Amid Finger-Pointing, Hurricane Relief Lags
Nearly four years after Hurricanes Ike and Dolly ravaged the Texas coast, thousands are still waiting for housing assistance. Full Story
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![Hurricane Ike era blue tarps still on the roof a Hurricane Ike damaged home near downtown in Houston, July 28, 2011.]()
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Executive Director Leaves Railroad Commission
John Tintera, executive director of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, is leaving less than one week after the election of a new chairman, Barry Smitherman, to lead the agency. Full Story
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Oil Boom Spurs Demand for Training as Schools Face Cuts
Texas' drilling boom has increased demand for skilled workers and blue-collar training. But as Dave Fehling of KUHF News reports for StateImpact Texas, the rising demand comes as community colleges face funding cuts, forcing companies to cope with fewer workers. Full Story
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Use of Silencers in Hunting Stirs Safety Debate
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is considering letting hunters use silencers on the end of their rifles. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas, the proposal has raised public safety concerns. Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson and Tan interactively map women's health program providers in Texas, Galbraith talks to the state's climatologist about (what else?) the drought, Grissom with the latest on violence in youth prisons, Hamilton on why UTEP's low four-year graduation rate may not matter, Murphy's interactive comparing graduation rates and more at public universities in Texas, Ramsey on the redistricting end game (we think), Ramshaw on the state health commissioner's attack on Planned Parenthood and Root on the closing of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's storied Austin bureau: The best of our best content from February 27 to March 2, 2012. Full Story
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With Water Denied, Rice Farmers Face an Uncertain Future
The Lower Colorado River Authority decided Thursday night that there wasn’t enough water in the Highland Lakes to send water downstream to rice farmers in Southeast Texas. Terrence Henry of KUT News and StateImpact Texas reports on where the farmers go from here. Full Story
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![Jose Avila, left, and Hilario Luna on June 13, 2011, repair an overflow damaged by crawdads on a levee of Mike Burnside's rice fields, flooded with water from the Colorado River, near Bay City.]()
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Effects of Landmark Groundwater Ruling Still Unclear
Legal experts and property owners are still digesting the ramifications of a Texas Supreme Court ruling that landowners own the water beneath their land. As Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas, the consequences for landowners and conservationists remain murky. Full Story
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State Climatologist Has Eye on the Sky for Texas
John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas' state climatologist since 2000, has seen his duties explode in the last 18 months amid public clamor for information on the drought. Full Story
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Another Hot Summer May Bring Rolling Blackouts
In a new report, the state's electric grid operator has predicted another summer of above-average heat. And as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas, that means Texans can expect another summer of close calls. Full Story
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Bad News Expected Today for Texas Rice Farmers
Texas rice farmers near the Gulf Coast are anxiously awaiting word on whether they'll get water from the Lower Colorado River Authority for a rice crop this spring. The LCRA says the farmers' prospects are not good — which will relieve other Texans who also have a stake in the water. Full Story
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![Residents of Lake Travis have extended staircases and moved docks further out to accommodate lower lake levels. Some say the declining levels are bringing down property values.]()
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UH Creates Fund to Attract Science and Technology Faculty
University of Houston President Renu Khator is setting aside $30 million to bring in 60 new faculty members over the next two years, all of them in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Full Story
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Natural Gas Driving Away Investment in Power Plants
More power generation could help could help Texas' increasingly strained electric grid. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas, low natural gas prices are making it less attractive for investors to build power plants. Full Story
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Conservation a Growing Focus for Industrial Plants as Drought Stirs Fears
For Texas industry, the drought has brought a conservation focus at many plants, which may have to pay more for future supplies. Full Story
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![The Conoco Phillips Sweeny refinery in Old Ocean on February 21, 2012 along Texas 35.]()
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Texas' Coal-Fired Power Fell Sharply in January
The amount of Texas electrical power produced by coal plunged in January compared with a year earlier, and cheap natural gas appears to be the cause. Wind power production, meanwhile, has soared. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court Hands Victory to Landowners in Landmark Water Case
In a case with potentially vast implications for groundwater rules, the court has unanimously ruled in favor of two farmers in the San Antonio area who challenged a local aquifer authority's restrictions on their well use. Full Story
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TCEQ's Executive Director Retiring
Mark Vickery, the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, will retire in May — and his successor has yet to be chosen. Full Story
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Updated: LCRA Passes Water Plan for Lakes
The Lower Colorado River Authority will soon decide whether rice farmers near the Gulf Coast will get water this year when the lakes near Austin are low because of the drought. Full Story
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In Texas, Repurposing Pollution to Pump for Oil
Texas leads the nation in making and using electricity, which also makes it the nation's top polluter. But as Dave Fehling of StateImpact Texas and KUHF reports, the state's biggest power plant has found a surprising use for some of that pollution: drilling for oil. Full Story
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![The energy company NRG aims to capture and bury harmful emissions from burning coal at a Houston plant.]()
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River Authority to Consider Far-Reaching Water Plan
The Lower Colorado River Authority, the utility that controls water flowing from the Highland Lakes to the Gulf Coast, is set to approve a new plan for allocating water. But as Mose Buchele of StateImpact Texas reports, the authority will first hear from the various — and often feuding — communities relying on the affected water sources. Full Story
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In "Downton Abbey," a Glimpse of Texas' Energy Future
The British period series Downton Abbey made headlines this year for drawing American audiences into its world of costumes and drama, but as Terrence Henry of StateImpact Texas reports, the show's affectionate portrayal at the past may offer Texans a look at their own energy future. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
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