DAWN BUCKINGHAM

The Alamo and the attorney for the owner of Moses Rose’s Hideout announced Thursday that a deal had been struck to acquire the bar property, which sits in the footprint of a planned Alamo Visitors Center and Museum.

In his first comments as interim president, Mark A. Welsh IIII cast recent concerns over political interference in Texas A&M’s employment decisions as “communication breakdowns.”

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham alleged Wednesday that opioids expert Joy Alonzo told students in a guest lecture that “Your Lt. Governor says those kids deserve to die.” Alonzo denied the claims.

The land commissioner manages public land, enforces mineral rights leases, controls the Texas Permanent School Fund, distributes natural disaster relief funding and is responsible for the Alamo.

State Senate District 24 will be getting a new Senator: Kathy Jones-Hospod vs. Pete Flores.

The land commissioner manages the Texas General Land Office, which manages the Alamo, administers natural disaster relief funding and helps fund public education. The seat is open after incumbent George P. Bush lost his primary bid for attorney general.

Republican Dawn Buckingham and Democrat Jay Kleberg won their primary runoffs. The winner of November’s general election will replace George P. Bush as head of the Texas General Land Office.

Gov. Greg Abbott and most other statewide elected officials won their primaries Tuesday night. But Attorney General Ken Paxton was forced into a runoff, and progressive Democrats fell short of their congressional goals.

Land Commissioner George P. Bush is stepping down to run for attorney general. Four Democrats and eight Republicans are seeking their parties’ nominations for the office.

Early voting starts on Monday, and the primaries are on March 1. But some recent polling foreshadows May runoffs for some offices high on the Texas ballot.

Within hours, Flores got the endorsement of Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, who is vacating the seat to run for land commissioner, and then Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate.

The news of her decision comes two days after the current land commissioner, George P. Bush, announced he was running for attorney general next year, challenging fellow Republican Ken Paxton.

The Texas Legislature is considering bills that would ban homeless encampments statewide, almost two years after the city of Austin decided to lift a similar local ban — a move that critics say triggered the proliferation of tent cities throughout Austin.