The Texas City Independent School District says its schools will start Aug. 12. How so?

“Hope is invented every day.” — James Baldwin

Our region continues to see concerning increases in the number of COVID-19 cases, the percentage of tests that come back positive each day and the number of related hospitalizations. We must all take action against this growth trend. Now.

The column by Galveston Beach Patrol Chief Peter Davis, which normally appears each Friday, will return next week.

Imagine how astonished I felt the morning of June 27 as I opened my paper and read the story about where to vote in Galveston County (“Primary voting begins Monday, here’s what you need to know,” The Daily News, June 27).

The future is the repository of our hopes and horrors. It pulls us forward, as a locomotive pulls its trailing cars along the rails. But the future has not yet happened; it is never here but always a time still to come. This means that human life is partly unreal, consisting of what it has n…

Let me preface my comments with a disclaimer: I’m a white conservative who doesn’t believe the current culture of political correctness is healthy for America. Defund police? Tear down statues of white Jesus?

Maybe you’ve heard that ukuleles are coming back into vogue. I’m thinking of getting one. I used to play one.

We live in an amazing time. We can turn on smart devices in our home with our voices. Those devices turn other devices and appliances on and off. We can get almost anything in the world delivered to our doorstep by clicking on apps. How could our lives be made any more convenient?

All of America believed George Floyd was murdered. President Trump, all the commentators on Fox News, and even police officers across the nation expressed outrage at the infamous video of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, causing his death.

When it comes to reopening in the midst of COVID-19, Texas is certainly setting the pace. On May 18, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the latest phase in his plan to restart the state’s economy, permitting child care facilities, restaurants and select other venues to begin operation — albeit at a …

“In this enlightened age, there are few I believe, but what will acknowledge, that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any country.”

After Hurricane Ike, there was a clear psychological effect on the general population. Right afterwards, there was this sort of heightened manic cheerfulness that slowly seemed to turn sour in a number of different ways.

You wouldn’t drive a nail with a screwdriver or flip a steak with a garden hose. Having the right tool for the job makes all the difference — and right now, the latest research and evidence points to masks being the tool we need to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The esteemed Dr. Anthony Fauci lamented that Americans don’t believe in science. That reminds me of a rather raunchy anecdote illustrating the difference between a scientist and an engineer; however, I don’t think The Daily News would print it, so I’ll try another tack.

When we all began our struggle with the virus, we noted the TV ads, usually obnoxious, were becoming sweet, gentle and overwhelmingly uplifting.

Apparently, many of our state and national leaders are willing to discount or devalue significant portions of the populations they purport to govern. Indeed, for certain purposes, they’d prefer that many be uncounted, their lives ignored.

During my 45-year career as a civil rights attorney, I sued hundreds of police, sheriff deputies and other officers around Texas, as well as law enforcement agencies. Many of the cases dealt with excessive force against minority people.

I want to propose something for the communities of Galveston County to consider: We don’t need more police. And we don’t need better police. What we need are better and more varied ways to address the problems that police have for far too long been called upon to solve — and for equally as l…