Community newspapers got some sorely needed good news when the Postal Service filed its 2021 rate case Oct. 9. 
The new rates are effective Jan. 24, 2021.
Newspapers were truly winners, thanks in part to policies long promoted by NNA that reward best practices in sortation and entry point.

It’s hard to believe it is already the final quarter of 2020. This is the time of year that most of us start thinking about the coming year, and what is in store. 
For Texas newspapers the new year means it’s time for the biennial session of the Texas Legislature, and that means we need to prepare for action.
No matter which party is in control of the House in January, there will be some influx of new members in that body, and in the Senate. 

Amazon goes big in Texas

State resumes requiring job searches to get benefits

Capital Highlights Week of Oct. 12 - 16

Accusations rock Attorney General’s office

This week, as we put our paper to bed, I glanced at our front page and realized how different things in our industry are than they were last year at this time. 
It is homecoming season, of course, and since we cover three counties there’s no shortage of homecoming royalty pictures. On our front page this week were a young man and young woman from an area high school sharing with the world their joy of being crowned king and queen — but from behind their masks, protecting themselves and others even at that moment. 

In the digital age, somebody’s worst moment can be the first result a Google search returns on them, potentially forever. Increasingly, news publishers are being asked to take down content that the person making the request wants the world to forget. Whether the profession of journalism—the self-proclaimed “first draft of history”—should be in the business of unpublishing yesterday’s news presents thorny practical, ethical, and even existential dilemmas.

By CHIP STEWART, Texas Christian University, and DEBORAH L. DWYER, Reynolds Journalism Institute

Just as some people are tiring of taking precautions against the novel coronavirus, helping it spread, I’m sure some newsrooms are tiring of covering it. And that helps it spread, too, by making it seem less of a threat and discouraging precautions.
And I fear that some newsrooms aren’t just tired of covering the pandemic, but have scaled back their coverage because of objections from people who think the pandemic is overblown or even a hoax that will fade after the election.

Irving company pivots to green energy
Vistra, an energy powerhouse based in Irving, announced plans to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
A key part of that plan is a capital investment of  $1.15 billion by 2022 on solar and storage projects in California and Texas. The company also plans to close coal-fire energy plants in Illinois and Ohio by 2027.

Houston-Dallas bullet train company says it’s on fast track