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Texas Tag

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 05, 2017 89 Comments
This is a developing story, so reports vary at this time. A shooting this morning at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas has left at least 27 people dead and over two dozen more wounded.  The shooter was reportedly killed by police following a brief chase. Fox News reports:

The mass shooting was reported at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, which is about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. The gunman has been fatally shot by police.

Posted by Mary Chastain on November 03, 2017 15 Comments
Several GOP lawmakers have decided to retire at the end of this term and another one has joined the ranks: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), who represents the 21st district, which includes San Antonio. From Texas Tribune:
"For several reasons, this seems like a good time to pass on the privilege of representing the 21st District to someone else," he wrote in an email obtained by the Tribune. "... With over a year remaining in my term, there is still much to do. There is legislation to enact, dozens of hearings to hold and hundreds of votes to cast."

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 31, 2017 9 Comments
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) has told The Dallas Morning News that he will retire at the end of his term:
"Today I am announcing that I will not seek reelection to the US Congress in 2018. Although service in Congress remains the greatest privilege of my life, I never intended to make it a lifetime commitment, and I have already stayed far longer than I had originally planned," Hensarling wrote to supporters today.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 13, 2017 20 Comments
Texas' Congressional and state legislative district maps have been bouncing around the federal court system for months. Tuesday, the Supreme Court blocked an order from the lower court that required new maps redrawn. Redrawing maps would create new districts and ultimately favor Democrats in upcoming elections. At the heart of the district maps battle are allegations that maps drawn after the 2010 census were essentially racist and thus unconstitutional and contradictory to the Voting Rights Act.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 12, 2017 17 Comments
Houstonians grappling with Harvey damage are not pleased with Mayor Turner's latest proposal -- a 8.9% property tax rate hike to pay for the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. Turner's rate hike request is temporary (supposedly) and would generate an estimated $113M for the city. But it has to pass city counsel scrutiny first.

Posted by Mary Chastain on September 05, 2017 28 Comments
Congress has returned to work and have started to ponder two important tasks at hand: Hurricane Harvey relief bill and the debt ceiling. One option leaders have leaned towards is attaching the two into one bill, thus killing two birds with one stone. The House could pass the Harvey relief bill on Wednesday and send it to the Senate, who could attach the debt ceiling bill to it. Then the Senate would send it back to the House for another vote.

Posted by David Gerstman on September 04, 2017 6 Comments
Though Israel is a small country, when disaster strikes it is among the first countries and most involved in rescue and recovery efforts. (I blogged about this nearly four years ago. The IDF published an updated article on Israel's aid in emergency situations last month.) While Israeli volunteers often go to places Nepal, Haiti, or the Philippines, Israel was again at the forefront of international rescue and recovery efforts in Houston.

Posted by Mike LaChance on September 03, 2017 6 Comments
A few nights ago on The Five, Greg Gutfeld delivered a monologue that you really need to watch. Greg does an excellent job of reminding us that the real America isn't the one we see portrayed in liberal media or on Twitter. Real America is the one we have seen played out over the last week in Texas, where Americans of all kinds have come together to help each other in a time of need.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 03, 2017 4 Comments
The Houston area is filled with heavy industry, including numerous chemical manufacturing and processing plants. In the wake of flooding from the rains of Hurricane Harvey, one of the plants in Crosby (about 25 miles from the city) burned when trailers holding highly unstable chemicals used in the production of plastics and paint exploded, burning the flood-damaged plant. While initial fire was quenched, the containers are continuing to rupture and ignite, and responders have had to fight a series of release incidents at this facility.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 02, 2017 19 Comments
If you hadn't heard of them before Hurricane Harvey, you certainly have now -- the Cajun Navy as they call themselves, is a band of rugged Louisiana outdoorsman (and women) who load up their boats and caravan into flooded areas, performing rescues. They've been a tremendous asset in rescuing folks flooded out by Harvey in the Houston area, the Gold Triangle, and even down towards Port Aransas.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 01, 2017 58 Comments
I live in Houston where we've just experienced the worst natural disaster in the city's long history. Harvey caused inestimable damage and left thousands without shelter and earthly possession. There is not one person in the Greater Houston Area, in Rockport, Port Aransas, or surrounding counties that hasn't been adversely affected by this storm. Naturally, the national media, like Politico are using Harvey as an opportunity to malign everything great about the Lone Star State. Essentially legitimizing criticism of coastal-centric political media -- they have no idea how real America works.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 31, 2017 24 Comments
Despite predictions of economic doom and gloom in the wake of Donald Trump's presidential election win, things are actually looking quite sunny. A revised estimate showed gross domestic product had climbed at an annualized rate of 3 per cent, showing more growth than the professionals projected. Part of the reason for this new trajectory is President Trump's war on excessive regulation. For instance, in response to the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the region's fuel industry, Environmental Protection Agency is temporarily suspending some rules about gasoline production in an effort to minimize shortages around the southeast.
States from Maryland to Texas can sell winter-grade gasoline held in storage now, even though normally that type of fuel wouldn’t become available until fall, according to a federal waiver issued Wednesday. Refineries that continue to operate can also start churning out winter-grade gasoline, which emits more pollution than summer-grade gasoline when combusted in engines.
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