Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke says he will begin a 15-stop tour of colleges across the state, starting late this month in San Antonio. The campaign says it will register students to vote at the stops and recruit volunteers. On Sept. 26, the first day of the tour, O’Rourke will visit The University of Texas at San Antonio. There’s no word yet from the O’Rourke campaign as to whether the candidate will be visiting any college campuses in East Texas.
Tyler’s new WT Brookshire Conference Center won’t be finished on time. The latest update from Deputy City Manager Stephanie Franklin says supply chain issues and other roadblocks have delayed the project. But, it will be ready in March of 2023.
“It’ll be completely state of the art and transformed into a much better more efficient convention center.”
The W.T. Brookshire Conference Center replaces Harvey Hall, which was torn down to make way for the new structure. It will feature 23,000 square feet of meeting space, a stage, kitchen and a 3.5 acre park. Franklin, says the finished product will be worth the wait.
“Inside it will be completely state of the art and transformed into a better, much more efficient, convention center. And it has that relationship between the two buildings that it didn’t have before.”
One downside of the convention center construction is the crunch it will put on parking for the East Texas State Fair. The 106th presentation of the Fair begins this Friday, and organizers say they’ll work around all the construction work.
It’s the last day of summer, and that’s leading some people to reflect on the fact that the Texas power grid managed to hold up to the heat. But how will it do in the fall and winter? A new report shows Texas leads the country with major weather-related power outages from 2000 to 2021. Marian Navarro has the story.
“The report found the state experienced a total of 180 weather-related outages. Texas utilities reported 44 % of those outages occurred within the last 3 years. Severe or winter weather caused the majority of those outages. This includes events like rain and thunderstorms, as well as the February 2021 winter freeze. Major outages were considered events that affected at least 50,000 customers.”
The intense scrutiny of ERCOT policies and improvements is said to be one reason why the Texas power grid held up so well during a Summer of triple digit temperatures across the state.
Smith County will be posting help wanted ads soon. It needs a constable, an emergency management coordinator, and a law librarian. Jay Brooks submitted his resignation as Fire Marshal citing family concerns. He’ll become a software developer. Precinct 5 Constable Jeff McClenny is leaving to become chief of the San Augustine ISD Police. And Law Librarian Kara Kennedy is stepping down due to health issues.
compiled by Mike Landess
edited by Jeff Johnson