Opinion

Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for Texas counties affected by the early February ice storm and is seeking a federal declaration as well for areas in Southeast Texas affected by rare January tornadoes. The ice storm caused considerable damage to property and power outages in the affected areas. The declaration for icestorm damaged counties includes Denton, Hays, Henderson, Milam, Smith, Travis and Williamson counties.

In 2022, we had our trees trimmed at our house because many of the oaks had low branches that made mowing and driving under them difficult. The utility company trimmed many branches that were too close to the telephone and electric wires.

Residents in Central and Northeast Texas are still cleaning up after a winter storm last week snapped power lines and tree limbs, causing widespread power outages, canceled flights and damage to homes and vehicles.

We have a cluster of hackberry trees (Celtis laevigata) in our side yard. A branch of the largest one is visible from our bird room window. This year, I paid close attention as its leaves turned brownish-yellow and fell to the ground. There, they mulched the horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis) that grows below. With this cost- and labor-free mulching and the provided shade, the ground cover flourishes — never needing water or mowing.

Have you noticed the flocks of robins this year?

A group of House Democrats is proposing a $15,000 raise for the state’s teachers and a 25% raise for other state employees by using some of the state’s record budget surplus. State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, announced the bill last week and was joined by Democratic legislators and teachers, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Capital Highlights by Gary Borders

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, told The Dallas Morning News and other media outlets that he is open to bringing resort-style casinos to Texas. But don’t expect to find slot machines in 7-Eleven stores if casino gambling is legalized.

A weed is often defined as “a plant no one has found a use for.”

On behalf of the Wimberley Community Civic Club, we would like to thank the community of Wimberley for their support of our recent Breakfast with Santa. We had such a fun time putting it on and could not have done that without some very important partners in our precious village.