Big names in state and national politics gathered in the Texas Senate chamber Friday to welcome George P. Bush, the state’s new land commissioner, into the family business.
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
Sitton Leaving Consulting Firm to Avoid Conflicts
Ryan Sitton, the incoming Texas railroad commissioner, says he is following through on a campaign promise to step away from his oil and gas consulting firm and place its assets in a blind trust.
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government
Texas Now Hands-Down Leader in Wind Power
When Gov. Rick Perry first took office, Texas’ wind energy sector hardly existed. But the state has since become the nation’s leader in wind energy generation, Jim Malewitz writes, and Perry — more commonly associated with oil and gas — helped steer that boom.
Posted in
Energy
As Oil Prices Plunge, Texas Eyes Are on Hegar
Incoming Comptroller Glenn Hegar is on the hot seat as a nosedive in crude oil prices – and the increasingly gloomy forecasts that have followed – cast a pall over the next legislative session.
Posted in
Energy
As Cities Get Testy, Regulators Mull Oversight of Urban Drilling
The Railroad Commission wants to beef up oversight of oil and gas wells in cities, and ease tension between the industry and the growing number of urban Texans living next to well pads, compressor stations and disposal wells.
Posted in
Energy
Regulators Pan Study on Methane Gas in Wells
No one disputes that high levels of methane have shown up in several Parker County water wells. But the source of the gas has stirred a heated debate involving homeowners, academics, the Railroad Commission and the EPA.
Posted in
Energy
Dissecting Denton: How One City Banned Fracking
State lawmakers, the oil and gas industry and national environmental groups are asking deep questions about Denton, home to two universities, 277 gas wells and, now, thanks to a group of local activists, Texas’ first ban on fracking.
Posted in
Energy
Battery Charge for Grid Needs Lawmaker Help
Battery storage could revolutionize the state’s electrical grid, making it more reliable and friendlier to renewable energy. The problem? It is likely to require a fundamental change in state law.
Posted in
Economy
Fracking a “Nuisance,” Denton Tells Court
The first city in Texas to ban hydraulic fracturing tells a court it has every right to do so, calling the oil and gas extraction technique a “public nuisance” with “offensive results.”
Posted in
Energy
DuPont Says Plant Leaked 23,000 Pounds of Toxic Gas
About 23,000 pounds of a flammable, foul-smelling toxic gas leaked from the DuPont chemical plant in La Porte where four workers died earlier this month, the company said Saturday.
