Dominic Anthony Walsh
Dominic Anthony Walsh covers energy, the environment and public health for Texas Public Radio. He focuses on stories that reveal how major changes in climate systems, energy markets and public health policies affect communities in his hometown, San Antonio, and across the state.
Early in his first year as a Report For America corps member, he covered the massive census undercount in the Rio Grande Valley and the impact of COVID-19 on the thinly stretched resources of local governments and hospitals. The reporting was featured in a nationally recognized episode of TPR's Petrie Dish podcast, which he co-produces.
He also co-hosted the Fire Triangle investigative series from TPR and Houston Public Media. The team examined how deregulation, poor planning and a lack of public information contributed to deadly chemical disasters across the state.
His voice and work have been heard on the BBC's Newsbeat, WNYC's The Takeaway, APM's Marketplace Morning Report, NPR's Here & Now and All Things Considered.
Dominic previously worked as an intern and stringer for TPR. He graduated from Trinity University in 2020 with a communication degree.
You can reach Dominic by email, dominic@tpr.org, and find him on Twitter,@_dominicanthony.
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Republicans tried to shift political power in 2003. Now, they want to preserve it. This time, national Democrats have the power to do something.
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“Nobody should be in that kind of heat because their power has been removed,” Betty Gregory said. “That’s violence. That’s spraying me with guns, if you turn off my power and turn your back. I'm serious. I’m very serious. This heat is not playing.”
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The shutoff moratorium was in place for the better part of 2020 due to the crushing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium will be lifted on June 18, two days before a forecasted hotter-than-normal summer arrives, and shutoffs can resume in the final week of the month.
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The Biden infrastructure plan has been sold as a way to address the effects of climate change. Parts of the plan have been lambasted as “not infrastructure” by Senate Republicans, but most agree that water systems should be included.
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Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, says he'll sign a bill removing one of his state's last big gun restrictions. The measure would allow residents to carry handguns without training or a background check.
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ERCOT doesn’t have the power to mandate major changes. That’s the job of the Public Utility Commission (PUC), which oversees ERCOT and regulates the grid, as well as the Railroad Commission, which regulates the natural gas sector. The Texas legislature oversees all of the organizations, and its efforts to mandate weatherization have stalled.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott claims child abuse is occurring in an emergency care facility at Freeman Coliseum. Local and state Democrats are criticizing Abbott for announcing these allegations before conducting an investigation.
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With two months left in the legislative session, Texas state policymakers are split on two key issues related to the deadly power outages in February: electricity repricing and natural gas reforms.
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The energy grid in Texas is simultaneously unprepared for and actively contributing to the processes behind climate change. But because of the state’s historical reliance on fossil fuels, conversations about adaptation often lack candor — or don’t happen at all.
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Experts worry the remaining corporations will become “huge monsters that can't fail,” which could stifle competition and increase costs for ratepayers in the long-term.
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For the first time since six ERCOT board members resigned, one of those board members gave a one-on-one interview about the power failure, the political fallout and the financial future of the grid in the wake of last month's deadly outages.
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As more Texans get their water restored, fallout from the mass blackout continues. There have been resignations from the body that oversees the grid, and lawmakers open their investigation tomorrow.