Tag Archives: Harris County Fire Marshal

The ITC fire five years later

We learned some things from this. The Intercontinental Terminals Co. fire that broke out March 17, 2019, did not just lead to a massive black plume of smoke lingering for days over east Harris County, before spreading 20 miles to … Continue reading

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Harris County implements a burn ban

Surely this is a thing we can all comply with. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday enacted a countywide burn ban due to drought conditions and an increased threat of wildfires across unincorporated Harris County, but fireworks will remain legal … Continue reading

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Harris County approves its budget

Good priorities. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously approved a $3.3 billion general fund budget that includes new investments in pollution control, public health and attorneys for indigent criminal defendants. The $64 million in new spending represents a 2 … Continue reading

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SCOTX rejects multiple Hotze petitions

Some good news. The Texas Supreme Court has refused to hear several challenges by a Houston conservative power broker to emergency orders on coronavirus issued by Gov. Greg Abbott and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Without comment, the nine Republican … Continue reading

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The state of the county 2019

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has a lot of accomplishments to tout. Harris County in the past year has made significant progress on flood control, criminal justice and improving public health, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in her first State … Continue reading

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Commissioners Court gets more aggressive on environmental enforcement

Good. Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted to hire 61 employees across three departments in a bid to significantly boost Harris County’s ability to respond to environmental emergencies after finding numerous shortcomings in its efforts to manage three chemical fires near … Continue reading

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Study shows a lot of gaps in Harris County’s ability to respond to chemical fires

This quantifies what was painfully apparent in recent months. More monitoring and manpower is needed for Harris County to better respond to chemical fires like the three that struck the region earlier this year, worrying residents and shutting the Houston … Continue reading

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