Your State

Just when you thought you had heard it all with the recent report that a payday lender is in charge of running the regulatory agency for the industry in Texas, score one more for the pay day lending industry. In El Paso, according to a recent agreement made with the local metropolitan authority, the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, Ace Cash Express will begin selling toll tags and collecting tolls on behalf of the transportation authority beginning January 8th.

In 1999, the Texas Legislature deregulated electric companies in certain areas of Texas, promising that this would lower rates for consumers. However, it appears that this promise was not entirely accurate. According to the report, "Texans living in deregulated electricity areas paid about $22 billion more in the last decade than they would have under a regulated system."

Fracking is in full swing in the Eagle Ford Shale region of southern Texas, home to the most productive oil field in the United States. For Cynthia Dupnik, whose Karnes County home is in the center of the region, life is no longer serene. At night, she says the landscape is frighteningly apocalyptic, marked by the roaring flares spreading pollutants across the sky from oil and gas operations.

While fracking may contribute millions of dollars to the state fund every year, it's also using up millions of gallons of water — more water than the state of Texas has, according to some experts. If drought conditions continue, the state could be in big trouble if a long-term fix isn't figured out.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker will marry Kathy Hubbard in January. Parker and Hubbard have been together for 23 years, during which Houston became the most populous American city to elect an openly gay mayor. Parker has been very popular, and voters re-elected her for the second and final time earlier this year.

The Texas Association of Business has written an amicus brief in support of the challenge against new Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas regulations. In October, the Supreme Court decided to take up the challenge's claim that the EPA has misinterpreted their Clean Air Act regulatory authorization since implementing new vehicle emission standards. The specific issue is the "Triggering Rule," by which the EPA can require reduced emissions from existing plants if they are found to be in violation of new standards.

A pair of case studies from the Electrification Coalition show that the cities of Houston, TX and Loveland, CO have experienced sizable savings since they added EVs to the mix. Houston began aiming for efficiency by purchasing hybrids back in 2002. Many of them have since been converted to plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

Two weeks ago, Ethan Couch, a TX teen, killed four Texans. He got behind the wheel of his car with three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, mowed down several pedestrians, and now four families are without their children. The judge let Ethan off with 10 years probation and prescribed therapy. The defense argued that Ethan has "affluenza," a condition by which rich people don't understand and are thus not responsible for the consequences of their actions.

On Thursday at a McClennan County Republican Party event, 75 percent of Republican candidates for TX Lt. Governor said they want one religion's interpretation of life's origin taught in Texas public schools.

The reason to sign up for health insurance is not only to stay healthy, but also to avoid financial ruin in the event that disaster strikes. Ask yourself if you can afford a $30,000 appendectomy, or a $40,000 ovarian cyst, or a $12,000 broken arm.

The disease of being too rich and privileged now has a name: affluenza. For Texas teen Ethan Couch, apparently beset with this affliction, it means he can get away with murder.

In a segment focused on women's health in Texas on Latino USA this past Sunday, Senator Leticia Van de Putte and Representative Jason Villalba spoke about the impact of the 2011 family planning budget cuts on Latina health. Van de Putte focused on what she calls the "collateral damage" of a Republican attack on Planned Parenthood, while Villalba defended defunding the organization.