Climate reporter for the @TexasTribune. 2024-25 Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT. Reach out: Emily.Foxhall@texastribune.org
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I can’t stop thinking about this photo my friend texted me this morning. She lost power in her house in the Heights, where she slept overnight. She woke to find the water dripping from her sink froze. People are still stuck at home — or worse, outside — in these conditions.
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.@DanCrenshawTX just took the stage at his party in Houston and immediately addressed the SNL joke. “It’s been an interesting last 72 hours for us,” he said. He said people have been asking if he was offended. “I’m from the SEAL team so we don’t really get offended.”
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I spent the morning talking to some smart grid people. Here's what I learned:
🔌 Power demand last night shattered ERCOT's expectations for max use this winter
💡With a boost from wind power, electricity stayed on.
🥶 Tonight is still going to be a test.
texastribune.org/2022/12/23/…
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Awaiting the 11 a.m. start of the funeral for Barbara Bush at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston.
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I'm thrilled today is my first day at the @TexasTribune covering energy. Send me a note to say hi, tell me who I need to get to know and what I need to learn about.
My new email: Emily.Foxhall@texastribune.org
Here's hoping the grid makes it through my first week of work. 😬
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I learned last night that a Texas House committee planned to meet this morning to consider key electric grid bills.... Where? The capitol's agriculture museum, which has no cameras for live streaming.
Lucky for me @zachdespart went over to watch. 🧵
texastribune.org/2023/05/17/…
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NEW: After 18 days in the hospital, the first coronavirus patient identified in the Houston area is back home.
He wanted to thank his doctors and nurses.
“They risked their own lives to save mine,” he wrote. “I will consider them my angels forever.”
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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A week ago today, Mary Granados was killed while delivering the mail by a gunman in Odessa on a shooting spree.
This afternoon, uniformed postal workers filled a parking lot to attend her funeral.
The bishop thanked them: “You are here in numbers.”
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Texas is not including the results of rapid COIVD-19 tests in its case counts.
Its tally is likely short by at least tens of thousands of cases.
If you read one story today, it needs to be this by @mizzousundevil @stephanierlamm and @jordan_rubio:
houstonchronicle.com/news/in…
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Some job news from me: I'm taking over the environment beat at the @HoustonChron. I can't wait to dig into a topic that is so immensely important to our city and state -- especially after a summer spent covering two major storms. Please send story ideas and sources my way!
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Big news today --- the Texas Supreme Court ruled the state electric grid operator has "sovereign immunity," which protects government agencies from lawsuits.
This decision is likely to free ERCOT from lawsuits that thousands filed after the 2021 storm.
texastribune.org/2023/06/23/…
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An 85-year-old man helps clean up the Dayton cemetery several days a week.
A fence there long divided where black and white people were buried. This year he took it down.
“I never realized how much prettier it is without that fence.” houstonchronicle.com/news/ho… via @HoustonChron
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NEW: The city of Houston took a single soil sample near the Union Pacific rail yard this summer and found dioxin -- which is very toxic. So they took dozens more samples from the area. Today they announced that all the samples had dioxin in them too. houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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What's going on with the Texas grid?? Let's walk through it. 🧵
Last night, for the first time this summer, ERCOT entered emergency conditions. That means it was bringing online all the power that it could to keep the grid balanced. texastribune.org/2023/09/06/…
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BREAKING: The U.S. Senate has approved the plan to build the Ike Dike. The bill has now passed both chambers. The House and Senate will iron out differences in their versions before sending it to Biden. Both included the OK for the project.
w/ @benwermund
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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The news is out: I'm taking a new job covering energy at the @TexasTribune starting next month. I'm really excited to tackle this beat -- which I think will only build on my environmental coverage so far -- and to join another ambitious Texas newsroom. I'll still be in Houston.
Big news from @TexasTribune: @emfoxhall is joining us to cover energy and @juliaguilbeau is joining us as an audience producer. We are so lucky to welcome these standout journalists to our growing newsroom.
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Something I didn't know about the @TexasTribune until I started working here: A reporter watches the Texas House and another watches the Texas Senate proceedings every day. That's a pretty amazing level of accountability.
(You can always support us here: support.texastribune.org/don…)
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News from me: I'm going to cover climate at the @TexasTribune, which I could not be more excited about.
I'm so glad to have spent the last year learning about energy, which will still be a part of my climate coverage.
So keep in touch if we've met, or say hello if we haven't!
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NEW: The Texas grid operator is calling for reduced energy use between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. today. Why?
🥵 Temperatures are soaring
🔥 An atypical number of plants using coal or natural gas are offline
🌬️ Wind power is relatively low compared to past summers
texastribune.org/2023/06/20/…
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Scenes from the Texas freeze: Mary Warwick, the humane society’s wildlife director, was rescuing Mexican free-tailed bats that had fallen from under the Waugh bridge. She’s found more than 100 today.
“There’s no way these would make it by tomorrow morning,” she said.
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BREAKING: A Senate committee this morning approved a bill that authorizes the $31 billion Ike Dike project.
The concept is the largest engineering recommendation of its kind that the Corps has ever proposed.
The bill will need a vote from the Senate floor.
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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I wrote recently about Eleana Topp, a mother of four who had been on a ventilator since early April. Her kids had to face the possibility she might die. This morning, their dad sent a message that they got to FaceTime with her. houstonchronicle.com/news/ho… @HoustonChron
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NEW: The officer called his chief last Friday to say he wasn't feeling well. The chief didn't worry much.
Then, he was admitted to a hospital. He tested positive for coronavirus. For the last few days, he has been unconscious.
“We’re all scared for him”
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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Today is my last day with the @TexasTribune before I leave for Cambridge to be a Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT. I'll take classes and work on a reporting project there. Thanks to all who have supported me in having this time to learn and write.
news.mit.edu/2024/knight-sci…
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I listened to eight hours of yesterday's Texas Senate hearing on Beryl. Much of it focused on specific issues with CenterPoint.
As a climate reporter, I keep thinking about the big-picture that didn't get the same attention: The whole state grid is facing more extreme storms.
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Why does this matter? ERCOT has to make sure supply of power is always greater than demand for power. Wind helped meet the unexpected demand last night.
Tonight, wind isn't expected to be so helpful.
“They have done a poor job here of estimating peak demand,” @edhirs said.
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This is the list of @HoustonChron contributors to yesterday's main story on the Santa Fe shooting. There are 30 names -- and that doesn't include editors, photographers and reporters on the byline. This is a newsroom that gives its all, and I'm proud to be part of it. #subscribe
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It's my last day at the @HoustonChron and I've been feeling grateful I got to spend seven years here, growing as a reporter and person. Everyone here is like family. I'm so proud of the work we've done. Thank you to @kenduque for catching all the memories in one illustration.💕
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A 13 year old wrote me last night to be sure we knew about a protest planned today at Discovery Green:
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No matter where you live, the story of what's happening in Fifth Ward should matter to you.
I've reported on their fight to get contamination cleaned up at the Union Pacific rail yard for a year, and yesterday brought big news.
But this issue has gone on a long time. (thread)
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Update on the Texas electric grid:
🚨 Grid operators yesterday asked federal officials for permission for plants to pollute more.
💡 Federal officials granted that request, which will only be allowed if the grid worsens.
🔌 So far, the grid looks good.
texastribune.org/2022/12/24/…
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NEW: Storms formed before the official June 1 start of hurricane season in each of the past six years.
Now the National Hurricane Center plans to start sending its regular tropical weather reports every six hours beginning May 15.
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho… via @HoustonChron
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"You don't have to show up," Alex Gonik recalled telling his friend, though he worried otherwise he might die.
"I'm coming," he remembered his friend replied.
New w/ @mrkmully on @HoustonChron: the story behind this #Harvey photo. houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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.@mattlanza learned in January he and his wife were having a second child due in September.
The @SpaceCityWX meteorologist was excited, then realized: “Oh, of course, we’re going to have a baby due right at the peak of hurricane season.”
Indeed they did:
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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We lost an amazing person in @_SusanCarroll this weekend. I've been thinking a lot about her. 💔
Susy was my mentor when I was a young journalist at the Houston Chronicle. I was so excited when we got paired. I thought she was cool and smart. I was also afraid to talk to her.
ALT credit: Houston Chronicle
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I'm so excited to share that I'm heading to MIT in the fall to be a Knight Science Journalism fellow. I'll be taking classes and working on a research project. I feel immensely honored to have the opportunity and thankful for all the support I've had. 💛
ksj.mit.edu/news/2024/04/01/…
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ERCOT is still forecasting the grid will have enough power to keep things running, but if demand projections are off, or gas plants have any problems, that could be an issue.
You may recall the 2021 storm brought big problems for gas -- a dominant power source in Texas winter.
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NEW TODAY: A busboy outside taking a break.
A 33-year-old at home watching Preacher.
A father waiting in his truck with his infant while his partner got their drinks in Starbucks.
All were on the path of a spiraling man on a shooting spree in Odessa: houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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With Mrs. Trump, the Obamas and Clintons in place in chairs at the front, along with family, the service is beginning right on time, following a moving rendition of My Country Tis Of Thee.
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I want to tell you about a plan to try to protect the Houston region from hurricane storm surges. It's taken 14 years to develop. It will cost $31 billion. And it will transform Galveston Island
It has big impacts and still might fall short. (THREAD)
houstonchronicle.com/project…
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Yesterday, ERCOT forecasted a peak for this morning around 71,000 megawatts. This morning, power use hovered around 74,000 megawatts.
“That’s been the big surprise so far,” @cohan_ds said. “The demand forecast wildly underestimated how much electricity Texans used last night.”
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Hello Twitter, I'm excited to share I'm taking on a new beat for the @HoustonChron called Texas Storyteller. I'll be roaming the state in search of stories that I hope will help to show what it means to live here now. It is a dream job, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity.
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🧵 I want to tell you about concrete and how making it can be harmful to people nearby.
If you live in Houston, you know there's concrete all around. Depending on what neighborhood you live in, you might know there's facilities that make concrete all around too.
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The Texas electric grid is designed primarily to be reliable during the summer, @MichaelEWebber explained. Gas power plants faced enormous pressure to winterize after 2021, but gas producers did not.
But the weather now, of course, is different than 2021. The state is more dry.
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Good morning. It's a big day for people and businesses who filed suits against the Texas grid operator last year.
Lawyers will argue at the Texas Supreme Court this morning over whether ERCOT -- the nonprofit that oversees the grid -- should be protected from liability.
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I met Rod Ponton, aka the Zoom cat attorney, several years ago in West Texas.
Today we talked about his newfound fame.
"Well, if I can make everybody have a chuckle at my expense, I'll take it," he said. "We've had a stressful time the last few months."
houstonchronicle.com/life/ar…
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A Texas game warden captain sent this video of the more than 3,000 sea turtles he said are in the South Padre Island convention center. Wardens and volunteers rescued them after cold water stunned them. This can be deadly. “There’s no way we could have saved all of them,” he said
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Perhaps it’s obvious, but, seeing all these postal trucks, the sentiment really hit me: Mass shootings take vibrant lives. They also hurt entire communities.
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Forecasts for the Texas grid tonight don't look good. Operators cannot allow demand (the blue line) to overshoot supply (the purple line) because the grid would collapse. People are being asked to conserve power. Emergency operations could follow. Last resort is rolling outages.
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Gov. Greg Abbott told CenterPoint to give him a plan this month for how it will prepare differently for hurricanes ahead.
An important point to remember: CenterPoint already had an emergency operations plan filed and reviewed by the state.
texastribune.org/2024/07/14/…
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Remember the wildfires that tore across the Texas Panhandle in February? Power lines strung for oil and gas operations were blamed for two.
We found those power lines are effectively unregulated in Texas -- despite past efforts to bring them up to code.
texastribune.org/2024/08/01/…
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City workers got alerts that water pressure dropped below acceptable levels at 10:30 a.m. They say pressure rebounded within a minute.
State environmental regulators still required them to issue a boil water notice until they can test the water.
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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This might be a good time to re-read this @HoustonChron series on the threatening chemicals stored largely unregulated all over this city: houstonchronicle.com/news/in…
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I got to speak on CBS over the weekend about how the Texas grid has been doing during all this heat. (Answer: pretty well with help from our new solar farms.) I’m so glad to see national outlets interested in this state and our reporting at the Trib. texastribune.org/2023/06/28/…
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@lukemetzger pointed out that more could be done to reduce demand at the individual level, such as by encouraging better energy efficiency in homes.
Decreasing demand also decreases pollution that fuels climate change: “Clean energy again clearly has to be the answer," he said.
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My colleague @DanaPBurke talked with my friend, Brooke, about this photo: houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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I'm working on an update about the teen who drowned in the Brazos last night. Asked what defined him, his granddad first said: a big smile
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Breaking: The DOJ announced this morning it is investigating the city of Houston for possible civil rights violations. The agency is looking at whether the way the city responds to 311 calls for illegal dumping is discriminatory based on race and national origin. Story soon.
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Texas senators are meeting today to talk about power problems from Hurricane Beryl. They spent part of the time excoriating CenterPoint Energy for its broken online power outage tracker. Then their own Senate livestream for the meeting started to glitch. 🧐
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BREAKING: Houston, Harris County and the non-profit Bayou City Initiative each notified Union Pacific today that they intend to sue in federal court. This is a new way to try to get the railroad company to clean up its contaminated rail yard in Fifth Ward.
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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BREAKING: The EPA is investigating state environmental regulators for allegedly violating civil rights laws when it changed the standard permit for concrete batch plants in Texas.
Officials are kicking off a press conference now.
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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Some heavy rain just fell and flooded streets in Houston — so I’m here with your reminder that climate change makes heavy rain more likely. Why? As @KHayhoe once explained to me, warmer air holds more water vapor, so there is more vapor for storms to sweep up and drop on us.
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This is a haunting essay by my former classmate Victor Zapana about the text messages his father sent from the hospital while fighting COVID-19.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t the father. Will always love u remember that.”
Read it. This will stay with you: newyorker.com/magazine/2020/…
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On her death, some wisdom from Mrs. Bush: “At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.” houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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Five bison have arrived on a ranch outside Dallas owned by a member of Muscogee (Creek) Nation --- part of a broader effort to bring bison back to Indigenous lands.
@alereports beautifully reports for the @TexasTribune on why this matters:
texastribune.org/2023/11/13/…
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Companies built lots of solar farms in Texas, especially in recent years, often on agricultural land.
They're trying a new tactic to keep the grass there short: Grazing sheep.
It could help win over rural opponents, reduce emissions and save money.
texastribune.org/2023/10/27/…
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I didn’t expect how much fun it would be to be here during the legislative session. This morning, I met two women from Houston who were going from office to office to talk with legislators about improving environmental regulations. It’s amazing to see the public process at work.
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SCOOP: It might not have just been creosote that was dangerous at the contaminated Union Pacific rail yard in Fifth Ward.
A document shared with the Houston Chronicle says workers mixed the creosote with toxic industrial waste from Superfund sites. houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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Worrisome conditions for the Texas grid continue. Last night, ERCOT went into emergency operations because things got so tight. Grid operators are asking again for Texans to conserve power this evening as they try to avoid that happening again. texastribune.org/2023/09/06/…
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Powerful images from some of the @HoustonChron photographers out at the George Floyd rally today. These by @karenwarrenHC @MarieDennise @_yichinlee and @jonjshapley
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This lede from @stjbs hit me: Sgt. Harold Preston was going about a normal day, buying a breakfast taco, when he had to respond to a call like countless others he had handled. But that day, and that call, were his last: houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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Last night, the @HoustonChron published a story about a document I received. It said that hazardous waste from what are now three Superfund sites was mixed with creosote to treat rail ties at the rail yard in Fifth Ward.
Why does that matter? A thread. 🧵
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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At least nine people died from heat in just one South Texas county, while thousands across the state have sought emergency medical care related to heat, @erinmdouglas23 reports.
One day in Dallas County, more than 40 people sought heat-related care.
texastribune.org/2023/06/30/…
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The funeral for Barbara Bush struck me overwhelmingly as celebratory. There was sadness, yes, but people remembered her with stories, laughter and so much dignity. This was Bush being honored in the way everyone believed she wished to be, ending in Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.
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There's been a steady decrease in wind power all day, and now the sun has set in Texas. All eyes are on natural gas. ERCOT is still projecting there will be enough power to meet demand tonight.
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Hulking infrastructure helps protect Houston from flooding, but sometimes it falls short. And climate change science tells us to brace for worse.
So a team of us at @HoustonChron made this to explain big-picture what protects us, and how it could fail:
houstonchronicle.com/project…
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After filing our print story and stress-eating an entire pizza, I'm reflecting on all the work @HoustonChron journalists do in the field: Since 2 p.m., they've tweeted, written for the main story and still somehow kept up with the crowds from place to place. #subscribe
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For more than a decade, The Texas Tribune has served as an essential watchdog in our state.
I want a secure future for the Tribune so that work will continue for many more years to come.
That’s why today we are forming a union: @texastribguild.
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Ms. Tootsie is 82 and still making top-ranked bbq in Lexington, Texas. She doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon: “Everybody in the world hasn’t been here yet.” houstonchronicle.com/news/ho… via @HoustonChron
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ESSAY: I helped to cover the mass shooting in Odessa. I live 500 miles away in Houston, and, when I came home, I found myself wondering: had we as reporters been helping or hurting? houstonchronicle.com/local/g… @CJR @NiemanLab via @HoustonChron
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JUST POSTED: The Houston Food Bank had to toss 1.8 million pounds of food -- yes you read that right -- after an ammonia leak contaminated its refrigerated areas last week. Here's a quick post about it; full story up soon houstonchronicle.com/news/ho… w/ @jonjshapley via @HoustonChron
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NEW: As the heat scorches Texas, demand for power on the state's main grid hit an all-time high yesterday and will be high again today.
Electricity produced from many new solar farms is helping to meet that need, going hand-in-hand with hot, sunny days.
texastribune.org/2023/06/28/…
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.@MichaelBerrySho introduced him to the crowd first. This wasn't Crenshaw's official victory speech yet -- it's too early. But as Berry said: "The numbers look pretty darn good." That's not the case for all: "Pray for the rest of our candidates down ballot please," Crenshaw said.
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My Beryl checklist:
- car gas tank filled
- small potted plants pulled out of the wind
- car parked away from trees
- bottled water and non-perishable food purchased
- flashlight ready
Stay off the streets tonight and tomorrow if you can. And please don’t play in floodwater!
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I can't say enough how much I admire the work that @HoustonChron photographers have produced during the pandemic, often at risk to their own health. This @godovasquez image on A1 today takes you right to the emotion of that horrible number: houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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Everyone hoped the hot weather would slow the coronavirus. But the numbers of new cases in Texas are only going up: houstonchronicle.com/news/ho… by @a_leinfelder
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PHOTO: Here is an image of the sinkhole in Rosenberg on FM 762. Via @RosenbergPolice cc: @HoustonChron
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Engineers here are trying to figure out whether tunnels could help Houston's flooding problems.
Turns out, San Antonio has been using stormwater tunnels for years. So @mrkmully and I went to learn how their system works:
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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Well that’s an experience I will never forget. The darkness came so quickly, like someone flipped a switch, and everyone around us started to cheer.
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At one point on this journey there was a zebra in front of us by a house, a calf being rescued in a flat-bottom boat, and an alligator swimming behind us.
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ERCOT (the power grid operator in Texas) triggered emergency operations at 7:25 pm tonight. That means it was doing everything it could to get more power onto the grid. Its last step would have been rolling outages but it appears to be through the worst.
texastribune.org/2023/09/06/…
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Bitcoin company Riot made $32 million last August in TX by reducing electricity use, or being willing to reduce.
That's how the market works, but advocates still ask why all residents can't benefit in the same way.
Great reporting from @Kevin_Vu_ here: texastribune.org/2024/01/03/…
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Important context for anyone considering the heat today: Climate change science makes clear that Texas will see more 100+ degree days.
@climatexas found the number of 100-degree days is expected to nearly double by 2036, compared to 2001-2020.
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho…
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NEW: They've fought Ebola in Sierra Leone, cholera in Mozambique and kala-azar in South Sudan.
Now a Doctors Without Borders team is here in Houston fighting the coronavirus in nursing homes.
houstonchronicle.com/news/ho… via @HoustonChron w/ @MarieDennise photos
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“Texas’ failed electric grid” gets a line in the Fall Out Boy update to “We Didn’t Start the Fire”
piped.video/watch?v=2LkVKC…
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