Please join us for a fundraising reception honoring
Representative Donna Howard
hosted by Bettye Nowlin
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
3327 Far View Dr.
Austin, TX
5:30 - 7:30 pm
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TXDOT CANCELS PUBLIC MEETINGS ON PROPOSALS TO ALLEVIATE CONGESTION ON LOOP 360
On May 9, 2012 TxDOT issued a press release announcing its decision to halt the community dialogue about the "innovative intersection improvements" proposed along Loop 360. In response to the decision, Rep. Howard issued the following statement voicing concerns about abandoning the planning process for Loop 360 altogether.
"I am frustrated by the Texas Department of Transportation's decision to cancel the current planning effort along the State Loop 360 corridor," Howard wrote. "I fear this decision will result in a Do Nothing scenario along Loop 360 over the next 10-20 years. After the strong opposition to unfamiliar "innovative intersection improvements" voiced at the public meetings that TxDOT finally held, it feels as though TxDOT has decided to take the easy route by shelving the issue altogether. TxDOT has classified portions of SL 360 as the 71st and 72nd most congested roadway segments in the state. I believe state staff, appointed transportation officials and elected representatives must work closely with taxpayers to identify and prioritize which Central Texas transportation infrastructure needs deserve the limited funding available and how best to address them."
MAY 9, 2012 | KXAN
MAY 9, 2012 | AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN
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APRIL 10, 2012 | CAMPAIGN UPDATE
WELCOME TO THE NEW HD 48
As a result of redistricting, Donna’s district is going to change significantly. She retains about 39.7% of the population from her old district which means that slightly more than 60% of the population is new, requiring a full-scale campaign effort to introduce Donna Howard to these voters.
Instead of stretching west, the district now heads south encompassing a much larger part of the City of Austin along with Rollingwood, Westlake Hills, and Sunset Valley. The majority of the new district falls in Austin ISD and Eanes ISD with small portions of Leander and Round Rock ISD as well. (MORE..)
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MARCH 24, 2012 | YNN
For the second year in a row, a statewide group dedicated to saving public schools took their calls for action to the State Capitol Building.
Hundreds of teachers, students and administrators marched Saturday demanding that lawmakers make school funding a priority.
"Republican, Democrat, independent, it doesn't matter,” Democratic Representative Donna Howard said. “We're here because we care about quality public education."
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MARCH 5, 2012 | AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN
Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign may be over, but his politically motivated war on women continues.
On Feb. 23, Texas' Health and Human Services commissioner adopted a rule in direct violation of a federal Medicaid requirement, effectively ending the Women's Health Program in Texas.
This step by the agency is a targeted effort to block Planned Parenthood's nonprofit health centers from participating in a vital and cost-saving program that provides not just birth control but also life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings, HIV tests and basic health exams to uninsured, low-income Texas women.
Nearly 45 percent of the women who receive health screenings through this program do so at a Planned Parenthood health center.
With this political and unnecessary move, Texas will strip 130,000 of our state's most vulnerable women of their access to basic health care, ending the program not just for Planned Parenthood but for all providers in Texas.
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MARCH 2, 2012 | CAMPAIGN UPDATE
HAPPY TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY!
Today we celebrate the independence of our great state AND the anniversary of Donna’s first swearing in as the representative for HD 48. Back then the Legislature was gearing up for a special session on school finance as the result of a lawsuit against the state. Six years later not much has changed…
The state is back in court facing five challenges, four of which include more than half of the state’s 1,052 school districts. The fifth was filed by six parents with the support of Texans for Real Efficiency and Equity in Education (TREE), a group that advocates for school choice through competition and greater support for charter schools. From District 48 Austin, Eanes, and Pflugerville ISD have each joined a different plaintiff group demonstrating just how diverse student needs are even within the same county. (MORE...)
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FEBRUARY 14, 2012 | CAMPAIGN UPDATE
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
Although most of you remember February 14th as a day to honor and celebrate your loved ones, we at the Donna Howard Campaign also remember it fondly as the day Donna won the run-off for House District 48. That's right - it was exactly six years ago today that Donna became Representative Howard!
Today also represents another important milestone in the seemingly never-ending legal battle over redistricting as the San Antonio court holds a hearing on the drawing of a second round of interim maps and the election schedule. The hearing will continue tomorrow if needed.
For those of you who are totally confused about what has transpired thus far in the redistricting process (and who wouldn't be?), we have provided a summary outlining the two-pronged process currently underway. For those of you interested in daily updates, we recommend attorney Michael Li's blog as a reliable source for information. (MORE....)
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NOVEMBER 28, 2011 | CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE
DONNA HOWARD MAKES RE-ELECTION BID OFFICIAL ON OPENING DAY OF FILING PERIOD
(AUSTIN) – State Representative Donna Howard filed her paperwork today to run for re-election to the Texas House of Representatives for District 48.
“Despite the uncertainty surrounding exactly what the new house districts will look like, I am committed to running for a fourth term,” Howard said. “This past session, the Legislature chose to address our budget shortfall through cuts alone – a decision that I did not agree with – and I want to be there next session to represent my constituents who are feeling the repercussions of that choice first hand."
Howard voted against the budget passed by the House and Senate which reduced spending by about $15 billion, including a cut to public education that resulted in each school district losing an average of $500 per student. These cuts combined with other legislative changes have resulted in more than 280 school districts joining a coalition of parents, students, and taxpayers in filing a lawsuit challenging the equity of the state’s school finance system. (MORE..)
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NOVEMBER 10, 2011 | COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWS
She (Rep. Howard) first learned of the project the day before the Nov. 1 public meeting and said she is not sure that TxDOT has done enough to explain the use of the modified Michigan left turn. Howard said she is glad that TxDOT is considering changes to alleviate Loop 360, but she would have liked to see public input sooner.
"Public meetings and focus groups should have been scheduled initially, not after the consultants and TxDOT staff decided on their preferred alternative," she said. "I hate to say it, but this seems like just another example of the paternalistic, top-down attitude that has been pervasive at TxDOT since I was elected."
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NOVEMBER 3, 2011 | PRESS RELEASE, TEXAS PTA
Texas PTA's Legislative Advocate of the Year is Representative Donna Howard from Austin. This session, Representative Howard was engaged in many serious legislative debates related to the children and youth of Texas; however, she took a critical leadership role in the waning hours of the session when she carried an amendment to provide more funding in 2013 for Texas schools. The amendment would appropriate any Rainy Day Funds in excess of the $6.5 billion projected in the fund by August 31, 2013, to public schools through regular program funding.