New rules from the Environmental Protection Agency governing air quality are threatening to shut down two coal-fired power plants in Northeast Texas. The owner of the plant, Luminant, has filed suit against the EPA to delay enforcement of the so-called Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and said the two closures would force 500 layoffs and could lead to rolling blackouts. Company and state officials protested that Luminant needed more time to meet the new regulation and said Texas was not told of the rule until six months before it was to take effect.

Gov. Rick Perry may tout the power of the states, but when it came to fighting local wildfires, he turned to the federal government, asking for and receiving federal dollars to battle Texas' record number of blazes. Struggling against fires that have burned millions of acres this spring and summer, fire departments have seen their budgets slashed, and officials are concerned that when money from grants is no longer available, firefighters will be left with inadequate resources to fund their daily operations.

With the massive Bastrop County wildfire about 70 percent contained, officials have started taking stock of the damage. County officials reported that about one-fourth of Bastrop County has burned: 34,000 acres and 1,500 homes were obliterated. The local power company, Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, announced that power still hadn't been restored to more than 2,000 meters and that it could take several weeks until the grid is functioning normally. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also recently came to town to set up a field office at which residents could apply for assistance, but with conditions still conducive for additional flare-ups, not all residents have been allowed back into their homes.

The contentious battle in El Paso to recall the Mayor John Cook and two council members took a new twist this week as a county court judge issued an order stopping recall proceedings until a hearing could take place in his court. The judge reversed his decision a day later, and Cook is now taking his fight to the El Paso Court of Appeals. At issue is the method used by the group to gather signatures for the recall. The mayor has alleged that signatures were gathered with the support of corporations and churches — a violation of election code. Pastor Tom Brown has led the effort to recall the city officials for their votes in favor of extending benefits to gay and unmarried partners of city employees.

A major redevelopment project in McAllen that would include an amusement park hit a snag when city commissioners gave the developer’s proposal a unanimous thumbs-down. The city’s old reservoir is being replaced, and because it occupies valuable real estate, it has inspired a redevelopment plan that includes an amusement park and a River Walk-style attraction. Commissioners objected to the idea put forth by McAllen Attractions Inc., citing the contractor’s lack of success with previous projects. The company has strong ties to the city’s mayor — his sons are major players in the firm — which also gave commissioners pause, even though the mayor had recused himself from discussions and votes on the matter and had filed required conflict-of-interest documents.

Census data released this week painted a bleak picture of Texans' economic prospects. The state was ranked highest in the number of uninsured people, and the poverty rate was 18.4 percent, above the national average of 15.1 percent. Texas mirrored the rest of the nation by showing a decrease in median income to $47,464 in 2010, a figure below the national median.

Judicial nominees have been cooling their heels across the state waiting for confirmation, but this week the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee took action on four potential U.S. attorneys for the state, confirming them and sending their names to the full Senate for final confirmation. They are supported by Texas' two Republican senators and are expected to win confirmation easily. A vote on a nominee for a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas was delayed but not expected to be controversial.

In federal court in San Antonio, three congressional Democrats — Eddie Bernice Johnson, Henry Cuellar and Al Green — testified that their constituencies weren’t accounted for in Texas' new Republican-backed redistricting maps, which the governor signed into law this year but now face judicial scrutiny. The hearing, brought by Democrats concerned with minority representation, is expected to wrap up by the end of the week.

Houston’s growing population is leaving an imprint on its municipal government. Two new seats will be added to the City Council, and with term limits forcing three members off, the new council will have five newcomers. Additionally, with districts redrawn, some Houstonians will find themselves in new political neighborhoods. The race receiving the most attention has pitted incumbent Jolanda Jones, facing opposition from the city's police union, against three challengers. The election is set for Nov. 8.