INSIDER
Texas buys two ranches near the border, including a huge property next to Big Bend National Park
Read full article: Texas buys two ranches near the border, including a huge property next to Big Bend National ParkA Starr County property was purchased to build border wall, while Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the state has many options for a sprawling ranch in West Texas.
Hundreds of displaced Houston residents still eligible for Federal Relocation Assistance after apartment buyouts in 2021
Read full article: Hundreds of displaced Houston residents still eligible for Federal Relocation Assistance after apartment buyouts in 2021Families displaced from four flood-prone apartment complexes in Houston may be eligible for federal relocation assistance, but many are still unaccounted for, with hundreds of residents yet to claim the aid they’re entitled to under federal law.
Patch placed on natural gas condensate leak that’s been spilling in Gulf of Mexico for weeks
Read full article: Patch placed on natural gas condensate leak that’s been spilling in Gulf of Mexico for weeksA natural gas condensate leak that has been spilling into the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Galveston has finally been stopped after weeks of nonstop pollution.
Who owns rig that’s spilling natural gas condensate into Gulf of Mexico near Galveston?
Read full article: Who owns rig that’s spilling natural gas condensate into Gulf of Mexico near Galveston?For at least two weeks, natural gas condensate has been spilling into the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Galveston. There’s no end in sight.
WATCH LIVE: GLO holds joint news conference with Houston, Harris County officials in effort to ‘turn new page’ in disaster recovery funding
Read full article: WATCH LIVE: GLO holds joint news conference with Houston, Harris County officials in effort to ‘turn new page’ in disaster recovery fundingTexas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham will visit Harris County on Tuesday as she and Harris County leaders hold a joint news conference to discuss disaster recovery funding.
State Sen. Dawn Buckingham wins bid to manage the Alamo, disaster relief funds and more as Texas’ next land commissioner
Read full article: State Sen. Dawn Buckingham wins bid to manage the Alamo, disaster relief funds and more as Texas’ next land commissionerThe land commissioner manages public land, enforces mineral rights leases, controls the Texas Permanent School Fund, distributes natural disaster relief funding and is responsible for the Alamo.
Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg vie for open land commissioner seat overseeing the Alamo and disaster relief funds
Read full article: Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg vie for open land commissioner seat overseeing the Alamo and disaster relief fundsThe land commissioner manages the Texas General Land Office, which manages the Alamo, administers natural disaster relief funding and helps fund public education. The seat is open after incumbent George P. Bush lost his primary bid for attorney general.
HUD, Texas at odds over flood relief discrimination claim
Read full article: HUD, Texas at odds over flood relief discrimination claimA deadline has passed with no resolution over whether Texas will settle a dispute over claims it discriminated against minority residents in how it distributed flood relief money from Hurricane Harvey.
Time is running out! Deadline approaching to apply for Homeowner Assistance and Reimbursement Program (HARP)
Read full article: Time is running out! Deadline approaching to apply for Homeowner Assistance and Reimbursement Program (HARP)Processing will continue, but time is running out to submit draft applications to the GLO for eligibility consideration and assistance with missing documentation.
Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg will face off to be Texas’ next land commissioner in November
Read full article: Dawn Buckingham and Jay Kleberg will face off to be Texas’ next land commissioner in NovemberRepublican Dawn Buckingham and Democrat Jay Kleberg won their primary runoffs. The winner of November’s general election will replace George P. Bush as head of the Texas General Land Office.
New Texas plan for federal Hurricane Harvey aid yields same old result: Funds diverted away from Gulf Coast
Read full article: New Texas plan for federal Hurricane Harvey aid yields same old result: Funds diverted away from Gulf CoastDespite an admonition from federal authorities, Land Commissioner George P. Bush’s plan still steers aid disproportionately to whiter, inland counties at less risk of natural disasters.
Feds say Texas discriminated against communities of color when it denied Houston flood aid
Read full article: Feds say Texas discriminated against communities of color when it denied Houston flood aidLand Commissioner George P. Bush is in the middle of a fierce runoff in the Republican primary for Texas attorney general against incumbent Ken Paxton. During the race, several of Bush’s opponents have criticized his office’s work in distributing Hurricane Harvey relief funds.
Texas received 1,700 unused border wall panels from the federal government and plans to use them for Abbott’s border barrier
Read full article: Texas received 1,700 unused border wall panels from the federal government and plans to use them for Abbott’s border barrierTexas plans to repurpose the panels, left over when the Biden administration halted work on former President Donald Trump’s wall, to erect 1.3 miles of border barrier.
How a Texas songbird and its endangered status became the center of a fight over the Hill Country
Read full article: How a Texas songbird and its endangered status became the center of a fight over the Hill CountryScientists say a study that estimated far more golden-cheeked warblers in Texas than previously thought has been attacked and taken out of context as the state and federal government battle over the bird’s endangered status.
Jay Kleberg, King Ranch scion and conservationist, to run for land commissioner as a Democrat
Read full article: Jay Kleberg, King Ranch scion and conservationist, to run for land commissioner as a DemocratAt least three other Democrats and four Republicans are vying for the office that GOP incumbent George P. Bush is leaving to run for attorney general.
Houston Mayor Turner to discuss perceived disparities in post-Harvey rebuilding program
Read full article: Houston Mayor Turner to discuss perceived disparities in post-Harvey rebuilding programHouston Mayor Sylvester Turner is scheduled to hold a news conference Monday to discuss what he says were disparities in how some neighborhoods are being treated by the post-Harvey home rebuilding program through the Texas General Land Office.
Houston mayor, other local leaders to speak at inquiry about denial of Hurricane Harvey funds
Read full article: Houston mayor, other local leaders to speak at inquiry about denial of Hurricane Harvey fundsHouston Mayor Sylvester Turner will speak at an inquiry about the Texas General Land Office’s (GLO) “initial denial and inequitable allocation of congressional appropriated mitigation dollars from Hurricane Harvey to the City of Houston.”
Houston seethes over being frozen out of federal flood funds
Read full article: Houston seethes over being frozen out of federal flood fundsHouston residents and officials are seething over a Texas agency's decision to not award the city a single cent of the initial $1 billion in federal flood mitigation funding the state was promised following Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Houston-area leaders to call on the General Land Office to ensure city, county receive Harvey funds
Read full article: Houston-area leaders to call on the General Land Office to ensure city, county receive Harvey fundsHouston area representatives gathered Thursday to call upon the Texas General Land Office to ensure the worst-hit areas by Hurricane Harvey in the city and Harris County will receive the funds allocated by Congress.
State takes over Houston's Harvey home repair program
Read full article: State takes over Houston's Harvey home repair programThe state took over the program this week and Torres and other residents who have applied for assistance say they’re worried that could lead to yet more delays. A third of the funding — nearly $428 million — went to a program for home repair and reconstruction. Harvey dumped up to 50 inches (1.3 meters) of rain on the Houston area following landfall on Aug. 25, 2017. In the Houston area, Harvey flooded more than 150,000 homes, with more than 16,000 residents identified as potentially needing repair help. In its own program, the land office has fixed more than 2,000 homes and has approved nearly 2,900 reimbursements statewide.
Search ends for 2 still missing after Texas port explosion
Read full article: Search ends for 2 still missing after Texas port explosionCORPUS CHRISTI, Texas The search for two crew members of a dredging boat who went missing following an explosion last week in the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas has been ended, the U.S. Coast Guard announced. Our Coast Guard crews worked intently alongside state and local partners to locate the two crew members who remained missing, but unfortunately, we were unable to locate them, said Capt. Edward Gaynor, commander, Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi. The decision to suspend a search is never easy and a lot of factors are considered before suspending a search. Port of Corpus Christi officials said it was a propane pipeline.
Hurricane Harvey: The long road to recovery still hasnt ended for many in Houston
Read full article: Hurricane Harvey: The long road to recovery still hasnt ended for many in HoustonHOUSTON Its been nearly three years since Harvey hammered the Houston area and yet, there are still those who havent fully recovered. The City of Houston and the State of Texas have been locked in a battle over how to manage the rebuilding effort. In March, the Texas General Land Office came to an agreement with Harris County to take over the rebuilding efforts. The City of Houston had a different opinion when approached by the state. Both are now working with and seeing progress through the GLO, as the temporary restraining order does not impact their rebuilding efforts.
Houston files lawsuit against Texas General Land Office from taking control of Harvey diaster funds
Read full article: Houston files lawsuit against Texas General Land Office from taking control of Harvey diaster fundsHOUSTON Mayor Sylvester Turner and the city of Houston seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the Texas General Land Office from taking control of Hurricane Harvey disaster relief funds. Nearly two years ago, the federal government provided those funds to assist Houston homeowners, whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Harvey. According to city officials, Houston has allocated $446 million or 35% of the total funds to homeowners. The single-family program has served 234 homeowners, with another 246 families submitted to or approved by GLO and currently being served, according to Houston officials. Houston officials also contend that the citys programs are better and more appropriate for the citizens than the GLOs plans, which proposed amendments that violate the terms of its sub-recipient agreement.
State plans to take Hurricane Harvey funds from the city of Houston
Read full article: State plans to take Hurricane Harvey funds from the city of HoustonHOUSTON – The Texas General Land Office is planning to eliminate the city of Houston's control of funding for Hurricane Harvey housing relief. In a letter sent to Mayor Sylvester Turner Wednesday, the GLO stated it was overhauling "all responsibility for administering disaster assistance to city residents." The GLO argues the city has done little with the recovering funds. The state has four years to allocate the funds to Houston residents, so there still is time. Turner said the city is taking all necessary legal steps to preserve the city’s right to administer the funds.
Galveston closes public beaches in response to coronavirus outbreak
Read full article: Galveston closes public beaches in response to coronavirus outbreakThe city of Galveston announced on Sunday that it was closing all public beaches in the city and restricting traffic on the beach west of the end of the Seawall. As of Sunday, the Galveston County Health District had confirmed 60 cases of COVID-19 within the county. In a press release, the city said they had attempted to avoid closing public beaches as they wanted to provide residents a form of exercise while maintaining safe social distancing. “As a result, the city of Galveston must restrict access to the public beach. As a public beach, it must be closed to all.”The orders will be enforced by the Galveston Police Department, the City Marshal’s Office and the Galveston Beach Patrol.