News

Apple seeks Texas leverage

The March 9 announcement by Gov. Rick Perry that Apple would expand its presence in Texas with a $304 million investment in Austin that will create more than 3,600 new jobs was greeted with predictable fanfare. A key part of the deal for the new campus that would more than double the size of Apple’s workforce in Texas over the next decade was an investment of $21 million in state taxpayer dollars over 10 years through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF).

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‘Caught in a lie’ BISD official stories contradict in audit debacle

Seeking an explanation for Beaumont Independent School District trustees seeing a different Comprehensive Annual Financial Report/audit (CAFR) than what was presented to the Texas Education Agency, trustee Mike Neil says he caught superintendent Carrol Thomas and assistant superintendent for business and finance Robert Zingelmann in a lie, and it was all recorded on the district’s video system.

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Weather watch: Strong storms head to Southeast Texas

A cold front approaching Southeast Texas is expected to produce heavy rains and strong winds, according to the National Weather Service in Lake Charles.

Residents are advised to watch for possible flash flooding in low-lying areas and pay attention to debris that may result from winds at approximately 25 mph.

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City of Vidor moves on without city manager

When longtime Vidor City Manager Ricky Jorgensen decided to call it quits sometime in February, he said he was giving the Vidor City Council a one-month notice to find his replacement. Although he didn’t officially turn in a letter of resignation until March 8 with a last day named as March 9, Jorgensen said city leaders knew of his intentions well in advance.

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‘We agree’ Helping kids love science is pretty cool

You’ve probably seen the Chevron commercial that has been in heavy national rotation in recent weeks featuring a middle-school student who helped build a robot and a Chevron engineer who is part of the company’s effort to boost the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The spot manages to tell a compelling story in 30 seconds.

The student says, “This is an RC robotic claw. Our science teacher helped us build it.”

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Orangefield ISD names interim superintendent

Within a few days of the announcement that longtime Orangefield Independent School District Superintendent Philip Welch was retiring, the school board made a move to secure his replacement. What the board didn’t do, however, was give any explanation or comment to the dozens of concerned citizens who showed up to hear Welch’s resignation statement Tuesday, March 6.

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BISD to address audit debacle as inquiries show further issues

A week after The Examiner exposed  the Beaumont Independent School District for submitting a fiscal year 2010-11 audit to the Texas Education Agency that was never approved by the board of trustees, the district will now vote to send the corrected audit to the state – and address the $2.2 million found missing from its cash and cash equivalents account.

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One dead and a family torn apart by courthouse shooter

A man on trial for aggravated sexual assault of a child for allegedly having sexual relations with his daughter in a case that has dragged on for nearly a decade went on a shooting rampage outside the Jefferson County Courthouse Wednesday, March 14, killing one person and injuring three others.

Bartholomew Granger, 41, has been charged with murder and is currently being held at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility. No bond was set. Additional charges are forthcoming.

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Terminal velocity

The recent announcement by GT Logistics (GTL) that it had signed a marketing agreement with Cokinos Energy Corporation to enhance the services offered at its GT OmniPort in Port Arthur represents only the beginning for this major new player in the Southeast Texas petrochemical complex.

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Rough draft of new FEMA flood maps stirs up Orange Co. officials, residents

It’s been more than 20 years since FEMA released official National Flood Insurance and floodway maps for Orange County, and for the last several years planned revisions have been promised. This past week on March 1, FEMA advanced that agenda by releasing rough drafts of preliminary maps, which are scheduled to be ready for public viewing within the next couple of months.

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