Houston Chronicle

Running a restaurant has never been easy, but the past year has been especially difficult with rising prices and catastrophic weather. A small, ramshackle restaurant in Houston called Ninja Ramen gave me an inside look at what it's like to run a restaurant in 2024. https://lnkd.in/gNmaBXaA

Apache Corp. sounded an alarm in 2017 that few appeared to hear. The Houston oil company warned of potentially dangerous faults and fractures in its Reeves County oil field that could allow the oil industry’s?toxic wastewater?to flow into protected groundwater and natural springs, regulatory filings show. Seven years later,?a saltwater geyser?carrying poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas erupted from the same field, outside Toyah, shooting 100 feet high. It also appeared to contain oil. Read more from Amanda Drane here: https://lnkd.in/enrfMNjq

Congratulations to Dana Burke and Melanie Feuk! I’m thrilled they’re taking the lead in building our breaking news team. I can’t wait to see where we are a year from now with their leadership — cheers to both of you! #journalism #houston #media

Texas lawmakers grilled executives from Deloitte, the consulting firm contracted to manage a $5 billion taxpayer-funded program mainly intended to kickstart construction of natural gas power plants, after the organization advanced a potentially fraudulent loan application. Read more from Claire Hao here: https://lnkd.in/gDRji79R

CenterPoint Energy is “reassessing the use” of?its private Chambers County retreat, colloquially known as “The Pond,” as a space to wine and dine Texas lawmakers, the company’s chief executive said. The country lodge off of Trinity Bay has been key to CenterPoint’s lobbying efforts for decades. More than 70 current or former state and local elected officials said they have visited, reported spending campaign funds on trips there or were shown on the grounds in public images posted on social media,?a Houston Chronicle investigation?found in August. Read more from Claire Hao here: https://lnkd.in/gyXEnbWf

High-profile figures like Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Houston attorney Tony Buzbee are rallying behind a?Galveston sheriff’s candidate?who could lose his law enforcement officer’s license within two months of election and be forced out of office. Armed with an outsized war chest and a?promise?to “fight back against the liberal agenda,” Jimmy Fullen, a former Galveston County constable,?defeated his opponent Ray Nolen, 57% to 43%, in the March primary, positioning him as the likely next sheriff in the Republican stronghold. Read more from Yilun Cheng and John Wayne Ferguson here: https://lnkd.in/gsGWU6yA

Salaries for Houston's highest-paid public school principals during the 2023-2024 school year ranged from $153,000 to just over $200,000. Atop the list is Mark Smith, a former Houston Independent School District administrator who became an interim principal in Spring Branch ISD. Explore the full list from Elizabeth Sander and Anastasia Goodwin here: https://lnkd.in/gYEycTzp

Two years after some of Texas’ largest oil companies?withdrew from Russia because of U.S. sanctions?over the country's?invasion of Ukraine, they and other U.S. corporations?are under threat of Russian litigation?claiming they are in breach of contract. The legal claims are largely being heard behind closed doors by arbitration panels in Europe and Russia, keeping the proceedings confidential. But U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Houston Republican?leading bipartisan legislation to block the Russian effort, said Texas oil companies were among those being targeted. Read more from James Osborne here: https://lnkd.in/gmyUTYme

Colin Allred was never known for his bravado on the football field or hype in the locker room. At Baylor University, where he played linebacker and was a team captain, Allred acted like a protective older brother, shutting down parties that went too late and urging teammates to stay focused when they were down. Twenty years later,?the former NFL player and civil rights attorney?is taking the same steady approach in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race against Republican Ted Cruz. Read more from Benjamin Wermund here: https://lnkd.in/guXD8frM

A tower of salty water that appears to be laced with oil is shooting roughly 100 feet into the sky just West of Toyah in Reeves County,?an area of West Texas?plagued by a recent rash of earthquakes linked to wastewater injection. Read more from Amanda Drane here: https://lnkd.in/gPQq5mxm