February 19, 2014
The Houston Health Department likely won’t have to pay for additional training for most of the “navigators” who are helping city residents enroll in the new federal health insurance marketplace. All it needs to do is tweak their title. Texas, …
June 28, 2013
A federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant will tell a Senate committee that regulation of the dangerous chemicals used in the industry fall under a “patchwork” of standards that are decades old and are far …
April 30, 2013
Federal and state officials investigating the April 17 deadly blast at a Central Texas fertilizer company are trying to determine whether a fire at the plant could have ignited a supply of ammonium nitrate. But how much of the highly …
April 23, 2013
There were no sprinklers. No firewalls. No water deluge systems. Safety inspections were rare at the fertilizer company in West, Texas, that exploded and killed at least 14 people this week. This is not unusual. Small fertilizer plants nationwide fall …
October 18, 2012
Oil has long lived in harmony with farmland and cattle across the Texas landscape, a symbiosis nurtured by generations and built on an unspoken honor code that allowed agriculture to thrive while oil was extracted. Proud Texans have long welcomed …
July 13, 2012
A Texas judge has ruled that the atmosphere and air must be protected for public use, just like water, which could help attorneys tasked with arguing climate change lawsuits designed to force states to cut emissions. The written ruling, issued …
August 2, 2011
Tracy Woody heaved a hemp bag filled with oysters across the deck of his boat and began inspecting his catch. One shell after another was empty. It’s virtually official, Woody said: the third-worst drought in state history has killed any …