Category Archives: The great state of Texas

Elevated Access

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

More great reporting from Texas Public Radio about the brave and creative ways that people in Texas are finding to help others get the health care they need outside the state. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, … Continue reading →

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What would it take to prove the existence of Bigfoot?

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly’s Lauren Larson visits the annual Texas Bigfoot Conference and asks the important question. [Michael Mayes, a schoolteacher and author of Valley of the Apes: The Search for Sasquatch in Area X] introduces a question that has preoccupied investigators … Continue reading →

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What the Texas State Aquarium will be doing this winter

Posted on December 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Rescuing freezing animals, for one thing. The patient, rescued by a concerned stranger, had been in the hospital for almost a year since suffering in the cold around last Christmas. She had been eating well and gaining weight after her … Continue reading →

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State abandons effort to retake Fairfield Lake State Park

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has effectively thrown in the towel on a monthslong battle to buy or seize a 5,000-acre property that includes the now-closed Fairfield Lake State Park in Freestone County. Dallas-based developer Todd Interests … Continue reading →

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Woolly mammoth de-extinctioning

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. In a historic building in Deep Ellum, a colossal effort is underway to bring some of the most famously extinct animals back to life. The wild mission comes from a Dallas-based company called Colossal Biosciences which is … Continue reading →

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Three stories about abortion

Posted on November 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

All from Texas Public Radio, which has been doing a great job with these. Big Bend area group plans anti-abortion pregnancy centers in Presidio, Alpine. A local nonprofit formed earlier this year is seeking to open two new anti-abortion pregnancy … Continue reading →

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Warfarin update

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Warfarin is a toxicant that has shown promise in reducing the feral hog population. A few years ago the Lege asked for a study on its effects before it could be approved for more general use. We now have the … Continue reading →

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“Solar For All” grant

Posted on November 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Earlier this year, the Biden Administration announced a $7 billion national “Solar For All” grant competition via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help expand solar energy production across the country. Harris County leaders enlisted a coalition … Continue reading →

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Data from Dallas County cyberattack allegedly posted online

Posted on November 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how bad this is. Data allegedly from the recent cyber attack on Dallas County systems has been posted online, county officials confirmed on Tuesday. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said officials were “aware of an unauthorized party posting … Continue reading →

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Dallas County says it successfully defended itself against that cyber attack

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Very good news if true. Dallas County said Tuesday that an attempt to hack into its computer systems earlier this month has been thwarted and staff are continuing to investigate the incident. The county announced on its website that its … Continue reading →

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Skeet Jones indicted and suspended

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Have you been waiting for a Skeet Jones update? Well, you’re in luck. State regulators have suspended without pay the top elected official of Texas’s least-populated county after a grand jury indicted him for cattle rustling. Judge Skeet Jones, patriarch … Continue reading →

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Dallas County suffers ransomware attack

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Add them to the list. Dallas County experienced a cybersecurity incident this month that affected parts of its network, an official confirmed on Monday. In a statement to Recorded Future News, Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins said that there … Continue reading →

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The looming Kerr County election disaster

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have five things to say about this. Responsibility for running elections in Kerr County has shifted among three different people in the past two months. The first two officials bailed on the job after a months-long effort by one … Continue reading →

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Private dam proposal withdrawn

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. After months of opposition by communities along the Llano River, the former CEO of Houston-based energy company Phillips 66 has withdrawn his permit application to build a private dam on his ranch in Edwards County, according to state … Continue reading →

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Lubbock County passes “abortion travel ban”

Posted on October 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time to take this to court. Three county commissioners approved an ordinance Monday that would bar pregnant Texas women from traveling through Lubbock County for an abortion in another state. The commissioners – Jason Corley, Terence Kovar and Jordan … Continue reading →

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Drought 2023

Posted on October 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bad. Any questions? A lingering drought affecting more than 80% of Texas is causing wildfires, hurting agriculture and drying up water supplies throughout the state. This year’s drought comes less than a year after Texas experienced one of its … Continue reading →

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From the “I gave you a million bucks and this is the thanks I get?” department

Posted on October 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is buck wild. Colony Ridge, a massive residential development north of Houston, has quickly taken center stage in Texas politics. After weeks of reports in conservative media portraying the development as a “magnet for illegal immigrants,” followed by state … Continue reading →

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A Loving County update

Posted on October 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The country’s smallest county has the biggest election contest lawsuits. Most people can tell you where they live. But here in the least-populated county in the United States, “Where is your home?” can be a trick question laced with dark … Continue reading →

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The Arlington nun mutiny

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Oh my God this story is wild. There’s a strange saga unfolding in Texas. It involves allegations and accusations of illicit sexual relationships, drug use, theft, abuse, spying, planted evidence, and plots to steal a multimillion-dollar property. The people involved … Continue reading →

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The push to make driving out of state for an abortion a crime

Posted on September 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Take a deep cleansing breath. Have a few sips of your favorite relaxing beverage. Settle into a nice, comfy chair. Then, when you’re feeling calm and collected and your blood pressure is under control and you think you can handle … Continue reading →

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State goes eminent domain on Fairfield Lake

Posted on September 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We knew this was coming. In a new attempt to save Fairfield Lake State Park, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department filed a petition to condemn and seize the 5,000-acre property south of Dallas through eminent domain. The petition was … Continue reading →

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The Fort Worth bitcoin mining experience

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wild. A year ago, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker joked the city was now “cowtown and cryptocurrency” after plugging in donated bitcoin mining machines. That news generated millions of web impressions across the world, a nominal amount of money and … Continue reading →

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UTMB gets grant for a gun study

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be very interested to see what they learn. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston will be at the forefront of an emerging field of study after receiving a $2 million grant to study ways to … Continue reading →

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New frontiers in bad ideas

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Private dams. No, seriosuly. A private dam proposed on the South Llano River, a major tributary to the Highland Lakes, is the center of a debate in the Hill Country this week as a public hearing set for Thursday evening … Continue reading →

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Wildfire disaster declared

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Stay safe, y’all. Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a wildfire disaster declaration for about 75% of Texas counties, allowing them to use all available state resources to respond to any new fires as the state continues to bake under triple-digit … Continue reading →

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Todd Interests rejects “final offer” by TPWD for Fairfield State Park

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Off to court next, I guess. The developer who purchased the site of a now-former state park has rejected the state’s final offer to purchase the property. Dallas-based Todd Interests became the owner of the Fairfield Lake State Park property, … Continue reading →

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Lots of people were affected by that Dallas ransomware attack

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not great. Computer hackers accessed the personal information of at least 26,212 Texans in a ransomware attack on the city of Dallas, according to an official disclosure made public Monday, three months after the breach. The city’s notice to the … Continue reading →

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Some data points in the “future doctor shortage” story

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From The 19th: The landscape of American health care has undergone an extraordinary transformation in the past several years, with the end of federal abortion protections allowing states to end access to the procedure, and the concurrent rise in bans … Continue reading →

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Tuberculosis

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s making an unfortunate comeback. Before 2020, advances to eradicate TB, which is spread person to person through the air, were underway globally. It was considered by many public health experts to be a feasible goal, since tools are available to identify … Continue reading →

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Future legislator Miss Texas

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta say, I’m impressed. The day of the school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Tex., last year, Averie Bishop posted a TikTok video, sobbing. “These things happen all the time and nothing changes,” she said. After the Supreme … Continue reading →

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Lots of broadband funding on the way

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Texas will receive more than $3.3 billion in federal money — the most of any state — to help expand broadband availability statewide, the Biden administration announced Monday. The money will be distributed from the $42.45 billion in the Broadband Equity, … Continue reading →

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Fort Worth data exposure

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This one is a little different. A hacker group has leaked internal data from the City of Fort Worth’s online systems, city officials announced Saturday. The city was notified around 4 p.m. Friday a group called SiegedSec had downloaded data … Continue reading →

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Dallas improves its cybersecurity

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. The Dallas City Council approved a nearly $4 million deal Wednesday to get a new system that alerts the city’s information technology department of possible cyber attacks. The approval comes as the city is nearly two months … Continue reading →

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How hot is it?

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Too damn hot. Record-setting heat in Texas has sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials. Temperature records fell across Texas during the last two weeks, putting June 2023 on pace to be … Continue reading →

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