UT Tyler will receive $308 million for the design, development, and additional construction funding for the UT Tyler School of Medicine’s new Medical Education Building. The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved the funding Thursday. The building is expected to be completed on March of 2025. It will be a five-story, 248,000-square-foot facility connected to the UT Health East Texas Tyler hospital facility by a sky bridge. That will allow direct access for residents in the adjacent hospital. (Read the full news release from UT System.)
The man who was acting Uvalde Police Chief during the Robb Elementary School massacre last May, has resigned. The resignation of Lt. Mariano Pargas comes days after audio obtained by CNN proved that Pargas knew students were still alive in a classroom with the gunman, but chose not to act. The Uvalde City Council was set to discuss Pargas’ possible termination tomorrow. Mariano Pargas won re-election to the county’s Commissioners Court last week.
Longview Police are investigating a possible verbal threat involving two students towards a student and staff at Longview High School. The students were arrested off school grounds without incident and being held at the Gregg County Juvenile Detention Center. This is the latest of a number of similar incidents reported this semester at Longview ISD schools. The Longview Police Department remind student and parents that threats in person or online, are illegal and have serious consequences.
A recent incident in Grand Prairie in which a police officer was killed while chasing a car that had fake paper temporary plates has gotten some action in Austin. The action comes after months of criticism that the plates were too easy to fake. The Texas DMV it’s taking action to redesign the temporary plates to make them harder to counterfeit. Grand Prairie Police Chief Daniel Scesney had this reaction to the DMV announcement.
“I just tell you, I’m frustrated that we’re in this position, how about that? I’m frustrated. We shouldn’t even be here. So I’m glad we’re doing something, we’ve got more work to do.”
Grand Prairie Police were able to catch and charge the 22 year old driving the car with counterfeit plates.
The Texas Railroad Commission has sent inspectors to an area of far West Texas where an 5.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded Wednesday. It happened near Pecos where there are a number of oil field operations. Oilfield earthquakes can be triggered by companies injecting wastewater from drilling operations back into the ground
Gas in Texas is cheaper than anywhere else in the country today. The statewide average price in Texas is $3.04 for a gallon of regular unleaded according to AAA Texas. The cheapest gas is Texas is $2.89 in McAllen while the most expensive is in Midland at $3.25 a gallon. Here in East Texas, the average price for a gallon of regular is $3.03 in Tyler and $3.08 in Longview.
Tomorrow is Tyler Recycles Day. Keep Tyler Beautiful is celebrating the national America Recycles Day by opening the Tyler Recycling Collection Center on Bois d’Arc from 8 a.m. until noon.
Ark-La-Tex shredding and Interstate Batteries will be participating as well.
produced by Mike Landess
edited by Jeff Johnson