Government

It may be raining this week, but the Tarrant Regional Water District is planning ahead for a dry summer.

It has notified its client cities and providers that it will begin Stage One watering restrictions on June 3.

The Texas Senate and House have passed legislation that’s supposed to rein in judges who are abusing or misusing their authority.

It’s a problem KERA looked at last year in a special series, Texas Judges: Out of Order.

The two-year state budget deal that appears to be coming together in Austin would restore $3.93 billion of the $5.4 billion in public education money cut last session. 

It would also take $2 billion in Rainy Day savings money to create a loan fund to build water projects. 

It’s unclear whether another proposed loan fund of up to $2.7 billion to build new roads will be part of the new budget.  

Governor Perry has signed Senate Bill 186, giving health officials another tool to fight West Nile.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Helen Giddings and Sen. John Carona, both of Dallas, gives authorities access to stagnant water on abandoned properties and swimming pools.  

Dallas County health officials say that last year they had numerous complaints about standing water on uninhabited properties that was breeding mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes carry the West Nile virus that can be fatal or cause severe neurological damage.