State Rep. Cecil Bell, a private contractor, says he has a plan to curb costly and sometimes dangerous strikes to underground pipelines during construction: make sure whoever is responsible pays to fix them.
Jim Malewitz
Jim Malewitz was a reporter at the Tribune from 2013 to 2017, covering energy and environment and then working on investigations. Previously, he covered those issues for Stateline, a nonprofit news service in Washington, D.C. The Michigan native majored in political science at Grinnell College in Iowa and holds a master’s from the University of Iowa. There, he helped launch the nonprofit Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, where he currently serves on the board of directors. Jim also coaches the Texas Tribune Runoffs, which, sources say, is the scrappiest coed newsroom softball team west of the Mississippi.
Posted in
Economy
Texas Stops Helping Poor Families Pay Their Electric Bills
Lite-Up Texas, a program that offered electricity discounts to hundreds of thousands of poor Texas families over the years, has run out of money.
Posted inState Government
Cascos: Voter Turnout in Texas “Should Embarrass Everyone”
Also, the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t act to reinstate voting restrictions in North Carolina.
Posted in
Economy
Texas Drilling Will Cause More Health Problems, Study Predicts
Within a decade, Texas will lead the nation in sicknesses linked to ozone-forming pollutants from oil and gas activity, according to a new analysis from a pair of environmental groups released Wednesday.
Posted inState Government
Oral Arguments in Voter ID Case are set for January
Also, a Texas congressman joins the call for a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton.
Posted in
Energy
Texas Promised to Track Oilfield Waste in Aquifers. It Didn’t.
Texas regulators have allowed energy companies in recent years to inject toxic materials into at least a “handful” of underground sources of drinking water, records show.
Posted in
Economy
“Why Are You So Angry at the Railroad Commission?” Texas Lawmaker Asks Reviewers
State lawmakers on Monday considered a host of recommendations to reshape and rename the Texas Railroad Commission, a powerful agency that oversees a host of oil and gas activities but not railroads.
Posted in
Energy
EPA: North Texas Quakes Likely Linked to Oil and Gas Drilling
Federal regulators believe “there is a significant possibility” that a recent surge in North Texas earthquakes is linked to oil and gas activity, even if state regulators won’t say so.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas Leaders Mum on Trump’s Plan to Enlist Election Observers
Despite their concerns about voting integrity, Texas officials are so far silent about a possible fleet of partisan election observers Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is urging to the polls.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Laredo Plastic Bag Ban Tossed by Court
A state appeals court has struck down a plastic bag ban in Laredo in a high-profile fight over local control that could ultimately impact similar laws in other Texas cities.
