At least 11 dead in state after winter storm
At least 11 people have died in Texas, nearly half of them children, after Winter Storm Fern swept the state last week, the Texas Standard reported. Among those killed were three young brothers who fell through ice on a private pond near Bonham, about 60 miles northeast of Texas. In the Dallas suburb of Frisco, two teens died after a sledding accident. They were riding on a sled being pulled by a vehicle.
Several unhoused people died of exposure in Austin, Houston and Fort Worth, according to reports. Nationally, the storm has killed at least 50 people.
Nearly five years after Winter Storm Uri overwhelmed the state’s power grid and left millions without electricity, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas noted the grid held, though localized outages were reported, especially in East Texas, where at one point more than 91,000 customers were without power. Those outages were largely due to ice accumulation and downed lines.
The storm forced nearly 2,400 flight cancellations at airports in Dallas, Houston and Austin.
No new H-1b visas for universities, agencies
Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered universities and state agencies to stop asking for new H-1B visas until next year., the Houston Chronicle reported. The visas are used to hire foreign workers who possess skills in a specialized field. The visas typically last for three years.
Abbott said the H-1B program has “too often been used to fill jobs that otherwise could — and should — have been filled by Texans.” The order says no state agency of public university or college can petition for new H-1B workers with the written permission of the Texas Workforce Commission. It does not apply to public schools in Texas, which rely on the visas to fill teacher vacancies.
The order is in effect at least until the Texas Legislature meets next January, when it is expected to consider “guardrails” for the program.
Charles Foster, a Houston immigration attorney, said the visas are used to recruit top talent in competitive technical and medical fields.
“You cut off the H-1B, you cut off the line by which the best and the brightest can immigrate,” he said. “We’re just hurting ourselves.”
It’s getting more expensive to live in Texas
New census data indicates the state’s housing costs have outpaced income growth, resulting in Texas homeowners and renters spending a larger share of their income for housing, The Tribune reported. While the state’s housing costs are cheaper than New York and California, affordability has eroded despite the state’s economic growth.
More than half of the state’s 4.1 million renters are considered “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent. About 29% of homeowners with mortgages are in the same category.
Lawmakers last year passed a slate of laws aimed at easing the state’s housing shortage by making it easier to build new apartments and housing.
Police wrangle a runaway kangaroo
Police in Cleveland, north of Houston, were kept hopping last week trying to catch a kangaroo spotted hopping down a road, the Austin American-Statesman reported. With the help of animal control and “some good Samaritans,” the kangaroo was collared and eventually returned to its owner.
Texas is one of 13 states that allows people to own kangaroos.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span. Email: [email protected]