The Brief: Oct. 8, 2014
GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott's $30 million campaign chest has captured a lot of attention, leading to the next question: why raise all that cash? Full Story
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![Attorney General Greg Abbott in his second and final gubernatorial debate with state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 30, 2014.]()
Credit: KERA -
Energy Efficiency Advocates Optimistic About Loan Program
A coalition aiming to encourage commercial and industrial property owners in Texas to invest in energy and water efficiency says it has made major progress. Full Story
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![The Rose, a nonprofit based in Houston, upgraded its building’s windows, light switches and roof, above, to make them more energy efficient.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato -
2014 TribuneFest: Audio From the Environment Track
The environment track at the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on water planning, protecting the Texas Coast, the state of Texas agriculture and Texas vs. the EPA. Listen to audio of each session. Full Story
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The Brief: Oct. 6, 2014
GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott's tenure as attorney general was the focus of news coverage this weekend. And it wasn't the sort of coverage craved by campaigns. Full Story
![Attorney General Greg Abbott in his second and final gubernatorial debate with state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 30, 2014.]()
Credit: KERA -
2014 TribuneFest: Audio From the Energy Track
The energy track at the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on the state of the electric grid, what Mexican energy reform means for Texas, hydraulic fracturing and a closer look at the state's drilling boom. Listen to audio of each session. Full Story
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Small West Texas Towns Consider Lengths They'll Go for Water Supplies
Thirteen sparsely populated Permian Basin counties are considering a water company's plan to secure groundwater for the region from Val Verde County, hundreds of miles south of the region. Full Story
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![International Bridge No. 1 over the Rio Grande looking at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, from the banks of a city park in Laredo. The Rio Grande could be affected if water from Val Verde County is diverted, one scientist said.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Drilling Waste Plan Roils South Texas Town
Nordheim, population 307, is the site of one of the first organized protests in the heart of the Eagle Ford. Many of its residents are fighting to keep out a massive disposal facility for oil and gas waste — a sight that could become more common as energy producers search for places to dispose of their leftovers. Full Story
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![Paul Baumann's property, owned by his family for generations, is directly next to a proposed drilling waste dump in the small town of Nordheim. He, along with other concerned citizens, are protesting the dump as they fear it will pollute and ruin their way of life.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
The Brief: Oct. 3, 2014
As of this morning, the number of legally operating abortion clinics in Texas can be counted on two hands. Full Story
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![A hallway at the Whole Woman's Health clinic in Austin.]()
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Judge Throws a Wrench in Border Coal Project
For several years, residents in Maverick County have waged a war against a company that wants to mine low-grade coal on 6,300 acres of land in this impoverished borderland. A recent twist in the saga is giving them new hope. Full Story
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![If Dos Republicas is able to mine substandard coal in Maverick County, it will be carried by train from the site in rural Maverick County through the center of Eagle Pass, Texas - Saturday, February 4, 2012]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
The Brief: Oct. 2, 2014
On the day after the country's first case of an Ebola infection appeared in Dallas, the focus has turned to the hospital where the patient was initially sent home with antibiotics before being admitted a second time for treatment. Full Story
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![An exterior view of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas on Oct. 1, 2014.]()
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The Brief: Oct. 1, 2014
An airline passenger who was traveling to Dallas to visit relatives has become the first case of an Ebola infection in the U.S. The diagnosis, which was announced Tuesday afternoon, had federal and state officials trying to allay fears of an outbreak of the disease in this country. Full Story
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In Texas, a Bright Outlook for Solar Manufacturer
Texas’ biggest solar panel manufacturing plant is ramping up production. It’s part of San Antonio’s effort to become a solar energy hub – by building solar farms to help power the area and luring the companies that manufacture their parts. Full Story
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![A worker at Mission Solar in San Antonio inspects the protective coating of a fully assembled solar panel for bubbles that could hinder efficiency. The company runs Texas' biggest solar panel manufacturing plant.]()
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Controversial Water Pipeline Project Moves Forward in San Antonio
San Antonio is one step closer to buying some of the most expensive water ever sold in Texas. The city's water utility says the $3.4 billion deal is right for the growing region, but critics say it is risky and premature. Full Story
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![A map of the proposed pipeline that will deliver 16 billion gallons of water annually from underneath Burleson County to San Antonio, about 140 miles away.]()
Credit: San Antonio Water System -
The Brief: Sept. 30, 2014
The major party nominees for governor — Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Wendy Davis — hold their second and final debate tonight in Dallas. The smart money is on an encounter similar to the first one held 11 days ago in Edinburg. Full Story
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![State Sen. Wendy Davis and Attorney General Greg Abbott before their debate at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance in Edinburg on Sept. 19, 2014.]()
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The Brief: Sept. 29, 2014
Dan Patrick and Leticia Van de Putte meet tonight for what's expected to be the only debate between the major party nominees for lieutenant governor. Full Story
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Credit: Jennifer Whitney / Bob Daemmrich -
Lawmakers to Look at Potential Impact of Carbon Regulations
Texas will need to make big cuts in carbon emissions over the next 15 years under a mandate from the federal government. State lawmakers will meet Monday to discuss what that will mean for the economy and Texans' electric bills. Full Story
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![This flue gas scrubber, installed at a Valero refinery in Houston in 2006, reduces emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.]()
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Debating What's More Sacred in Texas: Private Land or Public Beaches
Texas has long prided itself on providing public access to its beaches, but some fear that a recent court decision — supported by the front-runner to be land commissioner — could endanger that guarantee. Full Story
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![Coastal properties in Galveston were the subject of a court decision that some say threatens the state's Open Beaches Act.]()
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The Brief: Sept. 26, 2014
The facts of the auditor's report released Thursday on the administration of Gov. Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund are, as the Tribune's Aman Batheja termed it, "damning." Full Story
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![New England journalists surround Gov. Rick Perry after Friday's Portsmouth business luncheon.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Perry Touts National Energy Plan, Gas Exports
Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday called on the federal government to pass a comprehensive energy plan with a focus on natural gas drilling and exports — and to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry adjusts his glasses during his appearance at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 21.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
State Revives Low-Income Energy Efficiency Plan
Texas regulators say they have a plan to provide low-income Texans with the tools to help them interact with "smart" meters and improve energy efficiency at their homes – tapping $18.5 million of ratepayer money long earmarked for such a program. Full Story
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![A 2007 state law said that "smart" meters must "be deployed as rapidly as possible" across the state.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond