Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Senate Joins House in Passing $36.5B Disaster Aid with Flood Insurance Funds
Oct 25 2017 // The Senate sent President Donald Trump a $36.5 billion hurricane relief bill Tuesday that gives Puerto Rico access to $4.9 billion in low-interest Treasury loans, amid concerns that recovery efforts from the recent...
Senate Expected to Pass $36.5B Disaster Aid Bill Including Flood Insurance Funds
Oct 24 2017 // The Senate is pushing ahead on a $36.5 billion hurricane relief package that would give Puerto Rico a much-needed infusion of cash. The measure also would replenish rapidly dwindling emergency disaster accounts and provide...
2 Missing After Barge Fire Off Texas Coast
Oct 23 2017 // The U.S. Coast Guard searched for two missing crew members on Saturday from a crude oil-bearing barge that caught fire off the Texas coast. Coast Guard spokeswoman Jennae Steinmiller says that emergency responders are also...
Pratt Named Chief Agency Officer at North Carolina-Based SUNUP Insurance Services
Oct 23 2017 // Larry Pratt has joined SUNUP Insurance Services, headquartered in North Carolina, as the chief agency officer. Pratt will be responsible for leading agency operations for the company. He comes to SUNUP with experience in...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Request to Raise Liability Limits Disapproved
Oct 20 2017 // Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan has declined to approve a request by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to raise the maximum limits of liability on windstorm and hail policies. TWIA in August filed a...
In ‘Energy City’ USA, Hurricane Harvey’s Fury Lingers
Oct 19 2017 // It took five weeks for the largest U.S. oil refinery to get back to normal after Hurricane Harvey. It’s taking Port Arthur, Texas, a lot longer. Nearly two months after Harvey inundated Port Arthur, a crucial hub of...
Rockport Mayor Says Much of Town Won’t Be Rebuilt Following Harvey
Oct 19 2017 // The mayor of the Gulf Coast community of Rockport says Hurricane Harvey destroyed about a third of the town and that 30 to 35 percent of it will probably never be rebuilt. Mayor Charles “C.J.” Wax said during a...
Renewed Push for Underground Water Storage Projects Sparked by Harvey
Oct 19 2017 // For state Rep. Lyle Larson, Hurricane Harvey was not only a tragedy but also a wasted opportunity. The San Antonio Republican, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, estimates that the amount of rain the storm...
Year After Texas Balloon Crash, NTSB Wants Medical Certification Exemption Tossed
Oct 18 2017 // The National Transportation Safety Board has called on the Federal Aviation Administration to remove its medical certification exemption for commercial balloon operators, saying it contributed to a July 30, 2016, balloon...
After Harvey Suspension, OSHA Resumes Regular Enforcement in Texas, Louisiana
Oct 16 2017 // After suspending most enforcement actions in Texas and Louisiana following Hurricane Harvey, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Oct. 10 resumed normal enforcement...
Texas Harvey Recovery Czar Says Insurance Industry Needs to ‘Step Up’
Oct 16 2017 // The insurance industry in Texas is not happy with the state’s so-called Hurricane Harvey recovery czar. Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp, who was named by Gov. Greg Abbott to lead the Commission to...
Texas Windstorm Association Extends Deadline for Post-Harvey Appraisal Requests
Oct 16 2017 // As of Oct. 4, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), the insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast, had received 68,861 claims related to Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall near Rockport,...
People – South Central
Oct 16 2017 // Dr. Shealynn Buck has joined Lockton Benefit Group in Dallas as chief medical officer. She joins the Lockton Health Risk Solutions team and will advise employers on health strategies that improve employee wellbeing, reduce...
Fitch Ratings: Texas Flood Plan Would Lower Risk to Houston Region Utilities
Oct 13 2017 // The development of a state-wide flood plan by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) would reduce operational risk to both water and sewer utilities, according to Fitch Ratings. If developed, the plan would be the first...
Feds Shut Down Iowa Trucking Company Tied to Trafficking Deaths
Oct 13 2017 // Federal safety regulators have shut down a troubled Iowa trucking company that owned the semitrailer involved in a human trafficking case in which 10 immigrants died in Texas. Pyle Transportation was placed under an...
Developers Built Homes Inside Houston’s Reservoirs. But No One Warned Buyers.
Oct 12 2017 // Note: This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune and ProPublica. When Jeremy Boutor moved to a master-planned community in Houston’s booming energy corridor, he saw it as idyllic. Lakes on Eldridge...
Texas’ QEO Group to Write Commercial Auto with Clear Blue Insurance Group
Oct 12 2017 // Irving, Texas-based QEO Group LLC (QEO) and Clear Blue Financial Holdings LLC (Clear Blue), headquartered in North Carolina, have agreed to a long-term, exclusive relationship for QEO to write its commercial automobile...
$36.5 Billion House Disaster Aid Bill Includes Funds for Puerto Rico, Wildfires, Flood Insurance
Oct 12 2017 // House lawmakers unveiled a bill Tuesday night that would provide $36.5 billion in emergency funding for hurricane and wildfire relief requested by the Trump administration. With Congress under pressure to provide urgent...
Texas Pumpkin Crops Suffer from Heavy Rains
Oct 11 2017 // It’s the peak time of year to harvest pumpkins, but the weather hasn’t been so kind to one of Floyd County, Texas’s most famous crops. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports Lindsey Pyle, with Pumpkin Pyle...
Deadline Extended for Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Post-Harvey Claim Disputes
Oct 10 2017 // As of Oct. 4, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) had received 68,861 claims related to Hurricane Harvey. TWIA is the insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast. Affected policyholders,...
