Attention newsrooms: It’s time to get serious about 2024 elections coverage. I hear the collective groan. The reaction is likely shaded by the strident national contests and their seemingly never-ending campaign cycles.
By JIM PUMARLO, Consultant
William Faulkner has often been cited as one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century.
He was born Sept. 25, 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi.
His publishing career began in 1919 but he was most prolific in the 1920s and 1930s.
Faulkner was awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature for “his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.”
He won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1954 for his book “A Fable” and again in 1962 for his final novel “The Reivers.”
A trip to Galveston Island was the Cooke family vacation most every year growing up, so I love that place. My father, Bill Cooke, would rent a cabin on the west end of the island to get away from the grind of publishing The Rockdale Reporter. We’d spend a week or more hunting sharks’ teeth, listening to Willie Nelson, sunning and reading paperbacks. Having followed him in the publishing ranks, I realize the value of doing a whole lot of nothing while on vacation. The downtime and the waves restored our souls.
Flood victims urged caution upon returning home
As East Texas residents return to clean up their homes and businesses after extensive flooding earlier this month, the Texas Department of State Health Services urged residents and business owners to exercise caution. Among the recommendations:
Spate of tornadoes far outpaces the average
April was a busy month for tornadoes across the United States with 373 recorded, bringing the total for the year to 549, the Austin American-Statesman reported. That is nearly double the average at this point in the year, the National Weather Service says.
High-end electrical users could strain grid
Early voting underway in local elections
Early voting began Monday, April 22 for municipal, school board and various bond elections. It ends on April 30 with Saturday, May 4 being election day. What is on the ballot depends on where you live.
‘Aggressive’ hurricane forecast for Gulf CoastColorado State University researchers are calling this year’s hurricane season forecast “the most aggressive” ever, the Texas Standard reported. They say there is a 54% chance a hurricane will strike the Texas coast, and a 25% chance it will be major.
Agencies blasted over wildfire oversight
State agencies and regulators were heavily criticized at a Texas legislative hearing for failing to communicate during the deadly Panhandle wildfires, the Texas Tribune reported.
The three-day hearing, held in Pampa, investigated the Smokehouse Creek fire and others that burned more than a million acres, destroyed hundreds of homes, killed up to 10,000 cattle and resulted in two deaths.
State Rep. Ben King, R-Canadian, chaired the committee and said the hearing was difficult but necessary.
Solar eclipse means big money to Texas
One economist is calling it “the most profitable 22 minutes in Texas history,” according to the Texas Standard. The total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8 is expected to draw up to a million visitors to the Lone Star State, especially in its narrow path of totality.