Texas / South Central News

Arkansas Workers’ Comp Insurance Rate to Drop

Arkansas officials say the cost that a majority of Arkansas employers pay for workers’ compensation insurance is dropping because of a decrease in the number of work-related injuries over the past two years. Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday announced that …

Harvey-Related Flood Control Projects’ Fate Remains Unclear

Large-scale projects long considered essential to easing Houston’s flooding woes went to the top of the area’s to-do list after Hurricane Harvey inundated large swaths of the nation’s fourth-largest city. Seven months later, local officials are still looking for funding …

Texas Litigation Reform Advocate Offers Update on Hail, Hurricane Disputes

There’s been a dramatic reduction in Texas hail litigation resulting from new legislation enacted last year, according to Steve Badger, senior partner with Dallas-based Zelle law firm and an outspoken advocate of hail litigation reform. During the Combined Claims Conference …

Arkansas Legislators Advance Pharmacy Benefit Managers Regulation

An Arkansas House panel advanced a proposal Tuesday to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, as lawmakers began a special session focused primarily on addressing a cut in reimbursements rates pharmacists have seen. The House Insurance and Commerce Committee endorsed a proposal …

Ropes, Phone Lights Used in Rescue After Deadly Texas Bus Plunge

Lulled asleep by the humming of their Texas-bound charter bus following a trip to Disney World, members of a high school band were jarred awake before dawn Tuesday when the rig ran off a highway and plunged into a deep …

Texas Energy Firm Investigated Leaks Before Fatal Dallas House Blast

An email sent by Atmos Energy to Texas regulators reveals company workers were investigating natural gas leaks involving fires at two Dallas homes some 12 hours before an explosion at another home killed a 12-year-old girl. The company did not …

Chemical Firms Say Gulf Coast Needs $14B Storm Barrier

Chemical companies are pressing federal officials to spend billions of dollars on a coastal flood control system near Houston to protect petrochemical plants, oil refineries and shipping infrastructure from the next hurricane. The coastal spine, as the project is called, …

Despite Upgrades, Flood Risk Still Exists for Some Houston Homes

Nearly 9,000 homes and other buildings will remain in the floodplains of four Houston-area waterways despite multimillion-dollar flood control projects. Momentum built last month to finish the projects on Brays, Hunting and White Oak bayous and Clear Creek after Congress …

Moderate Earthquakes Cause Damage in Oklahoma

Busted bricks and cracked windows were revealed Monday after some of those most powerful earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past year rattled the northern part of the state. Oklahoma residents have gotten used to feeling rumbles from a spike in …

Texas Homeowners Concerned About Zoning Changes After Harvey

Some Southeast Texas homeowners have raised concerns about houses in neighborhoods flooded by Hurricane Harvey being changed from residential to commercial zones. Several displaced residents in Dickinson worry that businesses will buy flood-damaged homes and absorb older neighborhoods, The Galveston …

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