News

GT OmniPort opens

They call it a multi-modal terminal, which is a fancy name for a facility built to transport crude oil and other products via rail, ship, barge and truck.

GT Omniport is a $95 million, 1,100 acre facility near refineries with more than 1 million barrels per day of capacity, multiple chemical and processing plants and is located less than one mile from over 4 million barrels of petroleum product storage capacity and pipelines currently serving the region.

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City fights CenterPoint rate hike

City officials in Beaumont are fighting to keep gas rates low, but their efforts may be in vain if CenterPoint Energy has its way.

In July, CenterPoint filed a request to raise gas rates in Beaumont and surrounding cities. The company is asking for $8.6 million rate hike next year. This would raise the average residential gas bill from about $12 to more than $20 per month, according to the council agenda.

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City officials reschedule hearing on transit routes

City officials are close to amending routes within Beaumont’s municipal transit system but have postponed a public hearing for the week of Oct. 30 to consider an additional route.

At Tuesday’s Oct. 16 council meeting, the Beaumont City Council was prepared to hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed route changes.

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Scammed couple could lose home

Walter P. Landry, a World War II veteran, and his wife, Joyce, own a beautiful Port Arthur home. With red bricks and a red asphalt roof, the home’s decorative sidewalk is welcoming and the yard well kept. The Port Arthur breeze rushes through the towering oaks in the front yard, and the screened front porch tells of happy gatherings in front of the barbecue pit.

But the home, sitting vacant in an upscale area of Port Arthur, has a story to tell to seniors and their families in Southeast Texas.

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State comptroller and police fight illegal gambling

Illegal gambling has saturated Southeast Texas in the form of game rooms using casino style coin-operated amusement machines known as “eight-liners.” Local authorities and the State Comptroller’s office say these “arcade games” have a potential legitimate use, but Sgt. Mike Custer of the Beaumont Police Department’s special assignments unit said he has never seen one being used legally. Rather than paying out in prizes valued at under $5, as is allowed by law, gamblers are receiving cash. 

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BISD revisits surrendered funds pursuit

Calvin Walker

At least two governmental agencies are looking at ways to collect money from Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) electrical contractor of record, Walker’s Electric Company, including BISD and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).

Show me the money

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District regroups amid Adult Cosmetology fiasco

Announcements that BISD is re-opening the Adult Cosmetology program might have been premature now that the district has hit a snag in licensing the program to be administered through the Beaumont Independent School District Continuing Education department. The district’s original Adult Cosmetology program, held at the Taylor Career and Technology Center for more than a decade, was closed abruptly Sept. 13 after classes had already resumed for the fall semester.

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Divers pull body from LNVA canal

UPDATE: Police identify body

After an entire weekend of searching, police located the body of a man they say drove into the LNVA canal late Friday night, Oct. 12.

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Stuck big rig struck by train

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Jefferson County Commissioners proclaim National 4-H Week

Jefferson County Commissioners proclaimed Oct. 7-13 as National 4-H Week in Jefferson County during their regular meeting Monday, Oct. 8, at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Beaumont. Members of the 4-H Club Jefferson County Youth Council visited Commissioners Court to celebrate the event. 4-H spokesperson Lairen Calhoun addressed the council on behalf of the group.

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