News

Super Derecho

Valrico powers cell towers in wake of huge storm

 

At around 11 p.m. June 29, Cindy Perez, the Port Arthur-based vice president of Valrico, began receiving calls from several major wireless carriers — a huge storm called a “Super Derecho” had hit the Northeast and hundreds of cell tower generators needed to be fueled.

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Global push puts Lamar at forefront in online education

More and more educators are seeking to earn college degrees online, and more and more often, they’re earning those degrees at Lamar University. Beaumont’s Lamar University ranked ninth out of 1,617 schools in the number of 2011 bachelor’s and post-bachelor’s education degrees conferred that were earned all or partially online, according to an analysis released by USA Today on Aug. 8.

In 2011, Lamar awarded 1,863 education degrees earned completely or partially online; 10 years earlier, that number was 70.

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Commercial sex in Beaumont among Houston man’s offenses

Jerald Bland, aka “Moe Betta,” 30, of Houston, was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison for transporting a woman to Beaumont and Louisiana for commercial sex, Thursday, Aug. 16, in a Houston federal court. Bland pleaded guilty to the charges Jan. 3 of this year.

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Hello and goodbye from two leaders in education

Jimmy Simmons and Carrol Thomas

 

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Beaumont awarded FEMA funds for basin project

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded more than $1.2 million to the state of Texas for the construction of a detention basin in Beaumont. FEMA is funding 75 percent or $1,284,570 of the $1,712,760 project, which involves building the new basin along Bayou Din. The project will help to alleviate flooding to more than 40 homes downstream and improve drainage for areas immediately surrounding the detention basin.

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Bank robbing is no easy money

James Bergeron

Bank robbery in real life is a far cry from what you see on television and in the movies.

The bandits don’t dress in suits and wear plastic Ronald Reagan or Richard Nixon masks. There isn’t a band of men jumping out of a van armed with high-powered automatic weapons. And most important, the thief or thieves aren’t carrying duffel bags and emptying out vaults with hundreds of thousands of dollars as the take.

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McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge reopens

Access to McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge was closed Aug. 9 due to potential hazards caused by multiple wildfires. The refuge is now open during its regular operating hours, and the public is welcome to participate in normal recreational activities on the site. Both the U.S.

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Have a merry ‘Sales Tax Holiday’

It’s not Black Friday, but the Texas sales tax holiday has retailers and shoppers alike gearing up for a weekend purchasing extravaganza. This year’s holiday is Aug. 17-19, and Texas Comptroller for Public Accounts Susan Combs estimates shoppers across the state will drop $810 million tax-free on goods gearing up for back-to-school. The three-day weekend exempting taxes on allowable back-to-school purchases is forecasted to save Texans roughly $64.8 million on items such as backpacks, socks, uniforms and pens.

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Publisher pulls the plug on revisionist Jefferson history

Thomas Nelson Publishing has decided to cease publication of David Barton’s controversial book, “The Jefferson Lies.”

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‘Free money’ bait-and-switch targets area’s elderly, disabled

In the last few months, hundreds of elderly and disabled Southeast Texans have been scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars, an investigation by The Examiner has revealed. The victims thought they were claiming a portion of federal stimulus funds set aside to assist low-income Social Security recipients, when in fact no such provision exists.

Instead, false tax returns were submitted to the IRS in their names, with roughly half of the ill-gotten refund going to a third party. Once discovered, the victims are on the hook for the entire sum.

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