A pair of guards walk through a dormatory cell housing female inmates Friday, May 16, 2014, at the Nacogdoches County Jail in Nacogdoches, Texas. (AP Photo/The Daily Sentinel, Andrew D. Brosig)

AUSTIN–Advocacy groups appeared before the Texas Commission on Jail Standards Thursday to discuss improving treatment for pregnant inmates.

The groups, including the Texas Jail Project and Mamas of Color Rising, originally addressed the issue at the Commission’s meeting in September, and were invited to participate in a conference call with Commission members where the groups expressed concerns.

Chairwoman Donna Klaeger said the Commission learned a lot from the call, and would continue gathering information on the topic.

The advocacy groups plan to present recommendations, which will include investigating standards for methadone-using pregnant women and revising treatment plans for women with high-risk pregnancies, to the Commission before their next meeting in February.

Shela Williams was 18 weeks pregnant when she was jailed in Travis County for violating her probation. The pregnancy was high-risk and she was seeing a specialist before her incarceration.

“When she got to Travis County jail the specialized care stopped and she lost the baby at 26 weeks,” advocate Kellee Coleman told the Commission on Williams behalf.

Williams was taken to hospital twice to monitor her pregnancy, and on the second trip was told the baby’s heart had stopped beating. They induced labor that day.

“I wasn’t able to talk to my sister, my family,” Williams said. “I had to have him by myself.”

Dallas County spokeswoman Carmen Castro said Parkland Health & Hospital System handles medical services in the county’s jails.

“Depending on how far along a women is in her pregnancy, they can be expedited to be placed in a separate section, or in an infirmary area if they are nearing their due date,” Castro said.

Jerry Patterson

UPDATE 7:43: Reference to a “leak” of Patrick’s medical records altered to better represent the situation.

“Patrick’s medical records were public records, in the public domain because he voluntarily released them in 1989 when he sued a reporter for ‘mental anguish’,” Patterson said in an email Monday night.

Original: Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson will serve as a political analyst on Austin’s KLBJ News Talk 590 AM on election night.

After coming in last in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor, Patterson’s time in elected office ends in January.

“I guess you can say, in the words of the great Hank Williams Jr., that it’s all over but the crying,” Patterson said in a statement Monday, “This part-time radio thing might just be the next step for me.”

In addition to commenting on election trends and statewide races, Patterson said he will discuss “what to expect in the Texas Senate with Dan Patrick as Lieutenant Governor.”

Patterson criticized Patrick in the primary and runoff elections, accusing him of dodging the draft. The land commissioner made headlines in the weeks before the May runoff between Patrick and incumbent David Dewhurst when he sent copies of Patrick’s medical records to reporters, revealing that Patrick was hospitalized and received treatment for depression in the mid-1980s.

He has said he planned to vote for libertarian Robert Butler over Patrick in the general election.

The Texas Lottery announced Tuesday that it would pull the Fun 5’s scratch-off from circulation after hundreds complained about confusing language in the rules.

Soon after the game was released on Sept. 1, people who thought they were winners of up to $500,000 were being turned away from gas station counters empty handed.

The confusion stemmed from a rule printed on the ticket that states, “Reveal a ‘money bag’ symbol in the 5X box, win five times that prize.”

All of the people who thought they’d won had tickets with the money bag symbol in the 5X box.

But lottery officials said the five-times multiplier is contingent upon the previous sentence, which explains that players should scratch off a “tic-tac-toe” in an adjoining box. If they get a tic-tac-toe, the presence of a money bag would multiply their prize by five, officials said in response to original complaints.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Lottery said the game was bringing in over $3 million in sales every week, but decided to end the game after it “received feedback from some players expressing confusion regarding certain aspects of this popular game.”

AUSTIN–Women are left confused while several Texas abortion clinics prepare to reopen following a Supreme Court order that halted part of the state’s new abortion law from taking affect pending appeal.

Texas was left with eight abortion clinics after new restrictions went into effect earlier this month forcing over a dozen clinics to cancel appointments and shut their doors.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision, 15 clinics could reopen while appeals are heard. Abortion providers and supporters worry that the changing clinic status’ are confusing women.

Whole Woman’s Health in Fort Worth and Routh Street Women’s Clinic in Dallas both plan to reopen, but have not yet announced when.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas spokeswoman Kelly Hart said numbers to their call center “shot up significantly” following the initial closures.

“There was a scramble to fit in women who had appointments with facilities that had to close,” Hart said.

Wait times increased as the remaining clinics reached capacity. According to Misty Garcia, a board member of the Lilith Fund, which helps women fund abortion procedures, the soonest appointment some women have been able to schedule is two weeks away.

“They were panicking,” Garcia said of the callers who had to reschedule appointments due to clinic closures. They said things like “I hope this one stays open.”

Mara Posada, a spokeswoman with Planned Parenthood Trust of South Texas, said women with appointments at the San Antonio clinic are confused by the “mixed messages” they are receiving.

“They call wanting to be assured that they still have an appointment, that we will still be able to see them and give them the care they need,” Posada said.

Nan Little Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, which also helps women fund abortions, said that while she was pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling, she still worries about the effects the multiple court decisions are having on women.

“While courts go back and forth on this issue, we worry about the people who may have missed their window to receive abortion care last week,” Kirkpatrick said.

According to Kirkpatrick and Garcia, the organizations have received less calls for funding assistance since the clinics closed.

“We don’t have any reason to believe that the demand for abortion suddenly went down, so we are certain that people who were in need of care were unable to get appointments last week,” Kirkpatrick said.

Calls have been especially low from the Valley. Whole Woman’s Health in McAllen plans to reopen following the Supreme Court ruling. It will be the only remaining clinic in South Texas.

An attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents several Texas abortion providers in the lawsuit against the state, said the briefs are due Dec. 8 and hearings will be scheduled after that.

The clinics that reopen will be allowed to remain open until and unless the 5th Circuit upholds the law.

While the Supreme court offered no explanation to go along with their recent order, Esha Bhandari, an attorney with the Center said “this gives us optimism and hope that the Supreme Court sees what’s happening in Texas as a serious violation of women’s constitutional rights.”

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel struck down two portions of the state’s strict abortion law requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and requiring facilities to meet hospital-like building standards, stating that together they create an unconstitutional obstacle for women seeking abortions in Texas.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Yeakel’s decision pending the appeals process on Oct. 2, resulting in the closures.

The Supreme Court said Tuesday that the statewide facilities requirement could not take effect during the appeals process, and exempted two clinics in El Paso and McAllen from the admitting privileges requirement.

This is the second challenge of a 2013 law that also bans abortion after 20 weeks and limits the use of abortion-inducing pills.

(JENNIFER WHITNEY/The New York Times)

Nyla Munoz performs a sonogram for a walk-in patient at the Whole Women's Health Clinic in McAllen, Texas. Jennifer Whitney/The New York Times

AUSTIN–Over a dozen abortion clinics will be forced to close immediately as Texas’ strict new abortion law is allowed to take effect in full following a federal appeals court ruling.

A three judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that it will allow the law to take effect for the duration of the trial over its constitutionality.

“This decision is a vindication of the careful deliberation by the Texas Legislature to craft a law to protect the health and safety of Texas women,” said Attorney General spokeswoman Lauren Bean.

District Judge Lee Yeakel struck down two portions of the law last month requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and requiring facilities to meet hospital-like building standards, stating that together they create an unconstitutional obstacle for women seeking abortions in the state.

This is the second challenge of a 2013 law that also bans abortion after 20 weeks and limits the use of abortion-inducing pills.

Texas abortion providers had already challenged the admitting privileges requirement in federal court last September. Yeakel tried that case as well and struck down the requirement, but a 5th Circuit panel reversed his decision in March. The plaintiffs have requested a rehearing by the full court.

Currently, eight abortion clinics in Texas meet both requirements, and they are all located in the Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin metropolitan areas. No clinics will remain open west or south of San Antonio.

The 5th Circuit panel made one exception, Reproductive Services, an El Paso clinic, will not be required to meet the surgical center physical requirements for the duration of the trial. It will, however, have to meet the admitting privileges requirement.

The distance from McAllen, in South Texas, to the nearest clinic in San Antonio is over 230 miles one-way, and the trip from El Paso is over 550 miles. The 5th Circuit panel will have to decide if the driving distances create a significant obstacle for women.

“Today the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the side of politics NOT women’s health,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and one of the plaintiffs in the case. “And what we have been fearing is now official: Texas faces a health care crisis, brought on by its own legislators.”

Experts testifying on behalf of abortion providers estimated that it could cost from $1-3.5 million to build or renovate a clinic that meets the same facility standards as an outpatient surgery center, which would include specific ventilation and sterilization systems, blood supplies, and hall and doorway sizes.

Supporters of the law have argued that the new requirements will decrease the risk of complications for abortion patients.

Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott clashed over ethics in a combative final debate Tuesday, with both candidates suggesting their opponent might be too corrupt to be governor.

Traffic moves along State Highway 183 Thursday, May 29, 2014 in Irving. (G.J. McCarthy/The Dallas Morning News)

Most Texans agree that building new toll roads is not a good solution to the state’s traffic problems.

A survey of over 5,000 registered voters by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute showed that the majority of Texans experienced traffic where they live and agreed that building new toll roads is not the best way to improve congestion.

When asked to choose from a list of 15 possible strategies to reduce traffic, most people said improving the timing of traffic lights and clearing accident scenes would be the most effective.

“Building more toll roads was, by far, the least supported strategy,” according to a report released Thursday detailing the Institute’s findings. “The lack of support held true in both metropolitan areas and rural areas, as well as areas with and without toll roads.”

North Texas is caught up an ongoing debate over a proposed toll road that would link Bush Turnpike with Interstate 30 near Greenville.

Encouraging more use of public transit was also low on the list. The survey also found that while most Texans would support more funding for public transportation, only six percent of those surveyed listed it as their primary mode of transportation.

The majority of Texans said public transportation was inconvenient, and 91 percent use a personal car or motorcycle for their primary means of transportation.

A proposition will appear on the ballot in November that would add an estimated $1.7 billion to transportation funds this year by reallocating some tax collections from the Rainy Day Fund to the State Highway Fund.

Texas has a 20-cent per gallon gasoline tax that has not been raised since 1991 despite the increase of more fuel-efficient cars on the road.

The language that will appear on the ballot says if the proposition is approved by voters, the additional funds will “assist in the completion of transportation construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation projects, not to include toll roads.”

The survey found that 64 percent said there was a need to increase transportation funding, but “Texans were not overly supportive of any potential transportation funding mechanism offered.”

“The data may suggest that Texans are more comfortable with transportation funding mechanisms that do not require any perceived additional spending on their part (such as dedicating to transportation an existing tax that will be paid regardless of how the funding is allocated) than those that do (such as increasing vehicle registration fees or the state fuel tax),” according to the report.

Both candidates for governor support the proposition.

Jon Stewart will host “The Daily Show” in Austin the week before the midterm election.

The broadcast, titled “Democalypse 2014: South by South Mess,” will be taped at ZACH Theatre from Monday-Thursday Oct. 27-30.

“Democalypse 2014: South by South Mess” will feature news and analysis on heated races across the country from host Jon Stewart as well as reports from ‘The Best F*&#ing News Team Ever,’” according to a Comedy Central press release.

The upcoming election will give Texas a new governor for the first time in 14 years. Democrats haven’t won an election for statewide office in Texas since 1994.

Stewart recently nicknamed current Texas Gov. Rick Perry “Indict Cowboy” following his indictment on felony charges for abuse of power and coercion.

Lucy, a patient advocate, waters potted flowers on the Whole Women's Health Clinic's last day of seeing patients, in McAllen, Texas, March 4, 2014. Jennifer Whitney/The New York Times

The state’s newest abortion restrictions cannot yet go into effect according to an order released by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday.

The order upholds, at least temporarily, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel’s ruling that struck down part of the state’s new abortion law that would have required abortion clinics to meet hospital-like facility standards before it was set to go into effect Sept. 1.

The new requirement would have closed all but seven abortion clinics in the state with no clinics remaining south or west of San Antonio.

The appellant court order said the Texas attorney general’s office filed their request to let the law take effect pending the appeals process at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday and was longer than allowed.

“This did not allow time for a response, or for the court adequately to consider the motion, before the scheduled effective date,” the 5th Circuit order said.

The court will hear oral arguments Sept. 12 to decide if the law can take effect pending appeal.

This is the second challenge to the 2013 law, filibustered by Wendy Davis, that also required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals, follow outdated protocols when administering abortion pills and banned abortion after 20 weeks. The 5th Circuit sided with the state in a lawsuit challenging the admitting privileges requirement, which has already forced over a dozen clinics to close.

Yeakel’s ruling exempted two abortion clinics, Whole Woman’s Health in McAllen and Reproductive Services in El Paso, from the admitting privileges requirement.

Amy Hagstrom Miller, CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, said she hopes to reopen her clinic in McAllen by the end of the week.

“We have our hearts set on reopening our clinics for the Texas communities that have counted on us for over a decade now for safe, compassionate, professional care. We hope an ultimate legal victory will allow us to remain open and serve those communities,” Miller said.

Miller announced Wednesday that she plans to open a new clinic in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Sept. 15.

5th Circuit Order Re Stay Request

Lucy, a patient advocate, waters potted flowers on the Whole Women's Health Clinic's last day of seeing patients, in McAllen, Texas, March 4, 2014. Jennifer Whitney/The New York Times

Whether a woman should have to drive seven hours for a medical procedure could be a decisive factor in whether the state’s latest abortion restrictions go into effect next month.

Seven clinics will remain open and operating in Texas next month if the law requiring abortion facilities to meet the same standards as hospital-like surgical centers goes into effect. All of the remaining facilities are located in the Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin metropolitan areas. There will be no abortion clinics west and south of San Antonio.

The state said that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has already ruled that driving distances of less than 150 miles do not unconstitutionally burden women, but that it has not said that distances greater than 150 miles necessarily would either. The distance from McAllen, in South Texas, to San Antonio is over 230 miles one-way.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel asked if anyone would find it reasonable for patients with sprained ankles or needing appendectomies to drive over 150 miles to seek treatment, “I don’t believe we would stand for that on normal medical treatment.”

Yeakel is likely to decide the fate of law before it is set to go into effect Sept. 1. Both sides – the state and abortion providers – are likely to appeal his decision if they lose.

Lawyers on behalf of abortion providers said the costs of building, buying or leasing a facility that meets the requirements, including specific ventilation and sterilization systems, blood supplies, and hall and doorway sizes, is too costly and medically unnecessary.

“There is no evidence whatsoever that these [restrictions] are going to do anything to enhance the health or safety of women,” said Stephanie Toti, a lawyer with the Center for Reproductive Rights.