Texas / South Central News

Texas Coastal Cities Conduct Post-Harvey Dune Restoration

The relaxation of state regulations after Hurricane Harvey has allowed Texas coastal communities to undertake nearly a dozen dune reconstruction projects. Galveston can authorize emergency beachfront repairs until at least Jan. 3, including for dunes damaged by the storm, the …

Taser Reports 15 People Have Caught Fire After Being Stunned

The maker of Tasers said Monday that at least 15 people have caught fire, and five have died, after being stunned while near flammable materials, similar to an Oklahoma man who was burned beyond recognition after he was shocked and …

Paper Investigates Texas Dam Safety

The earthen dam on the outskirts of this Williamson County city certainly does not look flimsy. The Austin American-Statesman reports at 35 feet high and nearly a third of a mile long, it has done a reliable job of holding …

Prepare for the Storm of Construction Claims From the 2017 Hurricane Season

The aftermath of this year’s hurricanes includes massive reconstruction across the impacted areas, which in turn creates an increased possibility for construction defect claims that would affect the liability insurance market. When Hurricane Harvey swept over large portions of Texas, …

Arkansas Seeks Comments as it Considers 75 MPH Speed Limit

Arkansas opened a 45-day comment period Monday on whether highway officials should let motorists drive at higher speeds and within minutes had elicited confessions from drivers who wrote that, while they themselves speed, other drivers are going even faster. Legislators …

High Court Refuses to Revive Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to revive a Louisiana flood protection board’s lawsuit seeking to make oil, gas and pipeline companies pay for decades of damage to coastal wetlands. The suit drew fierce opposition from the energy industry and …

National Weather Service Staff Said Harvey Was Unprecedented

They had to find new words. In advance of Hurricane Harvey‘s landfall, the meteorologists at the National Weather Service in League City, Texas, felt they needed to break from the usual language they use to communicate the dangers of the …

Second Bacterium Found in Louisiana Mass Food Poisoning

Louisiana health officials say a second bacterium, in addition to the salmonella found, apparently contributed to the mass food poisoning that may have killed one person and apparently sickened more than 100 people who ate ate the chicken and sausage …

Weather Service Confirms Oklahoma Likely Hit by 4 Tornadoes

State emergency managers and the National Weather Service were surveying damage Sunday from severe storms that spawned as many as four tornadoes in southwestern and central Oklahoma. The overnight storms tore part of the roof off of a casino and …

Settlement Reached in Oklahoma Earthquake Injury Lawsuit

A settlement has been reached between two Oklahoma oil and natural gas companies and a woman injured in a 2011 earthquake. Prague resident Sandra Ladra filed the lawsuit in 2014 against New Dominion LLC, Spess Oil Co. and 25 other …

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