The Brief: May 9, 2014
Ahead of a possible vote on impeachment on Monday, members of the House select committee investigating UT System Regent Wallace Hall appear split on how to proceed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/12/05/txtregents-ccr005.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
The Brief: May 8, 2014
Not even Disney movies are safe when it comes to the scorched-earth tactics in the race for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/03/Dewhurst_Patrick.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera / Mark Graham -
New in Trib+Water: Lamar Smith Rejects Climate Report
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Lamar Smith rejects climate report, Colorado urged to learn Texas water lessons and an interview with Tom Gooch of Freese and Nichols, Inc. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/08/Tribwater.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
After Falling Short, Companies Still Trying to Restrict Local Suits
Last year, some of the nation’s biggest oil and waste disposal corporations unsuccessfully lobbied state lawmakers to protect them from civil suits filed by cities and counties. But the companies haven't given up the fight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ContaminatedSign.jpg)
![Former MDI Superfund site east of downtown Houston.]()
Credit: Dave Fehling NPR StateImpact / KUHF Houston Public Radio -
Drilling Suit Highlights a Shift in the Fracking Debate
For years, much of the debate over fracking has focused on groundwater pollution. But as a multimillion-dollar legal ruling recently illustrated, those concerns have at times been overshadowed by new worries about air pollution. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/10/17/TxTrib-UrbanDrilling001.jpg)
![A hydraulic fracturing site in Fort Worth on Sept. 27, 2013.]()
Credit: Mark Graham -
Report: Texas Farm Production is Down, but Prices Are Up
The market value of agricultural products sold in Texas has increased in recent years, but production has declined steeply, according to the latest figures from the federal Census of Agriculture released Friday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/04/Corn.jpg)
![A field of corn in the Texas Panhandle]()
Credit: Jerod Foster -
For State Politicians, BLM Dispute is Fertile Turf
Several Texas politicians have helped draw national attention to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's plans to manage a stretch of Red River land. Area lawmakers who have been working this year on a resolution welcome the extra attention. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/01/TexTrib-REDRIVER-001-Dwwhurst.jpg)
![Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst accepted the microphone from Texas landowner Tommy Henderson on April 28, 2014, during a gathering of politicians, landowners, law enforcement officials and news outlets on Red River land northeast of Byers, Texas. Dewhurst expressed support for ranchers in their fight with the BLM over land they say they own.]()
Credit: Robert W. Hart -
Fight Over Reservoir Ramps Up as Decision Draws Near
The Texas Water Development Board will decide next month whether to continue planning for the controversial Marvin Nichols reservoir in northeast Texas. The battle over the reservoir pits thirsty Dallas-Fort Worth against rural landowners to the east. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/11/12/TexasWaterPlan-Submerged-spot.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Where Prairie Chicken Roams, Businesses Brace for Effects of Ruling
This week, the lesser prairie chicken will officially be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act — a designation likely to affect economic development, including oil and gas drilling, in the Panhandle and West Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/08/26/Chicken-1.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Larry Lamsa -
Drought Pushes Beef Prices to Record Levels
As Texas enters its fourth year of record-setting drought, ranchers, along with economic and agriculture experts, are concerned about increasing food prices. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/120704-Bastrop-Land-Cows-018.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
$3 Million Award in Oil and Gas Drilling Lawsuit Sparks Legal Worries
A $3 million jury award to a North Texas family who claimed that nearby oil drilling operations caused severe health ailments has spurred fears of more lawsuits. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Fracking-Rig.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Helen Slottje -
The Brief: April 30, 2014
Could Sriracha be coming to the Alamo City? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/07/Sriracha1.JPG)
![Bottle of Sriracha Sauce, made in California]()
Credit: John Jordan -
TribLive: Keeping the Lights On in Texas
Full video of our panel discussion on the St. Mary's University campus in San Antonio on the future of Texas' electric grid, including efforts to bolster reliability through demand response and other efficiency tools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_Shot_2014-04-29_at_1.57.26_PM.JPG)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Supreme Court's Air Pollution Ruling Goes Against Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday morning that federal limits on the effects of air pollution across state boundaries are legal, striking down a challenge from Texas and a number of other states and industry coalitions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/01/22/PowerPlant.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Andrea Parker / Cory Maluski -
Energy Future Holdings Files for Bankruptcy
Texas’ largest power company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the move is not expected to affect the electric grid. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/10/29/Powerlines.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Matthew Rutledge -
Video: Landowners Voice Concerns on BLM Issue
As a federal agency decides what to do with the 90,000 acres it says it controls along a 116-mile stretch of the Red River, Texans who have been managing land in the area say they feel paralyzed. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Terry_McAlister.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Alana Rocha -
The Brief: April 29, 2014
In another sign of troubled times among the leadership at the University of Texas System, word emerged Monday night that a regent clandestinely recorded a discussion with Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa during an executive session in August. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/25/CigarroaFrancisco238.jpg)
![University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa at a Board of Regents meeting in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Why Alaska is Reconsidering a Texas-Inspired Oil Tax Cut
Hoping to spur the kind of oil boom seen recently in states like Texas and North Dakota, the Alaska Legislature last year voted to cut taxes on oil companies. But some Alaska lawmakers now say that may have been a mistake. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/03/07/TxTrib-FrackWater001.JPG)
![A water truck parked near a drilling rig operated by Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd.. Drilling rigs use of water is a salient issue for the industry, particularly under drought conditions such as those experienced in the past year by Midland, Texas, and other similar areas of oil production.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster -
Blurred Lines: Dispute Between Texas, BLM Has Complicated History
Amid a federal agency's looming decision about what to do with a ribbon of land along the Red River it claims, Texas officials are speaking out on the issue. This is how we got here. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/25/RedRiver.jpg)
![Tommy Henderson shows a survey of land along the Red River in North Texas.]()
Credit: Jim Malewitz -
The Brief: April 28, 2014
As state officials prepare to meet with the man who has become the face of the increasingly politicized spat between Texas and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Tribune's Jim Malewitz has an exhaustive background story on the seeds of the conflict. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/04/27/220086517-Maps-of-116-Mile-Stretch-of-Red-River_1.jpg)
![Map of disputed 116-mile stretch of the Red River.]()
Credit: Texas General Land Office