With budgets already reduced and with more cuts on the way, federal environmental regulators are expected to be doing fewer inspections of industries that pollute. And if state environmental regulators were expected to take up the slack, many of them — including those in Texas —- are dealing with budget cuts of their own. “There […]
State Lawmaker Leading Review Says Nothing’s Changed WEST, TX — Trucks and bulldozers are still working here, the site of an explosion a year ago today. A deadly blast tore through this small community, killing fifteen and injuring hundreds. Homes and schools were destroyed, with the damage estimated to be over a hundred million dollars. There’s a […]
It’s possible that come November, voters will get to choose between a pro-weed Jewish troubadour and a horse scandal-plagued businessman with Ted Nugent as his treasurer in the race for Agriculture Commissioner. Both primaries for Agriculture Commissioner are headed for a runoff on May 27. On the Democratic side, poll watchers were surprised to see Jim Hogan, a cattle rancher […]
If you know what the water in your wells was like before drilling started on your land, you have a better understanding of whether drilling has changed the water. That’s the basic idea behind “baseline testing” of groundwater before drilling starts. That’s also one reason why some states, like Wyoming, have enacted rules based on recommendations […]
The United States’ total high-level radioactive waste could fit inside a football stadium with room to spare. Right now, it’s distributed between the country’s 100 commercial nuclear power plants and stored on site. But all that waste could be headed to Texas in the coming years. One of Texas House Speaker Joe Straus’ interim charges for […]
Most Candidates for Texas’ Oil and Gas Regulator Want Changes Take a peek a little ways down your ballot in the primaries this year and you’ll see the race for a spot on the Railroad Commission, the state’s powerful oil and gas regulator. We’ve been working to get the candidates to “eat their vegetables” when […]
He’s run for office three times and lost. But here he is again, the novelist and troubadour that made a name for himself by turning country clichĂ©s into satiric social commentary. Richard “Kinky” Friedman (he got the nickname for his hair) is running as a Democrat for Agriculture Commissioner, and he has a plan to […]
State Rep. Bill Callegari (R-Houston), more than many lawmakers, knows water. An engineer, he holds “Class A” certifications in water and wastewater management. During his time in the Texas legislature, much of it spent serving on the House Natural Resources Committee, he authored several major bills on water management and water utilities. His office biography […]
When it comes to spectator sports, it might not rank with college football in Texas. But when a state senate committee held a hearing last week to figure out if something is wrong with the state’s deregulated market for electricity, people far from Texas were glued to their computers, watching the hearing live over the […]
For state parks in Texas, the struggle has always been money. In the early 1900s, Texas landowners tried to donate large tracts of property to create state parks. But they were turned down by state lawmakers  — they didn’t want to fund the maintenance cost. So when the land was accepted, it was without the […]
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