AUSTIN—Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced this week that he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $824.1 million in local sales tax allocations for May—down 5 percent from payments made in May 2019. These allocations are based on sales made in March by businesses that report tax monthly, and sales made in January, February and March by quarterly filers.

Monday was a very scary day for J.W. Coffee and his family. The Canadian Middle School fifth-grader was walking out of his house with his cousin, and paused briefly, turning his head to talk to him. He did not see the rattler until it was already in mid-strike, and by then, it was too late.

The Citadelle Art Foundation’s Chalk the Walk project occupied young artists’ time, sparked their imaginations, and resulted in the beautification of sidewalks around town for several days earlier this month. But the idea seems to have gained a foothold here on Main Street in front of Brown Bag Roasters, where barista and street artist Madi Baltes Rodgers has created a series of colorful pieces with encouraging and upbeat messages that unfailingly brighten our days. They are temporary art, as we all learned when last week’s plentiful rain storm instantly transformed the sidewalk into a sudden wash of watercolors. The next day, Madi was back at it, and this week, she took a bright new set colored chalk and donned an old leather glove that she uses to blend the colors and soften the edges, and designed this version of a Texas skyline, which she dedicated to The Canadian Record. It’s definitely worth a stroll down Main to catch a glimpse of Madi’s next composition before the next downpour.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s stay-at-home directive expires today (Thursday, April 31), and in a Monday afternoon news conference, Abbott announced that he would allow the state’s businesses to reopen in phases beginning on Friday.