Texas has deployed state resources to Florida to help in response and restoration efforts within the aftermath of the devastation brought about final week by Hurricane Ian, probably the most highly effective storms to hit the United States prior to now decade.
“Texans understand the urgency of hurricane disaster response and recovery efforts, and our state is swiftly sending more support and resources to Florida as they continue responding to Hurricane Ian,” Gov. Greg Abbott stated.
The Texas Division of Emergency Personnel has despatched greater than 80 folks to Florida, together with almost two dozen firefighters. In addition, greater than 1,000 staff from Texas electrical energy suppliers have been deployed to Florida to help in restoring energy.
Court: Paxton can’t prosecute election crimes
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals caught with an earlier ruling that Attorney General Ken Paxton doesn’t have the facility on his personal to examine and prosecute suspected election crimes. The Austin American-Statesman reported the court docket turned down Paxton’s request to reverse a December ruling which struck down a 1985 legislation giving the legal professional normal that authority.
That ruling by the court docket, which consists of all Republicans, stated the 1985 legislation violated the state’s separation of powers doctrine, because it gave the legal professional normal’s workplace, which is within the govt department, prosecution authority reserved for members of the judicial department — district and county attorneys.
Paxton sharply criticized the ruling, the Statesman reported.
“The CCA’s shameful decision means local DAs with radical liberal views have the sole power to prosecute election fraud in TX — which they will never do. The timing is no accident — this is devastating for the integrity of our upcoming elections,” Paxton stated on Twitter.
Wildfires as soon as once more on the rise
Dry climate and low humidity have as soon as once more elevated the prevalence of wildfires in a number of areas of the state, after a wet respite in mid-to-late August. However, the rain has largely left the state as soon as once more. Texas A&M Forest Service firefighters responded to almost 80 wildfires prior to now week, with two nonetheless energetic Sunday in Young and Angelina counties. Both have been almost utterly contained.
“The 2022 fire season has been significant for the state of Texas, as state and local firefighters have responded to more than 9,800 wildfires,” stated Wes Moorehead, Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief. “The state received beneficial rainfall mid- to late-August, which helped to significantly slow the operational tempo for wildland firefighters. However, the benefits of that moisture have started to wane, and we are, once again, observing dry conditions across the state that are resulting in increased wildfire activity.”
Nine out of 10 wildfires within the state are attributable to human exercise. Residents are urged to wait on conducting any out of doors burning till situations enhance, even when your county shouldn’t be below a burn ban. A complete of 95 Texas counties are nonetheless below a burn ban.
New cable barrier saving lives
Motorists on Texas highways probably have seen the addition of cable obstacles alongside medians that stop autos from veering into reverse lanes of site visitors. Those obstacles are saving lives, in accordance to the Texas Department of Transportation.
A assessment of 4 TxDOT districts the place 130 miles of latest cable obstacles have been put in — in Lufkin, Pharr, Waco and Fort Worth — confirmed the obstacles have been hit and repaired 242 instances since 2019.
“I’m going to assume that each of those 242 strikes was a potential fatality had that cable barrier not been there,” Commissioner Laura Ryan stated.
The company has accomplished 88 “Road to Safety” initiatives within the state, with 120 extra now below building. The efforts appear to have had a helpful impact, with 84 fewer site visitors fatalities reported in Texas from January to August. The state additionally noticed a 9% drop in distracted driving deaths, and an 18% lower in work zone fatalities.
PUC expands climate prep guidelines
The Public Utility Commission has expanded climate preparation guidelines for electrical energy turbines and transmission utilities in hopes of making certain the reliability of the facility grid throughout summer time and winter extreme climate occasions.
“Reliability drives every decision we make when it comes to grid operations,” stated Public Utility Commission Chairman Peter Lake. “The grid has to be ready for any weather condition, from extreme heat to extreme cold.”
Under the brand new guidelines, the state is split into 10 geographically distinct areas during which minimal and most temperatures are set below which energy turbines should show their potential to proceed working.
The temperature requirements go into impact subsequent 12 months.
COVID-19 instances proceed to drop
The variety of new COVID-19 instances reported in Texas throughout the previous week was once more down barely, with 22,006 new instances reported together with 123 deaths, in accordance to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 1,654 lab-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Sunday, down barely from the earlier week.
Since the pandemic started in early 2020, the state has reported almost 8 million confirmed instances and 90,885 deaths. Just below 64 % of the state’s inhabitants is absolutely vaccinated.
