CENSUS ESTIMATES RELEASED
The U.S. Census Bureau has released is sub-county population estimates from April 2010 to July 2020, which includes population estimates for the 1,200 incorporated places in Texas.
Nine additional Texas towns were incorporated in the past decade, while 13 additional cities surpassed a population of 50,000.
The Texas Demographic Center reported that of the 71 Texas cities with populations of more than 50,000, only two lost population, continuing the trend of smaller towns and areas in the state losing population to larger cities. More than 55 percent of the state’s population growth has been in cities with more than 50,000 residents.
Small and mid-sized cities surrounding major metropolitan areas, such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and Houston, saw the fastest growth rates, while many of the cities in West Texas and the Panhandle were among the 372 Texas cities that lost population
Experts: Weatherization bill falls short
The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 3 in response to February’s deadly storm and widespread failure of power plants, but public radio’s Texas Standard reports that many electric grid experts and policy analysts say not enough has been done to prevent another blackout disaster.
One section of SB3 allows regulators to determine what portions of the natural gas supply must be weatherized. Since it only applies to equipment that directly connects to power plants, experts say it might not be enough.
In addition, critics say the penalties of $5,000 a day for not doing the required weatherization amount to little more than a rounding error for non-complying oil and gas companies.
COVID-19 cases dropping
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Texas continues to drop, with 9,534 reported as of Sunday for the previous week — a small fraction of mid-January’s record high of nearly 159,000.
In the past week, 210 deaths from COVID-19 in Texas were reported, ac cording to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. That is also a decrease.
The number of Texans fully vaccinated stands at 10.5 million, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, or about 36 percent of the state’s population. The number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized dropped nearly a fifth from the previous week, to 1,504, according to DSHS.
GOP chairman resignation sparks speculation
Texas Republican Party chairman Allen West resigned Friday.
The Republican party issued a statement that West “will take this opportunity to prayerfully reflect on a new chapter in his already distinguished career.” West has not ruled out challenging Gov. Greg Abbott, who last week touted a re-election endorsement from former President Trump.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com.