Barry Smitherman, the only person to serve both on the Texas Railroad Commission and the state’s Public Utility Commission, will practice energy law at Vinson and Elkins, the international law firm announced Tuesday.
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
Energy
Legislation Aims to Boost Electricity Conservation
Some state lawmakers are trying to cut Texas’ energy use by encouraging demand response – programs under which utilities reward customers for powering down electricity guzzlers when demand peaks.
Posted in
Energy
House Committee Passes Compromise on Local Drilling Rules
A House committee on Monday approved legislation that would limit local control over oil and gas activities — a committee substitute for a bill that initially stirred anger in city halls across Texas.
Posted in
Energy
Former U.S. Energy Official: Texas Needn’t Fret Over Climate Rules
Jon Wellinghoff, the former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman, talks about what looming federal climate regulations mean for Texas, whether the state should link its grid to others and how to incentivize energy conservation.
Posted in
Energy
See How Local Drilling Rules Vary Across Texas
The debate over whether some Texas city drilling ordinances go too far has become a much-discussed issue during the Texas legislative session. Use our tool, with data from the Texas Municipal League, to see if your city has an ordinance.
Posted inState Government
The Legislative Machinery Grinds On…
Lots of committee action on both sides of the Dome. We’ve got a sampling of the ground covered this week.
Posted in
Energy
Railroad Commissioner Rallies for Natural Gas
Railroad Commissioner David Porter has kicked off an initiative to tout the benefits of natural gas, whose low price has benefited some power generators but bedeviled operators and other energy companies that bet big on it years ago.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Blood Lessons: An Investigative Series on Refinery Deaths
Take a look back at Blood Lessons, a Texas Tribune/Houston Chronicle investigation into whether the nation’s oil refineries learned the lessons of the deadly explosion at BP’s Texas City plant in 2005.
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Blood Lessons: Refining Still a Deadly Industry
How many people die at oil refineries each year? Longstanding federal record-keeping practices make it incredibly tough to answer that simple question. Review the deaths at refineries in the 10 years before and after the infamous Texas City explosion.
Posted in
Energy
Senate Committee Advances “Denton Fracking Bill”
A Senate committee has advanced legislation to limit local control over oil and gas activities across Texas. The proposal is among nearly a dozen filed in response to a North Texas town’s vote to ban hydraulic fracturing.
