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Texas' last Public Utility Commission member resigns

Texas' last Public Utility Commission member resigns at Gov. Greg Abbott's request
Cassandra Pollock and Shawn Mulcahy, The Texas Tribune
March 17, 2021
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Gov. Greg Abbott has accepted Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D'Andrea's resignation.Texas Tribune / Texas Public Utility Commission
Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D'Andrea, the only remaining member of the three-seat board that regulates Texas utilities, is resigning from his post, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday night.
Abbott said in a statement that he asked for and accepted D'Andrea's resignation and plans to name "a replacement in the coming days who will have the responsibility of charting a new and fresh course for the agency." D'Andrea's resignation will be effective immediately upon the appointment of a successor, according to a copy of D'Andrea's resignation letter that was obtained by The Texas Tribune.

Texas , United-states , Houston , Texans , Pat-wood , Dan-patrick , Deann-walker , Shelly-botkin , Judy-walsh , Max-yzaguirre , Public-utility-commission , Texas-railroad-commission

Texans don't have to prove they're eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, and some are jumping the line.

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Texans don't have to prove they're eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, and some are jumping the line.
Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas Tribune
March 9, 2021
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Some Texans are jumping the line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.Images By Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images
When a new mom in Austin found out that COVID-19 vaccine appointments were open in Killeen, she sent her healthy, 28-year-old husband and her 65-year-old mother to get their injections.
Both were vaccinated, despite only one of them being eligible under the priority groups outlined by Texas state health officials.
“I mostly sent them to get vaccines to protect me and for our newborn baby’s sake since [my husband] tends to see more friends,” said the 37-year-old woman, who requested anonymity for fear of public retribution.

Texas , United-states , New-york , Florida , Travis-county , Williamson-county , Texans , Allison-winnike , Lara-anton , Jen-stratton , Pfizer , University-of-texas-at-austin

Gov. Greg Abbott rejects aid from Biden administration in dispute over COVID-19 testing for migrants

Gov. Greg Abbott rejects aid from Biden administration in dispute over COVID-19 testing for migrants
Patrick Svitek and Julian Aguilar, The Texas Tribune
March 7, 2021
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A migrant family crosses the border into El Paso, Texas, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021.Christian Chavez, STR / Associated Press
Gov. Greg Abbott appeared this week to rebuff help from the federal government to give coronavirus testing to migrants before they are released from federal custody, saying it's a federal responsibility to screen immigrants coming into Texas.
The announcement came after Abbott, a Republican, repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden of “releasing immigrants in South Texas that have been exposing Texans to COVID.” The Biden administration denied that Thursday, and CNN reported that Abbott was “stalling” on a federal offer to pitch in on testing migrants.

Mexico , Syracuse-university , District-of-columbia , United-states , Texas , New-york , El-paso , Texas-department-of-public-safety , White-house , Houston , Cameron-county , Texans

Harris County got rid of cash bail for minor crimes. GOP lawmakers want to walk that back.

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Harris County got rid of cash bail for minor crimes. GOP lawmakers want to walk that back.
March 6, 2021
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Recent reforms that let more people accused of minor offenses be released without posting cash bonds appear to be working, new research shows. But Houston area lawmakers want to roll them back.Kathy Willens, STF / Associated Press
Eager to resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit, Texas' most populous county over the past two years has stopped requiring most people accused of low-level crimes from putting up cash to get out of jail on bond.
Tens of thousands of people accused of misdemeanors not involving some specific circumstances, like domestic abuse or previous bond violations, have been freed without cost while awaiting trial.

Harris-county , Texas , United-states , Dallas-county , Houston , American , Doug-griffith , Brandon-garrett , John-whitmire , Paul-bettencourtfiled , Joan-huffmanfiled , Greg-abbott

ERCOT overcharged power companies $16 billion for electricity

ERCOT overcharged power companies $16 billion for electricity during winter freeze, firm says
Mitchell Ferman, ERIN DOUGLAS, The Texas Tribune
March 4, 2021
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"ERCOT overcharged power companies $16 billion for electricity during winter freeze, firm says" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas made a $16 billion error in pricing during the week of the winter storm that caused power outages across the state, according to a filing by its market monitor.
Potomac Economics, the independent market monitor for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which oversees ERCOT, wrote in a letter to the Public Utility Commission that ERCOT kept market prices for power too high for nearly two more days after widespread outages ended late Feb. 17. It should have reset the prices the following day.

Texas , United-states , Richland , Patrick-woodson , Kenan-ogelman , Kelly-hancock , Carrie-bivens , Public-utility-commission , Bloomberg , Public-utility-commission-of-texas , Texas-senate , Clean-energy-holdings

Texas will not fix ERCOT's $16 billion power billing mistake

Texas will not fix ERCOT's $16 billion power billing mistake
MITCHELL FERMAN, The Texas Tribune
March 5, 2021
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An electricity power station at Dallas and Live Oak. Whether most electricity bills will go up following the recent power crisis will depend on several factors.Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Texas’ utility regulator had an opportunity Friday to eliminate some of the $16 billion that the state’s the grid operator erroneously overcharged power companies during last month’s deadly winter storm — but the board of the Public Utility Commission chose not to do so.
Some Texas electricity customers could have benefited from a decision to readjust the electricity market prices for the week of the storm, according to PUC Chair Arthur D’Andrea and some independent analysts. But other customers could have been harmed by such a move, D’Andrea said.

Texas , United-states , Shelly-botkin , Arthur-dandrea , Greg-abbott , Reliability-council-of-texas , Some-texas , Arthurd-andrea , Electric-reliability-council , Potomac-economic , Drew-springer , Potomac-economics

Oil and gas interests left to "self-regulate" in aftermath of winter storm

Oil and gas interests left to "self-regulate" in aftermath of winter storm
ERIN DOUGLAS, The Texas Tribune
March 5, 2021
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After being battered by withering criticism of its management of the power grid during last month’s winter storm, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas saw several of its board members resign and fired its CEO. The chair of the Public Utility Commission, which oversees the grid operator, was forced to resign.
The political fallout from the long-lasting Texas power outages have hit both entities hard after Gov. Greg Abbott blamed ERCOT’s leadership for the near-collapse of the electric grid and made its reform a legislative priority, and state lawmakers hammered the PUC for what they called a failure of oversight.

Houston , Texas , United-states , Brownsville , Corpus-christi , Fort-worth , Texans , Adrian-shelley , Charlie-geren , Dan-patrick , Todd-hunter , Marcil-gutierrez

Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson accused of sexual comments, drinking on job at White House

Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson accused of sexual comments, drinking on job at White House
lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.

Wichita-falls , Texas , United-states , Washington , White-house , District-of-columbia , Amarillo , Texans , Donald-trump , Mac-thornberry , Greg-abbott , Ronny-jackson

U.S. House Oversight Committee investigating operator of Texas' power grid

U.S. House Oversight Committee investigating operator of Texas' power grid
Bryan Mena, The Texas Tribune
March 3, 2021
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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. will lead an investigation by the House Oversight committee into ERCOT's handling of February's disastrous winter storm in Texas.Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call Inc.
A U.S. House subcommittee is investigating the operator of Texas’ power grid for its role in leaving millions without electricity during the destructive winter storm that hammered the state two weeks ago.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment for the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform wrote in a scathing letter addressed to Bill Magness, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ chief executive, that the grid’s failures were “costly” and disproportionately affected low-income and communities of color.

United-states , Texas , Waco , State-of-texas , Texans , Pat-fallon , Pete-sessions , Us-house-committee-on-oversight , Michael-cloud , Ro-khanna , D , Et-tu

Watch live: Gov. Greg Abbott makes "statewide announcement"

Watch live: Gov. Greg Abbott makes "statewide announcement"
March 2, 2021
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott should keep the state’s mask mandate going. This is a no-brainer.Ricardo Brazziell /TNS
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Gov. Greg Abbott will be in Lubbock on Tuesday to make what his office has described as a "statewide announcement."
Abbott did not hint at what he would announce, though he will be speaking at a Mexican food restaurant in the city and will address "small business and community leaders of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce." The event begins at 1:30 p.m. Central. We'll be streaming here it live, thanks to our partners at KXAN in Austin.

Lubbock , Texas , United-states , Mexico , Texans , Mexican , American , Greg-abbott , Lubbock-chamber , Ricardo-brazziell , Texas-tribune