Latest Texas Headlines

All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Texas DPS Touts Success of Border Crime, Vehicle Safety Initiative

Oct 25 2013 // The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that a multi-agency law enforcement initiative, dubbed Operation Strong Safety, that targeted crime, unsafe commercial vehicles and unsafe driving practices has been...

New Website Updates Texas Drought, Conditions

Oct 25 2013 // People concerned about the lingering Texas drought have another tool to track water resources. The Texas Water Development Board has announced a new drought website. Officials say the site, unveiled Oct. 23, brings...

Central Texas Hospital System Says Computer Stolen

Oct 25 2013 // A Central Texas medical group has notified Austin police about the theft of a laptop computer with personal data from patients. Officials with Seton Healthcare Family on Oct. 22 announced the theft and its commitment to...

Old Arson Cases in Texas Being Reviewed by New Panel

Oct 23 2013 // A new review by the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office of old arson cases that might have relied on bad science has so far discovered three questionable convictions. But the effort has also drawn criticism from a West...

Texas Senator: How Can We Lower Homeowner Insurance Costs?

Oct 18 2013 // A Texas lawmaker has asked the state insurance department to come up with suggestions for ways to lower homeowners insurance rates in the state. Texas has consistently been ranked, along with Florida and Louisiana, one of...

Texas Raises Adjusted Gross Annual Payroll Requirement for Seasonal Workers

Oct 18 2013 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) has determined that the adjusted annual payroll requirement of an employer for the coverage of seasonal workers has increased from...

Texas Oil and Gas Association Earns $500K Texas Mutual Dividend

Oct 18 2013 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TxOGA) has earned a $500,000 workers’ compensation dividend. “The Texas oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence, and our...

Pegram Joins Bailey Insurance in Waco, Texas

Oct 17 2013 // Bailey Insurance & Risk Management Inc. of Waco, Texas, announced that John Pegram has joined its team of commercial insurance agents. Pegram is a licensed attorney and received both his BBA and JD degrees from Baylor...

Texas Business Found Guilty of Workers’ Comp Fraud

Oct 15 2013 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. reported that a jury in Travis County found Ramco Group LLC guilty on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. The district court ordered Ramco to pay restitution of $15,567, a $15,000...

Insurance Group Hands Out 2,000 Smoke Alarms in Texas

Oct 11 2013 // The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) distributed 2,000 smoke alarms to firefighters in every corner of the state this month in honor of Fire Prevention Week. ICT’s We’re Out to Alarm Texas program provides the...

U.S. Cites 24 Violations in Fatal Blast at Texas Plant in April

Oct 10 2013 // The fertilizer facility in Texas that exploded earlier this year, killing 15 people, was cited yesterday by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 24 violations of worker safety protections and issued a...

Louisiana Shuffling Dollars to Pay for Sinkhole

Oct 10 2013 // The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources borrowed $8 million from the state treasury to meet the day-to-day expenses of Bayou Corne. Now, that money is almost gone. The Advocate reports DNR’s biggest expense is...

Texas Troopers Make Hundreds of DWI Arrests

Oct 9 2013 // Texas troopers made nearly 1,700 driving-while-intoxicated arrests in a special enforcement period that included Labor Day weekend. The Texas Department of Public Safety on Oct. 8 announced results of the anti-drunken...

BP Exposed Neighbors to Toxic Gases, Jury Told at Trial End

Oct 8 2013 // BP Plc deliberately exposed neighbors of a Texas refinery to tons of cancer-causing gases and then misled regulators and community leaders about the dangers, a lawyer told a Texas jury. Jurors are expected to begin...

Best Agency to Work For – South Central

Oct 7 2013 // Watkins Insurance Group, Austin, Texas Watkins Insurance Group Manages Steady Growth, Even in Difficult Times Watkins Insurance Group has been on a growth trajectory for the past 20 years, and that’s just fine with...

People – South Central

Oct 7 2013 // Shreveport, La.-based Specialty Risk Associates Inc. hired three new commercial lines underwriters – Ryan Gore, Laura Schlidt and Patti Haigler. Prior to joining Specialty Risk Associates, Gore worked in underwriting...

Stakeholders to TDI: Not So Fast on Marketplace Navigator Rules

Oct 4 2013 // State lawmakers and representatives from health insurance marketplace navigator organizations are questioning both the timing of an effort by Texas regulators to craft rules regarding navigators and the need for rules that...

Medical Group Earns Nearly $1M Texas Mutual Dividend

Oct 4 2013 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced the Texas Medical Group (TMG) has earned a $972,604 workers’ compensation dividend. The dividend is based largely on the group’s collective workplace safety...

Donation Money Finally Going to Texas Fertilizer Blast Victims

Oct 4 2013 // Officials in the central Texas town devastated by a fertilizer plant explosion earlier this year finally are moving forward with distribution of money collected from private donations. John Crowder of the West, Texas,...

Confie Seguros Acquires Family Insurance in Texas

Oct 4 2013 // Confie Seguros, a national provider of personal lines insurance based in Huntington Beach, Calif., announced it has acquired Family Insurance in Corpus Christi, Texas, a local provider of personal lines auto...