At least 11 dead in state after winter storm
At least 11 people have died in Texas, nearly half of them children, after Winter Storm Fern swept the state last week, the Texas Standard reported. Among those killed were three young brothers who fell through ice on a private pond near Bonham, about 60 miles northeast of Texas. In the Dallas suburb of Frisco, two teens died after a sledding accident. They were riding on a sled being pulled by a vehicle.
Power grid holds up during wintry blast
The electricity grid that covers most of Texas was holding up as of Sunday during the latest winter storm, although localized power outages were reported in Deep East Texas and far West Texas.
Democrats Talarico, Crockett set first debate
The first debate in the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate is set for Jan. 24 in Georgetown, The Dallas Morning News reported. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Round Rock are vying for the nomination.
As the new year dawns, we look ahead to an exciting calendar in 2026.
As we do, we are grateful for a busy 2025 and count our blessings for the relationships fostered along the way.
By AUSTIN LEWTER, director, Texas Center for Community Journalism
We welcomed 2025 with happy news from Parker, Tarrant and Wise Counties when we learned that the Tri-County Reporter would not be closing.
Happy New Year! It’s 2026 and the time is here to hold true to your New Year resolutions. Or maybe not. After many years of setting the same resolution — work out more, eat better, lose weight, yada yada — followed by my typical pattern of not sticking to it, I finally stopped making resolutions.
By Lisa Chappell, 2025-26 president, Texas Press Association
New laws taking effect in New Year
A spate of new laws took effect on Jan. 1, The Dallas Morning News reported. Here’s a brief summary of the most notable new laws now in force:
EDITORS: This is an early bulldog edition of Capital Highlights to accommodate early holiday deadlines. It will be updated on Sunday if needed.
Five big moves from the Lege in 2025
The Texas Legislature made a host of major decisions in 2025, as The Dallas Morning News reported. Here are the highlights:
Editors: This is an early bulldog edition of Capital Highlights to accommodate early holiday deadlines. It will be updated Sunday if needed.
ERCOT: Little chance of blackouts this winter
Winter has officially arrived, and officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas say the Texas power grid is expected to hold up through most weather conditions, the Houston Chronicle reported. However, the boom in data centers across the state increases the risk of rolling brownouts to 1% to 2% through February.
A friend recently took a new job as a manager of a community weekly.
He is an experienced operator and a passionate newspaper guy. He went to work and hit the ground running.
By AUSTIN LEWTER, Director, Texas Center for Community Journalism
As with most managers these days, he has a foot in both the editorial and advertising world.
Local governments are putting the finishing touches on 2026 operations as this year nears a close. Budgets and tax levies have been presented to citizens, debated and adopted. Most newsrooms have been there at each step reporting on individual budgets of city, school, county and other bodies with taxing authority. Pause for a moment. Is your work done? Have you given readers a complete picture?
By Jim Pumarlo, consultant