Texas News

From Texas Standard: Last month, the Lubbock Avalanche Journal reported that though wildfire season typically begins in March, West Texas is seeing wildfires even earlier in the year. As a result, lots of communities have a plan of action for wildfires. But how many Texas communities perform a dry run before an emergency actually happens? So far, only one, the Comanche Trail neighborhood near Lake Travis, has done such a drill. “I’m on the top…

Residents of the Comanche Trail community outside of Austin has limited access to main roads for evacuation. To prepare, it held a drill last weekend. Audio will be available shortly. Share this story with a friend: By Jill AmentMarch 7, 2019 11:47 amEnergy & Environment, Government & Politics

Updated 5:09 pm CST, Wednesday, March 6, 2019 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican lawmakers say Texas would spend nearly $2 billion on flood control and local projects under the first major legislation filed in response to Hurricane Harvey. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday defended lawmakers not calling a special session in 2017 after Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain in Houston and became one of the costliest disasters in U.S history. A new…

A truck, lower right, lies on its side in a neighborhood devastated by a tornado that saw multiple members of a family killed in Beauregard, Ala., Tuesday, March 5, 2019. A truck, lower right, lies on its side in a neighborhood devastated by a tornado that saw multiple members of a family killed in Beauregard, Ala., Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Photo: David Goldman, AP Photo: David Goldman, AP Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close…

Jerry Merryman, one of the inventors of the hand-held electronic calculator who is described by those who knew him as not only brilliant but also kind with a good sense of humor, has died in Dallas. He was 86. Merryman died Feb. 27 at a Dallas hospital from complications of heart and kidney failure, said his stepdaughter, Kim Ikovic. She said he’d been hospitalized since late December after experiencing complications during surgery to install a…

Accuweather predicted there will be 1,075 tornadoes across the U.S. this year, slightly up from the 987 forecast last year, and San Antonio may be one of the cities at risk. The weather forecasters said despite the increase from year-to-year, their estimate was still below the annual average of more than 1,100 twisters. Accuweather long-range meteorologist Paul Pastelok said the Mississippi Valley and Gulf states saw more activity in recent years than traditional so-called Tornado…

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, becoming the second governor to join a crowded field of candidates. In a short video released Monday morning, Hickenlooper pledged to fight what he referred to as a crisis that threatens everything America stands for, as a picture of President Trump flashed on the screen, “As a skinny kid with Coke bottle glasses and a funny last name….

In more than a century of parading, Mardi Gras crowds in New Orleans have seen a lot of different krewes — as the parading groups are called. Krewes have been formed by whites to satirize British royalty, by blacks to satirize those satirizing British royalty, as well as by an all-female group that throws decorated heels into the crowds instead of beads. Add something new this year: Krewe de Mayahuel, a parading krewe formed mostly…

The Texas Economic Stabilization Fund, often called the rainy day fund, is doing well. Really well, actually. By the end of 2021, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar projects, it will have about $15 billion in it. Lawmakers say the account needs to have a minimum of $7.5 billion to help the state maintain a top credit rating. What should happen to the rest of that money? There are several suggestions. And in the end, some of…