Heat wave prompts conservation call
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas urged Texans to cut back on power usage last week when an unusually large number of power plants shut down for unexpected repairs as temperatures soared. ERCOT officials announced Friday that Texans could resume normal levels of electricity use, however.
ERCOT came under fire after widespread outages during the winter storm in mid-February, resulting in the CEO being forced out and much of the board replaced.
Saturday marked the official first day of summer.
The hyper partisanship in today’s political landscape was on full display with passage of the American Rescue Plan. It passed on a straight party-line vote.
A Minnesota congressman joined in the chorus of his fellow Republicans characterizing the bill as bloated and wasteful.
Weeks later, he issued a new round of statements. This time, he took credit for the millions of dollars allocated for local projects courtesy of the $1.9 trillion economic relief package.
One of America's larger community newspaper companies is buying the other.
Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Kentucky, announced in late May that it is buying Landmark Community Newspapers LLC, a chain of 44 weekly and two daily newspapers based in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
If the mail service has improved, you should be reading this column before heading out to the 141st Texas Press Association Convention in Denton June 10-12.
You are coming, aren’t you?
After all you’ve been through this past year you really deserve a convention and some newspaper fellowship! And I promise this won’t be one of those Chicken Little conventions where all we talk about is how the “sky is falling.”
Abbott vows to expand border ‘barrier’
Population gains, losses in state detailed
This column is written by Paul Watler, Jackson Walker LLP.
Q: How do I recognize a defamatory statement in a letter to the editor? What if non-print and other media have in effect published the same defamatory statement?
Budget headed to governor’s desk
The Texas Legislature sent a $248 billion two-year state budget to Gov. Greg Abbott after the House approved the measure last Thursday.
The 140-day legislative session ended at midnight May 31. Senate Bill 1 is $13.5 billion less than the previous biennial budget, with the difference to be made up from COVID-19 relief funds from the federal government. As previously reported, Abbott plans to allow legislators to decide how to allocate those funds during a special session this fall.
Note: This is a special bulldog edition of Capital Highlights for papers who have earlier deadlines because of the Memorial Day holiday. An updated version will be released at the usual time Monday.
Budget headed to governor’s desk
Special session coming this fall
Texas lawmakers will adjourn the regular session on Monday — Memorial Day — but Gov. Greg Abbott has already indicated he will call a special session in the fall to grapple with redistricting after detailed census results are finally released.