UPDATED: The Texas Water Development Board’s executive director issued a final recommendation Monday that the controversial Marvin Nichols reservoir in northeast Texas remain in the state water plan for now.
East Texas
Posted in
Criminal Justice
“Bernie” Movie Plays Key Role in Bernie’s Freedom
Filmmaker Richard Linklater always thought life in prison was too harsh for Bernie Tiede, the East Texas mortician who murdered his 81-year-old companion. Now — in large part because of Linklater’s film on him — Tiede is no longer behind bars.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Jasper Reaches $831,000 Settlement With Fired Police Chief
The East Texas town of Jasper has reached an $831,000 settlement in the federal discrimination lawsuit brought by its first black police chief after his 2012 firing.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
East Texas Town’s Stance on Famed Convict Changes Over 15 Years
When Bernie Tiede went to trial in 1999 for murdering a wealthy Carthage widow, many in the town wanted the young man to see a light punishment. But 15 years into his life sentence, many now say prison is where he belongs.
Posted in
Energy
After Arkansas Spill, East Texans Seek Permanent Shutdown of Pipeline
About eight months after a ruptured pipe spewed at least 210,000 gallons of tar sands oil in Arkansas, residents and some public officials in East Texas are calling on regulators to permanently shutter the Pegasus pipeline, which runs beneath local reservoirs and backyards.
Posted inState Government
Fired Jasper Police Chief at the Center of a Divide
Former Police Chief Rodney Pearson has become a reluctant symbol for many in Jasper’s black community of how little has changed in race relations since James Byrd Jr.’s dragging death.
Posted inState Government
In Jasper, Black Leaders Say Tensions Escalating After Chief’s Dismissal
Jasper continues to deal with fallout from the dismissal of its first black police chief. Black community leaders in the East Texas town say racial tensions are at “an all-time high.”
Posted inState Government
Jasper Police Chief Firing Exposes Rift in City Politics
The short-lived tenure of Jasper’s first black police chief — and the public feuding it has provoked — threatens to wrench open still healing wounds from the town’s troubled past.
Posted inState Government
Familiar Foes Simpson, Merritt Square Off Again
GOP leaders from East Texas see a tight race in the HD-7 primary rematch between state Rep. David Simpson and Tommy Merritt, a former seven-term House member.
Posted in
Health care
First Minority Cancer Month Highlights Disparities
Lawmakers and health care advocates gathered today to kick off the state’s first annual Minority Cancer Awareness Month, designated in the last legislative session to bring awareness to racial disparities in cancer survival.
