Poll: Most Texas teachers consider quitting

Note: This is a bulldog edition of the  Capital Highlights column for the week of Sept. 5 - 9, to accommodate papers with early Labor Day deadlines. It will be updated on Sunday if events dictate.

Flooding prompts disaster declaration

Farmer’s Almanac predicting a white winter
 
As Texas gets at least a temporary reprieve this week from the heat, with a nice round of rain blanketing much of the state, the Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting January will bring significant snowfall to the state.
The periodical, founded in 1818,  develops its extended forecast “using a 204-year-old mathematical formula focused on sunspot activity, planet positions and tidal actions of the moon.” The almanac’s website claims its forecasts are 80% to 85% accurate.

Texas gas prices lowest in nation
While gas prices nationwide dropped below $4 per gallon average last week, the state boasts the lowest prices in the country at an average of $3.49 — 50 cents below the national average, according to AAA Texas.

Drivers urged to be alert as school begins
 
Millions of Texas children are heading back to school this month, as early as this week in some districts. The Texas Department of Transportation urges drivers to be especially alert and focused when driving in school zones and near bus stops. 

DSHS gets nearly 15,000 monkeypox vaccines
 
The Texas Department of State Health Services has received and distributed 14,780 doses of the monkey pox vaccine to local health departments and DSHS regional offices. Another 27,000 doses could be made available by the Strategic National Stockpile.

Walking billboards promote pedestrian safety

Wildfire danger continues to rise
 
As we cross the halfway point of July, wildfire danger continues to increase across the state. On Friday, Texas A&M Forest Service firefighters responded to 15 new wildfires that burned 651 acres. As of Sunday, there were eight active wildfires; the largest was the Nethery Road Fire in Kimble County, involving an estimated 3,500 acres. It has been 70% contained.

TEA releases STAAR results for grades 3-8
 
The Texas Education Agency has released the 2022 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness
Results for grades 3-8, which showed across-the-board improvements in all grades and subjects, with especially significant gains in reading.