Ice storm wreaks havoc across Texas
Residents
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A its peak, nearly 400, 000 Texas households were without power, according to poweroutage.us. As of Sunday, that number had dropped to 62, 456.
The outages were due to downed power lines, not by problems with the state's power grid.
Airports in the state's metropolitan areas reported several hundred flight cancellations because of icy conditions. Many schools in the
The
While the danger from last week's storm has largely passed, the
Fentanyl test strips backed by lawmakers Test strips that would determine whether pills, powders, or other forms of drugs are laced with deadly fentanyl might be legalized, if a bipartisan group of lawmakers have their way.
The percentage of overdose deaths tied to fentanyl has risen to 97%, according to a report in the
"They deserve action, action that will save other innocent families from the devastation they have suffered," Abbott said in January. "And they will get that action this session."
Legislators are also considering measures to increase the penalty for manufacturing or delivering fentanyl even in small amounts to a third-degree felony. Right now, it is a state jail felony.
Meanwhile, the state comptroller's office is being pushed to speed up distribution of more than
DSHS data indicates 1, 569 Texans died of a fentanyl-related overdose last year, according to the Statesman report.
State parks continue centennial celebration Texas state parks turn 100 years old in 2023 and are celebrating with a host of events. This month includes several celebrations in
For more information on the celebration, including community events, the history of Texas State Parks and how to make a day visit or overnight reservation, visit the Texas State Parks 100 Years website at Texas-StateParks.org/100years.
Housing cost burden examined The Texas Demographic Center has used census data to examine housing cost burdens in the state. That is when a household spends more than 30% of its monthly income on housing costs, including rent or mortgage payments, utilities and other costs.
The center concludes that counties with the highest percent of households dealing with housing cost burdens are in the so-called Texas Triangle along the
The study found that nearly half of Texas renters - 1.7 million - spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs from 2017-2021, with a median monthly housing cost of
Texas ranked 10th in median gross rent from 2017-2021.
Texas company hopes to bring back dodo bird A Texas company is hoping to bring back the long-extinct dodo bird, along with the wooly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger, according to a Statesman story.
Colossal Biosciences, with offices in
The dodo bird, closely related to the pigeon, went extinct in 1662 in its native
The company was founded in 2021 to work in the field of de-extinction and combatting climate change. It recently announced an additional
"Being able to recreate something that is functionally similar to an extinct species that's as prevalent in people's minds as the dodo is hopefully going to create a little bit of enthusiasm for thinking about consequences of human cost extinctions,"
New COVID-19 cases, deaths rise The number of new cases of COVID-19 in Texas during the past week rose to 38, 947, more than 15, 000 from the previous week, according to the
The center reported 400 deaths in the state, also a marked increase. Officials reported 2, 142 lab-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations, down a few hundred from the previous week.
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