Botham Jean's family seeks justice, study shows Texas Latinos lack confidence in politics: Your Thursday morning roundup

October 18,  2018 By Nataly Keomoungkhoun and Carla Solórzano Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. ☁️ Weather: Cloudy with rain developing later in the day. High of 62. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Allison Jean, the mother of Botham Jean, spoke during a media interview this week in Dallas. Botham Jean was shot and killed in his apartment by fired Dallas police officer Amber Guyger. (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) Botham Jean shooting 'Dallas is no longer a pleasure': Botham Jean's family doesn't want to be here, but they do want justice Trips to Dallas were once a joyous reunion for the Jean family. It meant spending time with their son, Botham Jean. Allison and Betrum Jean now travel here from their home country of St. Lucia out of duty. [They came to ensure justice for their son, who was killed in his own apartment.]( Returning to Dallas this week, "just opened the wound even deeper" than when they flew in after Jean was killed Sept. 6. Dallas police officer Amber Guyger had just left work but was in uniform when, she said, she mistook his apartment in the Cedars for her own and thought he was a burglar. ["I’m afraid Dallas is no longer a pleasure,”]( Allison Jean told The Dallas Morning News. “I have to do it. I will do it. It is not a place that I wanted to be.” ICYMI: Botham Jean’s [family met with the Dallas DA]( about the case against Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer who killed their son. 2018 elections Why don’t more Texas Latinos vote? Many are cynical about politics and don’t trust politicians, new study shows A record  29.1 million Latinos are eligible to vote in the 2018 midterms across the U.S., according the the Pew Research Center. In Texas, about 5.4 million could vote and swing certain elections in favor of some candidates. But will they? [That’s the question many politicians, activists and Latino advocacy groups have been asking for years now](. A new survey conducted by Jolt Texas, a  left-leaning voter mobilization group, found that it may be a combination of factors, including mistrust of the political process and not having enough information about elections, that contributes to low Latino voter turnout in the state. Other responses highlighted a disconnect between respondents and civic participation: - Almost 40 percent said they lacked confidence or trust in the political process. - Slightly more than 25 percent said they didn’t identify with candidates. - And a third said they didn’t see voting as a civic duty. Artsy politics: That painting of Donald Trump sitting with Abraham Lincoln has gone viral, [leaving the artist stunned.]( And: Frisco Republican Rep. Pat Fallon is taking heat from Democrats [for telling a joke that referred to fellow state Rep. Mary Gonzalez’s sexuality](. Weather Water level at high-risk Lewisville Lake dam is being closely monitored after record rainfall Officials are keeping a close eye on the Lewisville Lake dam, where water level has been rising after [several days of downpours on top of record rainfall this season.]( The lake was the subject of a Dallas Morning News investigation into the 2015 spring flooding scare when there were signs of seepage under the dam. Army Corps of Engineers staff was worried at the time that water could be tunneling under the dam and weakening it. That 2015 scare is causing some people to look over their shoulders at the high-risk dam, upstream from downtown Dallas and hundreds of thousands of people. State Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, posted on Facebook this week that the Corps was inspecting the dam weekly but "should lake levels continue to rise, they could go to daily inspections and finally, if the lake levels got back to where they were in 2015, they would be onsite 24/7." On Wednesday, the lake water level was at 527 feet, which is about 5 feet above the normal levels, and about 5 feet below the level where water would reach an emergency spillway. Also: With 23.35 inches of rainfall recorded at DFW International Airport through 11 a.m. Wednesday, [this fall has become the wettest fall on record for Dallas-Fort Worth](. And: After closing early because of inclement weather, officials at [the State Fair of Texas are extending business hours for the last weekend of the 2018 schedule](. EDITORS' PICKS - Curious Texas: Why are there fans underneath Klyde Warren Park in Dallas? [Curious Texas investigates.]( - Visual arts: What's the deal with that [giant umbrella sculpture]( in the Cedars? - Seasonal jobs: Major national brands announced their plans to hire 704,000 people for the holidays, and [thousands of those jobs are in Dallas-Fort Worth.]( - Immigration: Smugglers may be taking advantage of President Trump’s policies [as immigrant families once again surge across the border](. - Courts: A Plano man was sentenced Tuesday to more than six years in federal prison [for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme](. - Dallas City Hall: [The robots are coming](. And they might have a package for you. Graduating senior Victoria Gallegos poses for a photograph behind a school mascot Rams statue on the Texas Wesleyan University campus. (File photo/DMN Staff)  Finally... Latinos are making dramatic college gains in Texas, but huge disparities still remain Fewer than half of all Latinos who start college in Texas end up earning a bachelor’s within six years, but recent federal data shows there are reasons to be hopeful because students are also making the biggest gains. [The graduation rate for Hispanic students has steadily climbed]( even as their enrollment has more than doubled, according to federal data. Latinas are even outpacing white men across the state in earning college degrees. Nationwide, college graduation rates have been lackluster with enrollment decreasing overall. And because there has been a 25 percent increase in Latino enrollment from 2010 to 2016, many colleges are pinning their futures on the growing Latino population. “We’re making significant gains in Latino graduation rates, more than any other group,” said Raymund Paredes, Texas’ commissioner of higher education. “The numbers look promising and are way up. We have many more second and even third generation-college students now who are Latino. And their numbers in higher ed is going up considerably.” The graduation rate for Latinos who earned bachelor’s within six years of starting college rose nine points -- from about 37 percent for the freshmen class of 1996 to 46 percent for those who started in 2010. Still, [huge disparities remain for students of color.]( 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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