Opinion

While Texans this year sweated out the hottest August ever recorded and paid budget-crushing electricity bills to cool their homes, at least one Bitcoin mining company made millions in extra profits when the state’s electric grid nearly ran out of juice.

World Series 2023 had the lowest television ratings in history. There’s no need to belabor the whys and wherefores. Instead of listening to the ceaseless chatter of announcer John Smoltz, fans would be better off acquainting themselves with the game’s rich history.

Building Texas’ workforce of the future isn’t as simple as hanging out a “we’re hiring” shingle. And that’s why we’re hopeful that the state’s latest workforce development strategy is treated with the sense of urgency that it deserves.

Imagine that you’re 67 years old and you wake up with a severe toothache. You can’t sleep. You know you might need a root canal or something even more invasive, but you just can’t afford it. You don’t have dental insurance and while you have Medicare, it doesn’t pay for most dental services.

The Texas Legislature, conceived as a part-time body to meet every other year for 140 days, is now in its record fifth session (counting the regular session). When the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is included, legislators have been in Austin pretty much the entire year, as the Texas Tribune noted. While legislators are paid just $7,200 a year in salary, per diem payments – meant to cover their expenses while in Austin – have mounted. If the fourth special session goes a full 30 days, taxpayers will have spent $4.8 million keeping lawmakers in Austin.

From the Oval Office, President Joe Biden made an impassioned mid-October address that laid out the stakes for Americans as to why they must support Israel and Ukraine in their wars against aggressors Hamas and Russia. He called the wars an American national security imperative, with victory critical to the future of democracies worldwide.

Finally, the press is doing some hard-hitting reporting about our upcoming presidential election.

One of my co-workers has an autumnal tradition of spending a week of quality time with her dog Alfie around his birthday.

DEAR READERS: Twenty- five years ago tomorrow, I told you about a new, nationwide effort to honor and remember our nation’s troops, veterans and families by seeking out and preserving their war correspondence from every conflict in U.S. history.

I had forgotten about it, but my father once reminisced about finding elementary school-aged me habitually “watching” TV with my back turned to the set.

Kay Granger embodies what all of us should demand from public leadership: an understanding of community needs, an appreciation of broader world issues and a heartfelt commitment to serve selflessly.

A Travis County judge has temporarily blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing its new and “unlawful,” A-F 2022–23 school year performance ratings for public schools and districts.