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ERCOT Asks Texans to Conserve. But What Happened to February's Costly Energy Bills?

By Simone Carter

Jun 16, 2021

Months after February's deadly winter storm, questions remain surrounding who will foot consumers' sky-high energy bills.

Texas' power grid operator is worried electricity demand might outstrip supply this week.

ERCOT Warns Power Outages Possible This Week If Folks Don’t Conserve Energy Pronto

By Schaefer Edwards

Jun 14, 2021

It turns out that arctic winter storms aren’t the only times Texans have to worry about the state’s power grid crapping out. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas asked state residents on Monday to cut down on their electricity usage through Friday to prevent possible power outages across the state,...

The Dallas shelter hasn’t had to euthanize an adoptable animal for space in about 18 months.

Dallas Animal Services Doesn’t Cry Wolf. When They Ask for Help, They Need It.

By Jacob Vaughn

Jun 11, 2021

The shelter takes in 60-100 animals a day. In the first week of June, they took in 472 dogs and cats.

The count found a total of 4,570 homeless individuals in Dallas and Collin counties, a record.

With a Record Number of Homeless in North Texas, Black People Remain Overrepresented

By Jacob Vaughn

May 14, 2021

The findings of the census were presented during the 2021 State of Homelessness Address on Tuesday.

A quick cold snap in April was too much for the tomato crop at Pure Land Farm.

After a Rough Year on Farms and Ranches, a Texas Brewery Offers Help

By Lauren Drewes Daniels

May 3, 2021

Texas farmers and ranchers have had a year. Whether they supplied restaurants with local produce or welcomed families to pick their own buckets full, even green pastures and rows of blackberries weren’t immune to the pandemic.

We don't think much about the power grid when the weather's good. That's a failure of imagination with costly consequences.

ERCOT: A Policy Failure Through Lack of Imagination

By Blake Jones

Mar 8, 2021

A lack of imagination caused the ERCOT grid failure. No one imagined a weeklong extreme cold spell, despite Hollywood blockbusters imagining extreme weather events and much, much worse. Neither the regulators nor the risk managers across the bulk power system thought much about the 200-page report issued in 2011 that...

The city has allocated $2 million to help Dallas homeowners pay for winter storm damages. But, the demand for these funds far exceeds the supply.

New City Program Can Help Dallas Homeowners with Storm Damage

By Jacob Vaughn

Feb 26, 2021

City Council members said they wanted to make sure the help was distributed equitably.

Cows were given extra sustenance during the frigid temperatures to help them endure the stress of the storm.

A Local Cattle Rancher's Winter Storm: Cows on Ice, Abandoned Calves and a Missing Leg

By Lauren Drewes Daniels

Feb 25, 2021

Last year when we met Brandon Howley at Happy Hollow Ranch in Willis Point, the birds were chirping, a red fox burrowed in the pasture and cattle hid from the sun under trees lush with leaves. Howley inherited this land from his tough-as-nails grandfather, former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley...

Ryan Ahmadian, co-founder of the Dallas Houseless Committee and a member of Dallas Stops Evictions, reads a list of demands for the city of Dallas.

The City Cracked Down on Camp Rhonda. Now its Homeless Residents Have to Split Up.

By Jacob Vaughn

Feb 24, 2021

The camp was birthed from encampment resolutions, or sweeps, that were taking place in downtown. During the sweeps, people’s belongings, including ID’s, birth certificates and other important documents, were turned into trash.

The snow was beautiful. The electric bills afterward are ugly.

After Winter Storm, $1 Billion Class Action Lawsuit Puts Heat on Griddy

By Patrick Strickland

Feb 23, 2021

Lisa Khoury claims her Griddy bill reached $9,340 between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19, according to a class action lawsuit.

Dallas Restaurants Feel the Sting of Losing Valentine's Day and Fat Tuesday

By Lauren Drewes Daniels

Feb 23, 2021

CocoAndre, the family-owned chocolate shop in the Bishop Arts District, has been open for business only eight days this month. COVID forced them to close the last week of January, so they set their sights on every chocolatier's busiest day, Feb. 14, to help pull them through the winter. "Then...

That's either a giant crawfish or a small lobster. In any case, we wouldn't have the nerve to try to bait a hook with it.

Eaux Neaux! Crawfish Farmers Worry the Recent Cold Snap May Have Been a Killer.

By Lauren Drewes Daniels

Feb 23, 2021

Despite a great crop of mudbugs last year, COVID-19 restrictions crippled the industry as a whole; restaurants were slapped with COVID mandates, and packaging the crustaceans to-go was difficult. Last March, crawfish producer Gerard Frey of Acadia Parish told the LSU AgCenter they were only able to sell 10 to...

The fallout from the storm could be costlier than Hurricane Harvey

As Freeze Thaws, North Texans Worry about Cost of Winter Storm Damage

By Patrick Strickland

Feb 22, 2021

Power has been restored for most Texans, but the winter storm is shaping up to be one of the costliest in the state's history.

Dallas Water Utilities asks residents to conserve their water, but it's still safe to drink.

Boil Advisories, Busted Pipes and Low Pressure: Water Problems Hit North Texas After Storm

By Jacob Vaughn

Feb 19, 2021

Dallas and some other North Texas cities have asked residents to conserve water as systems experienced low levels of storage in their tanks.

Nameer Salman has kept his restaurant open so his customers have somewhere to eat and stay warm.

With the Lights Out, North Texas Restaurants Become De Facto Warming Stations

By Patrick Strickland

Feb 18, 2021

With many restaurants closed, lines at drive-thru joints stretched into the street and people huddled in the few open places with heat.

They are having to balance their concerns for the virus and their concerns for the people in need.

Dallas Residents Defy Winter Storm to Help Neighbors in Need

By Jacob Vaughn

Feb 18, 2021

Warmer weather is supposed to make things better in the coming days, but local attorney Mark Melton thinks there will still be plenty who need help after.

The old tests could take days to turn out results. The new ones take a matter of minutes.

New Rapid COVID-19 Tests Help Get Homeless Into Dallas Shelters

By Jacob Vaughn

Feb 8, 2021

OurCalling's facility at 1702 Caesar Chavez Blvd. is the main site administering the tests to Dallas' homeless individuals seeking shelter. Tests are being administered Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-noon.

Wayne Walker, OurCalling's executive director and pastor, says they had no choice but to disobey the city ordinance.

Risking Fines From the City, OurCalling Helps Shelter the Homeless

By Jacob Vaughn

Jan 11, 2021

OurCalling has been helping people experiencing homelessness for over a decade.

North Texans will likely notice dusty skies and orange sunsets this weekend thanks to a giant Saharan dust cloud.

Giant Saharan Dust Plume to Paint North Texas Skies Orange This Weekend

By Simone Carter

Jun 25, 2020

Expect to breathe in some dusty, African air when you step outside this weekend. A Saharan dust plume is traveling more than 7,000 miles to touch down in Dallas. The cloud is a bone dry, dusty mass of air that forms over the Sahara Desert in North Africa, said Juan...

McAlister’s cotton plants didn’t produce enough to be financially worth harvesting and selling this year. He will instead depend on insurance money to make ends meet.

Growing Pains: Stress Is Killing Farmers, But These Texans Keep Plowing Ahead

By Meredith Lawrence

Jan 21, 2020

Farmers across the country are struggling to make ends meet. In Texas, the stress weighs on farmers who sometimes struggle to figure out how to scrape together the next bill payment.

Weather

Is Air Conditioning a Human Right?

Stemmons Freeway Has the Deadliest Stretch of Road in Texas

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