Hill Country roads. HB 1303, or the Hill Country Scenic Highway Bill, prohibits the placement of billboards along RM 1826, RM 150 and RM 967, located in the Northern and Western portion of the co...

Exacerbated sighs and furrowed brows were plentiful Feb. 7 as Wimberley city leaders sparred over reimbursement of a computer purchase made by Mayor Susan Jaggers. But what started as a discussion turned into an argumentative standoff between Jaggers, council members and city staff. At the center of...