Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Houston Eyeing Designer Bonds to Pay for $15B Ike Dike
Aug 30 2018 // A massive dike to hold back storm-driven floods surging in from the Gulf of Mexico was first proposed after Hurricane Ike devastated the Houston-area coast a decade ago. Last year’s Hurricane Harvey disaster brought...
Allstate Says Brownsville, Texas, Has the Nation’s Safest Drivers
Aug 30 2018 // Illinois-based insurer, Allstate, has named Brownsville, Texas, the city with America’s safest drivers. The ranking is based on Allstate claims data. The 14th annual Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report...
Hernandez Named Interim Texas State Fire Marshal
Aug 28 2018 // Orlando Hernandez, a 28-year veteran of the fire and emergency services professions, has been selected to serve as the interim state fire marshal, the Texas Department of Insurance announced. Hernandez has been the life...
Texan Sentenced on Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges
Aug 27 2018 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County district court has sentenced Christopher Colligan of Baytown on workers’ compensation fraud charges. The company said Colligan reported a job-related...
Houston-Area Voters Approve Flood-Control Bond Measure
Aug 27 2018 // Voters in Houston and its surrounding county marked the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey coming ashore by approving the issuance of $2.5 billion in bonds to fund flood-control projects that might mitigate the damage caused...
One Year Post-Harvey, Recovery Toughest for the Poor
Aug 24 2018 // Shirley Paley’s life before Hurricane Harvey was already a struggle: The 61-year-old former postal worker was raising her 17-year-old autistic grandson while dealing with a workplace injury that left her legally...
Texas Seeking Money for ‘Coastal Spine,’ Government Protection from Climate Change
Aug 23 2018 // 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...
Survey: 10% of Texans Displaced by Harvey Still Haven’t Gone Home
Aug 23 2018 // One year after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast, 10 percent of the people impacted by the disaster have not been able to return to their homes, according to a report from two nonprofits that surveyed Texans about...
University of Texas Settles Kearney Discrimination Lawsuit for $600K
Aug 22 2018 // The University of Texas agreed to pay $600,000 to settle former women’s track coach Bev Kearney’s race and gender discrimination lawsuit, according to documents released Monday. Kearney and the school agreed to...
Texas Workers’ Comp Fraudster Sentenced for Double Dipping
Aug 21 2018 // A Travis County, Texas district court has sentenced Gary Hunt of Austin on workers’ compensation fraud charges. Hunt reported a job-related injury while working as a sales coach for Radiant Plumbing Service Inc., and...
Finding Toyota Negligent in Accident, Texas Jury Awards $242M to Family
Aug 20 2018 // A Texas jury awarded damages of $242 million to a Dallas family after finding that defects in the family’s Lexus sedan caused injuries to their two children during a rear-end collision, the law firm representing the...
Court Says Trump Administration Must Implement Chemical Safety Rule
Aug 20 2018 // A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately implement an Obama-era chemical safety rule introduced in response to a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas that killed 15...
TWIA Requests 10% Rate Increase; Approves $106.8M Assessment for Harvey Losses
Aug 20 2018 // The board of directors of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted at its recent quarterly meeting to raise rates for residential and commercial properties by 10 percent next year, while acknowledging a rate...
Business Moves
Aug 20 2018 // TrueNorth, Gateway Insurance Services TrueNorth Companies has acquired Iowa-based Gateway Insurance Services, which will adopt the TrueNorth name and brand. With locations in Ames and Iowa Falls, Gateway Insurance Services...
ICT to Begin Annual Texas ‘Hurricane Tour’
Aug 17 2018 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) is set to launch its annual “hurricane tour” aimed at reminding coastal residents to be ready in case a hurricane or tropical storm should make landfall this year. Beginning...
Lingering Texas Drought Has Ranchers Reducing Herds
Aug 16 2018 // A growing number of Texas ranchers and farmers are trimming their livestock, or selling them altogether, as the persistent drought has eliminated water supplies and forage for the animals. Some landowners describe a...
Texas Insurance Department: Harvey Claims Reporting Deadline Approaching
Aug 15 2018 // As the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey approaches, the Texas Department of Insurance is reminding Texans that some insurance policies have a one-year deadline to file claims. Harvey made landfall August 25. Texas Windstorm...
Firefighters With Cancer Often Denied Workers’ Comp in Texas
Aug 15 2018 // Many Texas cities are denying workers’ compensation to firefighters with cancer, according to union leaders and state lawmakers. Over the past six years, more than 90 percent of the 117 workers compensation claims...
Nearly Year After Harvey, Recovery Continues in South Texas Town
Aug 14 2018 // Armonie Brown in Refugio, Texas, pauses for a second when asked about Hurricane Harvey. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports Brown saw friends and teammates lose their homes and all their belongings, while the school he...
Texas’ Murex Petroleum Sued for Allowing Racial Harassment, Hostile Workplace
Aug 9 2018 // A Texas-based oil and gas company, operating in Tioga, N.D., violated civil rights law by subjecting an African-American employee to a hostile work environment based on his race, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...
