Coronavirus week 71A — Texas antimasking and legal battles

Decided to separate this from other COVID news for the week to focus on the Texas angle.

Local mask mandates have spread beyond the Dallas and San Antonio that were the focus of my blogging in last week's coronavirus roundup. As of the end of last week, state appeals courts had upheld these mandates. The Fifth Circuit in Dallas bluntly said Abbott was not entitled to relief. (Sadly, a district court over in Cowtown upheld Abbott there and FWISD does not appear to have appealed.) Other jurisdictions, including many larger school districts, have sued Abbott. Kenny Boy Paxton has appealed the losses to the Texas Supreme Court even as federal education secretary Miguel A. Cardona has said that the feds stand with school districts on anti-masking and using federal education money as part of this. (AFAIK, no federal amicus brief has been filed, though.)

The Texas Supremes Sunday night granted Paxton a temporary stay and writ of mandamus. Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has said that, pending a Dallas County Aug. 24 hearing before a state district judge, it will be masks on ANYWAY. And, per my blogging from last week, if I know Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, he'll file new orders and make new pleadings as needed. See his response to the Supremes' ruling:

Tex Supreme Court narrowly ruled, staying only the TRO against Gov. Abbott but allowing the temporary injunction hearing to go forward. We won’t stop working with parents,doctors,schools, business + others to protect you and intend to win that hearing. https://t.co/sQ2Lryo22f

— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) August 15, 2021

There you go.

Jenkins then also said:

The Tex Supreme Court did not strike down my face mask order. Rather they removed the stay on the GA 38. Unless I receive a ruling requiring otherwise, I will amend my order to remove the possibility of fines on non-compliant businesses but otherwise leave the order in effect.

— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) August 16, 2021

OK.

PLUS? There's this temporary restraining order AGAINST Abbott from a Travis County judge and it's statewide. It's within this Snooze story. And there's this story that says all of this leaves school districts with local flexibility.

Update: A disability rights group is suing Abbott in federal court, claiming his ban on school mask mandates violates the ADA by depriving disabled kids of the right to a full education.

Other Texas coronavirus news?

Abbott has also been federally enjoined from sending state troopers to "tail and cage" buses with COVID-positive Ill Eagles.

From Texas Progressives, Stace posts some facts about asylum seekers as Abbott and Republicans spread COVID lies.

Meanwhile, Texas nursing homes are killing residents by not mandating staff vaccines, as well as being way behind the curve on vaccines for those residents.

Bell County (Temple, Belton, Killeen) is arguably the state's most urbanized antimasking ground zero.

Denton city supposedly has a mask mandate but the mayor said he won't enforce it and in Kroger last Saturday I saw zero effectiveness.