Category Archives: The great state of Texas

The Loving County takeover effort has crumbled

Posted on September 30, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Sadly, all silly things must come to an end. An out-of-state man who vowed to orchestrate the “political takeover” of a sparsely populated but oil-rich West Texas county by establishing a community with enough of his followers to out-vote local … Continue reading →

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Of course the maternal mortality study will be delayed

Posted on September 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t have information that may make Republicans look bad come out before the election, now can we? Health officials say they need more time to complete a report on maternal deaths — likely punting the fullest accounting of pregnancy-related deaths … Continue reading →

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Data centers and the local housing market

Posted on September 3, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an angle on the data center story that I hadn’t considered before. Stargate was pitched to Abilene by some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence, including Oracle and Open AI. Executives said the project would give the United … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect that Abbott data center “audit” any time soon

Posted on August 25, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Insert cliched expressions of shock here. The sweeping data center audit that Gov. Greg Abbott ordered earlier this month won’t be completed until late this year, potentially punting a politically volatile issue to after the November midterms. The Public Utility … Continue reading →

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A weird coda to the Arlington nun mutiny

Posted on August 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. A former Pennsylvania priest who led an illicit 2024 Mass for the Carmelite nuns has been dismissed from the clergy, according to a statement from the Diocese of Scranton. The former priest, Christopher Clay, submitted a petition for dismissal … Continue reading →

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The Big Bend silence from Republicans

Posted on August 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Bunch of wusses. For over a generation, Texas Republicans have owned the politics of the southern border. Now the Trump administration’s latest border project has them cornered, stuck between constituents outraged over federal plans to carve roads and barriers through … Continue reading →

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Data center secrecy

Posted on August 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is also a problem. Last year, Mason McCallister saw survey markers on a property near his home in a rural community about an hour north of Dallas. He suspected it might be for a new data center he’d heard … Continue reading →

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The Houston toad’s recovery

Posted on August 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

How about some good news? I think we could all use a bit of that, and the endangered Houston toad is here to give you some. The Houston toad may no longer live in the city it’s named for. Urban … Continue reading →

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Abbott keeps trying to back away from his love of data centers

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Hilarious. And kind of pathetic. Amid growing public backlash to the rapid buildout of data centers across Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced a moratorium on the approval of data centers until regulatory agencies can audit proposed data centers … Continue reading →

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Say good-bye to smokable hemp

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

There it goes. Texans’ access to a variety of hemp-derived THC products will significantly narrow on Friday. Texas will ban several hemp-derived THC cannabis products, including those containing delta-8 and delta-10 THC variants, punishing people in possession of them with … Continue reading →

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Corpus gets another reprieve

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Hope they make good use of it. Corpus Christi got “tremendous” news Monday when the city’s projected water emergency was delayed until fall 2028 — a year later than previously anticipated — as floodwater from recent intense storms continues flowing … Continue reading →

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Meet Greg Abbott’s data center sugar daddies

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Always follow the money. The backlash to the Texas data center boom has Gov. Greg Abbott caught between some of his most dependable donors and his most reliable voters. Several of the Republican governor’s most generous financial backers are increasingly … Continue reading →

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New World screwworm versus the feral hog

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Who would win? Two of Texas’s most troublesome invasive species have much in common. They reproduce alarmingly fast, send shudders down the spines of Texas ranchers, and can traverse similar distances (about twelve miles a day). One is the feral … Continue reading →

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The data center fiasco in Taylor

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Wild stuff. The Taylor City Council was set to consider a proposed ordinance Thursday night that would temporarily ban data centers. But 15 minutes after the council meeting began, the city released a statement on its Facebook page saying council … Continue reading →

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Don’t Elon my Boca Chica

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good Lord, this is duuuuuuuumb. A federal committee rejected a proposal on Thursday to rename Boca Chica Beach in South Texas to “Cyber Beach.” The move preserves the historic name despite a SpaceX supporter’s effort to rebrand the public beach … Continue reading →

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A couple of water stories

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Story #1: Texas’ Refusal to Plan for Climate Change Created a Crisis in Corpus Christi. A decade ago, Corpus Christi’s regional water plan projected shortages as soon as 2050. The next plan, released five years later, shortened that timeline to 2030. The next plan, … Continue reading →

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Replanting the trees lost in the Kerrville flood

Posted on July 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good work. As Michael Eason drove along the banks of the Guadalupe River late last summer, amid places he had worked and photographed over the years, he couldn’t help but be moved by the devastation. “Depending on where you were … Continue reading →

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Slightly more kindergartners have the measles vaccination

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The overall news is still very mixed, but it’s at least something. While more than 92% of Texas kindergarteners and 7th graders were fully vaccinated in the 2025-26 school year for each vaccine required to attend school, the coverage rates … Continue reading →

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More weasel words on data centers from Abbott

Posted on July 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

He really is trying to find the guy that did this. Gov. Greg Abbott called for blocking new data center development in rural parts of the state during a campaign stop in East Texas on Tuesday. “We must prohibit them … Continue reading →

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The Kerrville floods, one year later

Posted on July 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is a hard read, and it leads off with the story of three of the flood’s victims, so skip on by if that’s not how you want to start your day. But it’s worth your time if you can … Continue reading →

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San Marcos bans data center construction

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Bring on the fight that will surely follow. San Marcos has become the first Texas city to ban data centers within city limits, banking on its local authority to stop the data center boom and setting a precedent for other … Continue reading →

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Gracie the Giraffe has been found

Posted on June 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’re as relieved as she is. After two weeks evading authorities, Gracie the Giraffe has finally been found — and for real this time — according to Real County Sheriff Nathan T. Johnson. “Gracie the wondering [sic] Giraffe … Continue reading →

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Time for another screwworm roundup

Posted on June 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start with a bit of positive news. Several drugs to treat animals during the Texas screwworm outbreak have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including a generic medication for household pets such as dogs and cats. Dr. … Continue reading →

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The Camp Mystic report

Posted on June 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Tough to read. Camp Mystic did not have state-required written emergency plans or adequate evacuation measures that could have prevented the deaths of 25 campers and two counselors in last year’s July 4 flood, state-appointed investigators told the state lawmakers … Continue reading →

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A brief screwworm roundup

Posted on June 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The case count keeps increasing. As of Friday, eight cases of New World screwworm have been confirmed in Texas. The fly’s larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, including livestock, wildlife and pets — and, in rare cases, humans. Left untreated, … Continue reading →

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A data center roundup

Posted on June 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From Jeremy Wallace’s newsletter. A flood of new data centers trying to hook into the Texas electrical grid could force the state to significantly expand its power grid to accommodate the new demand. More than 480 “large” data centers have … Continue reading →

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The Kerrville Folk Festival and the Kerrville flood

Posted on June 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Great story. The Kerrville Folk Festival is known for its music. But in the aftermath of last year’s tragic Fourth of July flooding, it became something else entirely. Deb Rouse runs the Kerrville Folk Festival, an 18-day music festival held … Continue reading →

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Screwworm and CD23

Posted on June 13, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Funny how these things can intersect. When the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that the nation’s first case of New World screwworm had been detected in Zavala County, it was a code red development for the thousands of … Continue reading →

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Abbott flip flops a little on data centers

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s feeling heat. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday released sweeping regulatory recommendations on data centers for the Legislature to pass in the 2027 session, as Texas grapples with an explosion of artificial intelligence-driven development and soaring power demands. In a … Continue reading →

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More screwworms

Posted on June 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Raise your hand if you think these bozos have a handle on this. Three more cases of New World screwworm were confirmed in Texas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to five. … Continue reading →

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“Grey’s Anatomy: West Texas”

Posted on June 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be…something. TV producer Shonda Rhimes is coming to Texas. Or at least one of her shows is. ABC-TV has ordered a spin-off version of “Grey’s Anatomy” that will be set in West Texas, according to Variety. “Grey’s … Continue reading →

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Here come the screwworms

Posted on June 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed the country’s first case of New World screwworm — the parasitic fly poised to harm the state’s $15 billion cattle industry — in South Texas. The USDA … Continue reading →

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Hill County undoes its data center moratorium

Posted on June 6, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like a big lawsuit to force the issue. A rural North Texas county that appears to be the first in the state to pass a data center moratorium has rescinded the measure after being sued by a developer for … Continue reading →

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Corpus Christi kicks the can

Posted on June 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. A bitterly divided Corpus Christi City Council voted early Wednesday morning to delay a decision on reviving an almost billion-dollar water plant it had rejected nine months earlier. The 7-2 vote came at 2:20 a.m., almost 15 … Continue reading →

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