By CASSIE MCKEE, FOUR POINTS NEWS

House District 47 is affluent, highly-educated and politically conservative. It is the only Republican-held seat in Travis County.

The seat has been held by Rep. Paul Workman since 2010, when he narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Valinda Bolton.

HD 47 became an even more Republican-leaning district in 2012 after district boundary lines were redrawn by the Texas Legislature, according to James Dickey, chairman of the Travis County Republican Party. Dickey said the redistricting resulted in two unfortunate but foreseeable outcomes.

“One, it pretty much guaranteed that each term the incumbent in that district would be challenged, especially to the extent they could in any way be painted as being less conservative than the Republican party voter base, and two, it unfortunately changed (HD)48 from a previously possibly winnable race for a Republican to a district that has almost no chance of being a winnable district for Republicans.” Continue reading →

TX House District 47 map

Texas House District 47

By CASSIE MCKEE,  Four Points News

Early voting is underway for the March 1 Texas Primary election, and one race “worth watching,” according to The Texas Tribune, is that of Texas Rep. Paul Workman (HD-47). Workman is being challenged by River Place resident Jay Wiley, who ran for Austin City Council in 2014 but was defeated by current council member Don Zimmerman.

Four Points News sent the following questions to both Workman and Wiley. The following are their unedited responses. Continue reading →

By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

Construction of Cardinal Point, the new affordable housing community in Four Points, is still in the design and permit phase, reported Walter Moreau, executive director of Foundation Communities, the project developer.

The multi-housing Cardinal Point plans include 120 apartments on an 8.5-acre tract at 11011 Four Points Dr., which is at the intersection of River Place Boulevard. Continue reading →

Leander ISD superintendent, Dr. Bret Champion, makes the 2015 State of the District presentation behind a display of awards earned last year by the district. The luncheon event was held Friday at Hill Country Bible Church.
Photo by Kim Estes

By KIM ESTES, Four Points News

Dr. Bret Champion, superintendent, laid out results of planning and programs in Leander ISD telling an audience of some 250 that, “Student learning is at the center of everything we do.”

Champion’s remarks were part of the annual LISD “State of the District” meeting sponsored Friday by Leander ISD Educational Excellence Foundation at Hill Country Bible Church, Lakeline.

“Running a school district is like running a small city,” Champion said. Continue reading →

By SCOTT W. COLEMAN, Four Points News

Big crowds are getting to be a regular occurrence at Vandegrift High School on National Signing Day.

A pair of nationally-ranked recruits brought the television cameras and even more attention to the school last week. With offers from Air Force and Rice on the table for months, senior wide receiver Paxton Segina’s visit to Palo Alto, California last month made all the difference.

Segina’s official visit took place fairly late in the recruiting process, but Stanford quarterbacks/wide receivers coach Tavita Pritchard said that when the standout receiver visited the campus and met with coaches and players, “that’s when things really solidified, both in his brain and ours, that he was just a perfect fit for Stanford.”

Courtesy photo of all eight Vandegrift signees: Boys’ Soccer: Sam Drablos, University of Chicago, Curran Kelly, University of Texas at Dallas, Austin Morrow, University of Tampa, Girls Soccer: Lauren Holtzclaw, University of Houston, Kylie Sharp, Ouachita Baptist University, Football: Garrison Spring, Lamar University, Travis Brannan, Navy, and Paxton Segina, Stanford.

Continue reading →