Category Archives: The great state of Texas

A year after the freeze

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A sobering portrait of grief and loss from last year’s freeze, from the Chron. A year ago, a blast of frigid weather swept across the state, paralyzing the power grid and setting off a catastrophe. Power generators went offline, leaving … Continue reading →

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How the grid held up

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Basically, this cold front wasn’t anything like last year’s cold front. Texas’s power grid passed its biggest test since last year’s deadly blackouts, keeping most lights on during a wintry blast. This storm, however, was far less severe than last … Continue reading →

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The noble sacrifice of the coin miners

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You’re welcome. Chad Harris got an urgent phone call during last February’s epic Texas winter storm, something he was expecting as the operator of the single largest bitcoin mining and hosting facility in North America. “You need to shed your … Continue reading →

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Okay, so maybe there will be some blackouts

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. With freezing weather expected to hit a large portion of Texas this week, Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday tried to assure Texans that the state is better prepared this year than last, but said there could be local power … Continue reading →

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“Maternity deserts”

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A few weeks ago, a woman gave birth at Hereford Regional Medical Center, a critical access hospital in the Texas Panhandle. Or, rather, the woman gave birth in the parking lot at … Continue reading →

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You don’t want to go to the ICU right now

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And even if for some reason you did want to go to the intensive care unit, there probably wouldn’t be room for you. The number of Texas intensive care unit beds available for adult patients is at an all-time low … Continue reading →

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The Killeen Luby’s mass shooting, 30 years later

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Dallas Observer takes a trip down memory lane. The man and his weapons were both from out of town. That’s one of the first things many Killeen residents, both past and present, will remind you: He wasn’t one of … Continue reading →

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Who’s worried about electricity in Texas?

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The guy who writes The Watchdog for the DMN, for one. The people with real power in this state, not so much. I was lonely. For more than a decade, it was as if I were the only North Texas … Continue reading →

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Have I mentioned that we need to get more kids vaccinated?

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously, y’all. Since November, 693,345 Texas elementary-age children have received at least one dose of the vaccine, accounting for about 24% of the state’s 2.9 million children ages 5-11 — and a figure in line with the national rate. Nearly … Continue reading →

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You (probably) still have to get vaxxed if you work in Houston

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see this, but there’s a huge question that this story doesn’t address, much less answer. Local companies say they will maintain their vaccination policies despite last week’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Biden administration’s vaccination … Continue reading →

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The cities and the freeze

Posted on January 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Well, at least some government entities are trying to learn from the February disaster, even if they’re having a rough go of it. Ten months after the freeze, Texas cities have made some headway on storm preparedness, an oft-neglected area … Continue reading →

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We are so screwed if there’s a real cold front

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

[bangs head on desk]. During Texas’ first strong cold front of the winter this past weekend, natural gas production in the state’s top energy-producing region dropped by about 25%, according to a report from S&P Global. And while the lights … Continue reading →

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Feds halt Harvey relief funds over GLO error

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The continuing saga. The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday halted the distribution of $1.95 billion in aid awarded to Texas after Hurricane Harvey because it said the state has failed to send the federal agency required paperwork … Continue reading →

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The hospitals are getting slammed again

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Take precautions, y’all. Pandemic forecasters in Texas say the state’s current surge of omicron infections and hospitalizations is likely to get much worse before it gets better, with hospitalizations expected to continue climbing for at least three weeks if social behaviors don’t change … Continue reading →

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The final official death toll from the big freeze

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s undoubtedly an underestimate. Texas has added 36 more deaths to the official death toll from the February snow and ice storm, bringing the total to 246 in what was one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history. … Continue reading →

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Hey, if libraries are fair game…

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Why stop at school libraries? When the Llano County Library shuts down for three days this week, starting Tuesday, it won’t be for the holidays. Instead, a group of six librarians in this small Central Texas county will be conducting … Continue reading →

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Simply having a COVIDful Christmastime

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry not sorry. Houston has surpassed 300,000 COVID-19 cases, just days after the highly contagious omicron variant leapfrogged delta to become the dominant viral strain circulating in the region and around the United States. The staggering milestone reached Thursday, when … Continue reading →

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Our year in COVID

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was bad. How it is next year is at least partially up to us. Texas recorded a 35 percent increase in COVID-19 deaths in 2021, compared to the first year of the pandemic, even though vaccines have been available … Continue reading →

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Climate change and freezing weather

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

A little science for you. It was the coldest February Texas had seen in more than four decades, and the sustained blast of arctic air knocked out much of the state’s power grid for several days, causing hundreds of deaths … Continue reading →

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The high pastoral life

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet. This fall, county officials mailed out property tax bills to the owners of a 10-bedroom, 10.5-bath Houston-area mansion, an 8,000-square-foot residence in a historic San Antonio neighborhood, an elegant Highland Park estate in Dallas and a house on more … Continue reading →

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ERCOT and PUC swear there will be no blackouts this winter

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Do you believe them? The Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Wednesday pledged that the “lights will stay on” this winter as it inspects power generators and enforces other requirements to avoid a deadly power … Continue reading →

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Our cow poop future

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a resource we have a lot of, to be sure. TotalEnergies plans to build its first biomethane plant in the Texas Panhandle to produce renewable transportation fuel from cow manure. The French oil major on Tuesday said it has … Continue reading →

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We continue to register more voters

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Seventeen million and counting. Texas has surpassed 17 million registered voters for the first time, continuing a pace that is reshaping the state’s electorate so rapidly that even the politicians cannot keep up. Despite a series of new election regulations … Continue reading →

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The Ike Dike is still a work in progress

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be honest, I thought we were further along than this. Members of Texas’ congressional delegation are gearing up for a “marathon” effort to secure funding for a long-sought barrier to protect the Texas Gulf Coast from catastrophic storm surge. … Continue reading →

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COVID hospitalizations are (generally) down in (most of) Texas

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For now. I think you always have to add “for now” to this sort of thing. As Texans head into the holiday season, there is much to celebrate when it comes to addressing the pandemic. But health experts say the … Continue reading →

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We’re still vulnerable to blackouts

Posted on November 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So says ERCOT. Electricity outages in Texas could occur this winter if the state experiences a cold snap that forces many power plants offline at the same time as demand for power is high, according to an analysis by the … Continue reading →

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FERC report on the freeze

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was lack of weatherization all along. A shortage of natural gas during the winter storm that swept Texas and other states in the south central United States in February was primarily caused by the oil and gas industry’s failure … Continue reading →

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Those pesky high utility rates

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Still a problem. Those of us who lived through Winter Storm Uri have hardly forgotten the experience, of course. But we’ll have a little reminder of it on our gas bills. Every month. For the next decade. At least. And … Continue reading →

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Ten years after the Bastrop fire

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The headline on this story asks whether Texas is ready for the next big fire. I think we know the answer to that. Ten years ago, Texas experienced it’s worst wildfire disaster in the state’s history. Over 31 thousand fires … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder, the COVID vaccine really will save your life

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Numbers don’t lie. New data from the Texas health department released Monday proves what health officials have been trying to tell vaccine-hesitant Texans for months: The COVID-19 vaccine dramatically prevents death and is the best tool to prevent transmission of … Continue reading →

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Maybe there won’t be another freeze this winter

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Views differ. Love it or hate it — winter looks especially warm in Texas this year. Federal forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said last week that much of the country is likely to see … Continue reading →

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People still support mask mandates

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

One more tidbit from the UT/Trib poll for October. A majority of Texas voters support requiring masks at schools and indoor public places and allowing businesses to require their employees to be vaccinated, according to a new University of Texas/Texas … Continue reading →

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The Huntsville bat warehouse

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I love stories like this, even when they leave me wanting more. Hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats streamed out of the abandoned brick building on a recent weeknight, leaving behind the burned-out structure where they’ve stayed for many … Continue reading →

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An estimate of the Census undercount

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It could have been worse. According to new analysis of the 2020 Census, Texas had the highest undercount of any US state in raw numbers. It’s estimated some 377,000 in the state weren’t included in the count. Nationally, the 2020 … Continue reading →

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