April 22, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Virginia voters back mid-decade redistricting effort pushed by Democrats

Virginia voters approved a mid-decade redistricting plan Tuesday that could boost Democrats’ chances of winning four additional U.S. House seats in November’s midterm elections that will decide control of the closely divided Congress. The constitutional amendment narrowly backed by voters bypasses a bipartisan redistricting commission to allow the use of new districts drawn by Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly. But the public vote may not be the final word. The state Supreme Court is considering whether the plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless. The Virginia redistricting referendum marked a setback for President Donald Trump, who kicked off a national redistricting battle last year by urging Republican officials in Texas to redraw districts.

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The goal was to help Republicans win more seats in the November elections and hold on to a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power during midterm elections. But the Virginia redistricting referendum could help nullify Republican gains elsewhere. “Virginia just changed the trajectory of the 2026 midterms,” Democratic state House Speaker Don Scott said in a celebratory statement. “At a moment when Trump and his allies are trying to lock in power before voters have a say, Virginians stepped up and leveled the playing field for the entire country.” Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who campaigned for the new map, quickly shifted her attention to the November election. “I understand the urgency of winning congressional seats as a check on this President, and I look forward to campaigning with candidates across the Commonwealth working to earn Virginians’ trust,” she said in a statement.

Texas jobs market seen slowing down in 2026

The Texas economy is now expected to add jobs at a rate of 1.4% in 2026, according to a model-based forecast from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — a significant downshift from the bank’s forecast just a few weeks ago. The bank’s previous 2026 employment forecast, released in early April, had projected a growth rate of 1.9%, implying an addition of nearly 280,000 jobs and a significant upswing from earlier estimates for the year. The latest forecast, released on Friday, implies an addition of around 206,000 jobs. “Texas employment growth slowed sharply in February,” Luis Torres, a Dallas Fed senior economist, said in a statement, “and year-to-date growth is now more aligned with earlier forecasts for 2026.”

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Those figures, though, are the midpoints on a wider statistical range the bank’s modeling system projected. Even a few weeks ago — after the unexpectedly rosy 1.9% projection — researchers were cautioning that they expected the year-end number to land closer to the low point of the range because of several more lasting economic challenges, especially labor market constraints stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Torres reiterated that sentiment with the release of the new projection. “Given several headwinds, our expectations are for this year’s growth to come in at the lower end of the forecast’s confidence band, at around 1.0 percent,” he said in the release. “Declining immigration is constraining labor supply, and higher productivity is suppressing labor demand.” State business activity, meanwhile, has recently moderated, the bank’s monthly surveys of executives around the state have shown, and labor demand has been low. In February, the information, manufacturing and professional and business services sectors recorded jobs gains, the Dallas Fed’s report noted, while trade and transportation, other services and oil and gas all notched employment losses. Construction and education and health services also recorded job losses — representing a reversal from those sectors’ recent solid gains.

State legislators tour Camp Mystic to learn more about July 4 flood

State legislators who serve on special committees investigating the July 4 flash flood that devastated the Texas Hill Country toured Camp Mystic on Monday to get a better understanding of where and how 25 children and two counselors were swept to their deaths during the disaster. It marked the first time the Texas Senate and House investigating committees visited the privately operated Christian camp for girls, located on the south fork of the Guadalupe River near the village of Hunt, about 18 miles southwest of Kerrville. The committees’ meeting agenda said media was not allowed to accompany the legislators on the tour due to a restraining order restricting access to the site.

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The order stems from a lawsuit filed by one flooding victim’s parents against Camp Mystic, some members of the Eastland family who own and operate the camp and other parties. The tour followed a withering court hearing last week that explored Camp Mystic directors' delay in responding to alerts and warnings about the approaching flash flood and their flawed evacuation effort. The Senate committee is examining the circumstances surrounding the July 4 flash flood in the Texas Hill Country, including actions that were taken at youth summer camps. The House committee is looking into factors contributing to the devastation at Camp Mystic and will identify steps to strengthen the state’s preparedness and response to flooding and other natural disasters. The committees are expected to issue a report on their findings this summer. The Texas Department of State Health Services also is investigating Camp Mystic, examining whether directors broke any laws in their response to the July 4 flood. The agency also is exploring rules governing youth camps. The agency has received more than 600 complaints and requests to not renew Camp Mystic’s state license this year, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said.

State Stories

McAllen mourns banking pioneer Robert C. ‘Bobby’ Norman

Valued McAllen Economic Board Of Directors member Robert C. “Bobby” Norman died unexpectedly on Tuesday, April 14. Norman is described by his colleagues as a pioneer who was committed to advancing economic opportunity in McAllen and the broader Rio Grande Valley region. He was a mentor, a friend, and a warm, but also a strategic, teaching leader. In addition to his service to the McAllen Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Norman dedicated 30 years of his life to developing banking and business in South Texas. The impact of his knowledgeable perspective will be a lasting fixture in his passing, as Rio Grande Valley leaders look back on his teachings.

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Norman’s community minded work reached many corners of the Valley, from Mission to Weslaco to McAllen. He served on the boards of the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce, Mission Boys & Girls Club, the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Development Board. In addition, he served as both a board member and the chairman of Mission Regional Medical Center and South Texas Higher Education Authority, Inc. A community staple, according to Suarez, Norman was the reason many bankers came to McAllen, highlighting the profound and lasting mark he left on the local finance world. “You could ask him anything and he really would give you a good opinion, good advice, and he was great at listening and trying to understand different points of view,” she recounted. Suarez believes Norman will go down in McAllen history as a community leader that led the Chamber of Commerce and MEDC through a transition that left them in full alignment with the city. As a result of this, a flurry of opportunities continue to rise. He’s recognized as a key player in the ongoing development of a $225 million Valeo manufacturing plant within the city.

Texas agriculture commissioner candidate calls for moratorium on data centers

Dozens of communities across the state have been pushing back against data centers, and farmers are weighing in. Concerns continue to grow over the amount of water these projects require. Spectrum News has reported on county judges pushing for moratoriums to limit the growth of data centers. Now, the Texas Farmers Union is also calling for a halt to data center growth. Texas farmers say they’ve been enduring many hardships, particularly over the past five years. Between higher production costs and low commodity prices, many have not been able to break even. With data centers popping up throughout the state, some are worried these projects could exacerbate the problems affecting the already strained industry. “I love the business,” said Clayton Tucker, a rancher in Lampasas. “I love being with the animals. I just don’t love the economic situation.”

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Seeing the challenges farmers have been facing led Tucker to run for agriculture commissioner. He’s the Democratic nominee on November’s ticket, and the data center boom in Texas is one of his top issues. “We are calling for a full moratorium on all data center construction in Texas,” Tucker said during a news conference while representing the Texas Farmers Union. He is particularly concerned about the amount of water data centers require, and with droughts already affecting Texas farmers, he fears these projects could strain the industry even more. “On day one, I will start issuing ag impact studies to slow them down, to gunk them up and to really put the brakes on them because we need to study what’s actually going on,” Tucker said. His opponent, Republican candidate Nate Sheets, points to other factors he says are affecting farmers more than data centers. “As it relates to agriculture in Texas, the real issue that I feel is the greater issue than just the encroachment of data centers, is the continued loss of agriculture in Texas due to the consolidation in agriculture,” Sheets said.

Copyright April 22, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved