Articles by Will Weissert

Texas Seeking Money for ‘Coastal Spine,’ Government Protection from Climate Change

As the nation plans new defenses against the more powerful storms and higher tides expected from climate change, one project stands out: an ambitious proposal to build a nearly 60-mile “spine” of concrete seawalls, earthen barriers, floating gates and steel …

Texas Governor Calls White House Disaster Aid Bill ‘Inadequate’

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Nov. 17 criticized as “completely inadequate” the Trump administration’s $44 billion request to Congress for disaster relief in his hurricane-ravaged state and other areas hammered by storms. The White House shot back that Texas …

Texas Balloon Pilot Previously Had DWI Arrest in Missouri

The pilot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Texas and killed all 16 people aboard was arrested in Missouri in 2000 for driving while intoxicated, and the Better Business Bureau warned consumers about doing business with the balloon …

FEMA Approves Aid For Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast

The Federal Emergency Management Agency reversed its previous decision and approved additional funding to help rebuild the small Texas town where an April fertilizer plant explosion leveled homes, damaged buildings and killed 15 people. President Barack Obama issued a “major …

Texas Governor: Storm Insurance Special Session Possibility

Gov. Rick Perry has said he may add reshaping the troubled Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to a special legislative session he’s already convened on redistricting, but wouldn’t yet say for sure whether he’ll give lawmakers more to do. Perry called …

Texas House Approves Guns on Campus, School Marshals Bills

The Texas House has approved contentious plans to let college students carry concealed weapons to class and create special marshals for public schools statewide. Both measures were part of what has been unofficially dubbed “gun day” at the Texas House …

Some Residents Allowed Back Home After Texas Blast

Stranded families growing weary and frustrated since a deadly Texas fertilizer plant explosion left them barricaded from their battered homes finally began returning Saturday, but only under a curfew and strict warnings to not wander beyond their own yards. Authorities …

78 Texas School Districts Without Safety Plan

Seventy-eight Texas school districts either have failed to submit state-mandated safety plans in the event of a mass shooting or have filed ones that are too incomplete to be useful, Attorney General Greg Abbott said on Dec. 17. His finding …

Texas DA Investigating State Farm Hurricane Claims

Texas investigators have opened a criminal probe into how State Farm handled what may turn out to be thousands of insurance claims from Gulf Coast homeowners involving damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008, officials said. Gregg Cox, head of the …

Fire-weary Texas Residents Looking to Insurance

Brandon Bunker knew there would be nothing left. He knew from videos he had seen online that the home he and his wife shared with his father was a total loss and that his Jeep Grand Cherokee had been reduced …