Fire safety urged for Fourth

With the Fourth of July bringing a possible four-day weekend for lucky Texans, the Texas A&M Forest Service urges outdoor enthusiasts to exercise fire safety outdoors, especially when using fireworks or starting campfires to roast hot dogs and toast marshmallows.

Approximately 90% of wildfires are caused by humans and their activities, and the Fourth of July is one of the top days for reported wildfires, according to the forest service.

Note to Editors: To help with earlier press times for the July 4 holiday next week, the Capital Highlights column for the week of July 1 - 5 will be released early Friday afternoon, June 28.

Electric demand could nearly double by 2030

The chief of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas told state lawmakers recently that the state’s power demand could nearly double in just six years. The reasons: population growth, new requests for grid connections, and a rise in requests from data centers and other heavy users.

Drought conditions ease slightly while heat dome returns

Drought conditions across the state dropped a percentage point in May compared to the previous month, with 26% of the state in some stage of drought, primarily in West and South Texas and parts of the Panhandle.

35 Texas counties eligible for individual disaster aid

Residents in a total of 35 Texas counties now qualify for individual disaster assistance following a series of severe storms and flooding that began in late April, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Phelan wins re-election bid, seeks speaker post again

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, narrowly won re-election in a hotly contested runoff race and has vowed to seek his third term as speaker, drawing threats from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to oppose any of his supporters in the 2024 primary.

By Ken Esten Cooke, TPA President 2023-2024

“Why would you want to sit still in a world that’s forever moving?” 

— Philosopher Luc Jogart

And just like that, my year as Texas Press Association president comes to an end. I have been so proud to serve great people, both TPA members and staff, some of whom I’ve known and looked up to since I was a child.

By JIM PUMARLO, Consultant

Hardly a year passes without legal requirements for public notices coming under assault. It’s happening this year in the Minnesota Legislature, where the Minnesota School Boards Association is seeking authority for school districts to remove public notices from newspapers.

The initiative comes on the heels of Alden Global Capital shutting down eight community newspapers. The proposal not only attacks the essence of open government, it also significantly decreases citizen access to vital information. 

By Austin Lewter, director Texas Center for Community Journalism

Are you a news ambassador?

If you are running a community newspaper, you sure are. And that means you have a role with a new initiative we are rolling out at the TCCJ. 

We look to build a Texas cohort collaboration of News Ambassadors, a collaborative journalism project under the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

This is an early bulldog edition of Capital Highlights for the week of May 27. It will be updated on Sunday if events dictate.

Additional disaster assistance approved 

House Democrats call for education special session