Teachers in a 110-student Texas school district can soon
carry guns at school. Those advocating the new policy argue that teachers and students feel unprotected because the school is 30 minutes from the closest sheriff.
Staff that want to carry a gun must have a Texas concealed gun license, be approved by the district, receive crisis-management training, and use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.
The district's superintendent thinks the guns are a great idea:When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started.
According to an
Associated Press article, Texas has preliminarily approved "a $4.9 billion plan to build new transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity from gusty West Texas to urban areas like Dallas," and "build a slew of new turbines." The Lone Star State already stands as the nation's leader in
wind power, generating about 5,000 megawatts with the nearly 4,000 wind turbines already in place, but a lack of transmission lines has prevented that energy from being used. The new plan will mobilize about 18,000 megawatts, "enough to power more than 4 million Texas homes." Texas electric customers will see a $3-4 price increase on their monthly bills, but it is likely to be offset by lower energy prices. The plan awaits final approval later this year, and the lines won't be ready for use for three to five years.
Yesterday, Hurricane Dolly made landfall in Southern Texas in the town of South Padre Island, with 120 mph winds ripping roofs off homes, pouring down rain, and
sending residents looking for shelter. Contact with land brought the winds down from category 2 speeds to category 1, and now
flooding along the Rio Grande has become the main concern over the next few days, thanks to Dolly's "sluggish nature."
Over 3,000 residents of low-lying areas by the river and the coast
went to crowded schools for shelter. One school had 800 evacuees, including children and babies.
As part of the War on Drugs US federal and local authorities seize cash made from drug trafficking. The practice takes away an incentive for smuggling, and gives the agents an incentive to catch traffickers. The guideline for how that money can be spent, according to most local laws, is the vague standard of "for law-enforcement purposes."
This week's Economist
itemized what can be considered law enforcement for spending purposes.
I recently whipped up the fair favorite pictured below. It's so bad for you, it's good. Can you identify this southwestern delight?
It's a big day for guns in the news: new Georgia laws go into effect allowing residents
to carry concealed weapons into parks, restaurants, and onto public transportation, and in Florida, employees and customers will now be able to
conceal firearms on private property if locked in a car. Then there's this story: Joe Horn, a 62-year-old Texan has been
cleared by a grand jury yesterday after he fatally shot two men he suspected of burglarizing his next-door neighbor's home.
Horn's case has sparked controversy between those who think he acted illegally and recklessly, and those who praise his swift action. Horn's attorney says, "he wasn't acting like a vigilante.
