Homeland Security overhauls its asylum phone app

AUSTIN (AP) – The Trump administration has unveiled an overhauled cellphone app once used to let migrants apply for asylum, turning it into a system that allows people living illegally in the U.S. to say they want to leave the country voluntarily.

The renamed app, announced Monday and now called CBP Home, is part of the administration’s campaign to encourage “self-deportations, ” touted as an easy and cost-effective way to nudge along President Donald Trump’s push to deport millions of immigrants without legal status.

“The app provides illegal aliens in the United States with a straightforward way to declare their intent to voluntarily depart, offering them the chance to leave before facing harsher consequences,” Pete Flores, the acting commissioner for U.S Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement.

Moments after Trump took office, the earlier version of the app, CBP One, stopped allowing migrants to apply for asylum, and tens of thousands of border appointments were canceled.

More than 900,000 people were allowed in the country on immigration parole under CBP One, generally for two years, starting in January 2023.

The Trump administration has repeatedly urged migrants in the country illegally to leave.

“The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on the social platform X. “If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return.”

Experts wondered how many people without legal status would register for what has long been known as “voluntary departure,” or what the government hopes to gain from the new app.

“I’m not sure what their intentions are,” said Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute. “But they’re creating a bit of a culture of fear around immigration right now,” from highly publicized ICE arrests to sending immigrants to a detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. The new app, she said, could be part of that “targeted public relations campaign” to urge more people to leave the U.S.

Some people living in the U.S. illegally chose to leave even before Trump’s inauguration, though it’s unclear how many.

But earlier mass crackdowns on illegal immigration — most famously a quasi-military operation in the mid-1950s that Trump has repeatedly praised — also drove many immigrants who were in the U.S. legally to leave.

Lawmakers urge Trump administration to cancel owl-killing plan, say it would cost too much

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday urged the Trump administration to scrap plans to kill more than 450,000 invasive barred owls in West Coast forests as part of efforts to stop the birds from crowding out a smaller type of owl that’s facing potential extinction.

The 19 lawmakers — led by Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, a Texas conservative, and Democrat Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a California liberal — claimed the killings would be “grossly expensive” and cost $3,000 per bird.

They questioned if the shootings would help native populations of northern spotted owls, which have long been controversial because of logging restrictions in the birds’ forest habitat beginning in the 1990s, and the closely related California spotted owl.

Barred owls are native to eastern North America and started appearing in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s. They’ve quickly displaced many spotted owls, which are smaller birds that need larger territories to breed.

An estimated 100,000 barred owls now live within a range that contains only about 7,100 spotted owls, according to federal officials.

Under a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan approved last year, trained shooters would target barred owls over 30 years across a maximum of about 23,000 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) in California, Oregon and Washington.

The plan did not include a cost estimate. But the lawmakers said in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that it could top $1.3 billion based on extrapolating costs from a grant awarded to the the Hoopa Valley Native American Tribe in California to kill up to 1,500 barred owls.

“This is an inappropriate and inefficient use of U.S. taxpayer dollars,” the lawmakers wrote. “This latest plan is an example of our federal government attempting to supersede nature and control environmental outcomes at great cost.”

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the cost estimate and the owl removal program. The agency’s plan called for more than 2,400 barred owls to be removed this year and for that number to ramp up to more than 15,500 birds annually beginning in 2027.

Scientists for years have been shooting barred owls on an experimental basis and officials say the results show the strategy could halt spotted owl declines. As of last year, about 4,500 barred owls were killed on the West Coast by researchers since 2009.

Killing one bird species to save others has divided wildlife advocates and is reminiscent of past government efforts to save West Coast salmon by killing sea lions and cormorants. Or when, to preserve warblers, cowbirds that lay eggs in warbler nests were killed. The barred owl removals would be among the largest such effort to date involving birds of prey, researchers and wildlife advocates said.

Barred owls arrived in the Pacific Northwest via the Great Plains, where trees planted by settlers gave them a foothold, or via Canada’s boreal forests, which have become warmer and more hospitable as the climate changes, researchers said.

Their spread has undermined decades of spotted owl restoration efforts that previously focused on protecting forests where they live. That included logging restrictions under former President Bill Clinton that ignited bitter political fights and temporarily helped slow the spotted owl’s decline.

A new storm could spawn tornadoes in the South and whip up a blizzard in northern states

ATLANTA (AP) — A potent storm system is expected to pour heavy rain on western states later this week before rumbling into the central United States, where it could spawn tornadoes in the South and dump heavy snow across the parts of the Great Plains and Upper Midwest, creating blizzard conditions.

The ominous forecast comes as temperatures hit record highs in parts of the central U.S. after an active few days of weather across the nation. A possible tornado touched down in central Florida on Monday morning, tearing past a local television news station as its meteorologists were live on the air. No injuries were reported.

In Texas, thunderstorms on Saturday toppled semitrailers on Interstate 35 in Texas and flipped over a recreation vehicle at the Texas Motorplex drag racing strip south of Dallas, killing a man inside the RV.
Record temperatures heat up parts of Plains and Midwest

Much of the Midwest got hit by heavy snow and blizzard conditions last week, but the region began this week with springtime temperatures. Readings reached the 60s in many parts of Minnesota on Monday and hit 76 in the western town of Granite Falls by mid-afternoon.

Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska both set records Monday with temperatures in the low 80s (20s Celsius).

Readings in the 60s and low 70s (teens to 20s Celius) were also common across South Dakota.

But dry conditions and high winds raised the wildfire risk over much of the Midwest, with red flag warnings out for most of Nebraska and South Dakota, and parts of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota.
Southern California could get drenched

The system moving in later this week is expected to begin with an atmospheric river soaking Southern California with heavy rain on Thursday, the National Weather Service projects. Atmospheric rivers are plumes of water vapor that form over the ocean and can drop tremendous amounts of moisture over land.

“Snow and wind will spread across the Intermountain West and Rockies Thursday into Friday before rapid development occurs over the Plains,” according to the federal Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
Tornadoes take aim at the South

As the system moves east, a regional outbreak of severe thunderstorms is expected over large parts of several southern states beginning Friday and continuing into Saturday, according to the latest forecasts from the federal Storm Prediction Center.

That means a variety of severe weather hazards, from thunderstorms to so-called supercells that can spawn destructive tornadoes.

The worst weather could strike parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee on Friday, then move into Alabama by Saturday, though it was too early to say which areas could be hardest hit.
High winds expected to increase wildfire threat

The threat of wildfires in parts of the Southwest is already high, with forecasts of critical wildfire conditions on Tuesday in the southeastern corner of Arizona and in southern New Mexico. Parts of west Texas also are at risk.

Strong winds that will likely accompany the incoming storm system are likely to add more concerns about wildfires later in the week, especially in the southern Plains, according to the National Weather Service.
Storm strikes Florida TV station

A powerful thunderstorm touched down along Interstate 4 in Seminole County north of Orlando, Florida, downing fences and blowing shingles off roofs, officials said.

The storm passed over local television station Fox 35’s studios in Lake Mary as its meteorologists were on the air.

“OK, take shelter. Everybody in the Fox 35 building, get to your safe space under your desk,” said Fox 35 meteorologist Brooks Garner. “If you’re not in a designated area, we’re catching debris right now on the roof. Debris is on the roof right now.”
Residents in Arizona, Texas clean up after earlier storms

In Texas, residents were cleaning up storm damage over the weekend.

Strong winds of up to 90 mph (145 kph) ripped the roof off a Days Inn along Interstate 45, and the high winds also damaged homes throughout Ellis County.

The 42-year-old man who died in the RV was identified as T.J. Bailey from Midlothian, Texas. His wife and two sons were inside the RV when it rolled over at the racetrack, Ellis County Justice of the Peace Chris Macon told The Dallas Morning News. Bailey’s family members were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

In northern Arizona, snowstorms late last week led to a more than 15-mile (24-kilometer) backup on Interstate 40, leaving some motorists stranded for hours.

___

Associated Press Writer Michael Schneider in Orlando, Florida, contributed.

The late US Rep. Sylvester Turner to lie in state in Houston

HOUSTON (AP) – U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas, who died this month just weeks into first term in Congress, was scheduled to lie in state at Houston City Hall on Tuesday in the first of several public events honoring the former Democratic lawmaker and mayor.

Turner, 70, died on March 5, hours after attending President Donald Trump’s address to Congress in Washington. His family said he died at his home following health complications.

The congressman served as Houston mayor for eight years before he was elected to the House in November to fill the seat held by longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July.

Prior to becoming mayor, Turner served as a legislator in the Texas House of Representatives for 27 years.

Turner is also scheduled to lie in state at the Texas Capitol beginning Thursday. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Houston.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet announced when a special election will be held for Turner’s seat.

Rep. Shofner introduces bill to improve healthcare in East Texas

Rep. Shofner introduces bill to improve healthcare in East TexasNACOGDOCHES – Advanced Practice Registered Nurses could soon have full practice authority in rural East Texas according to our news partner KETK.

Rep. Joanne Shofner filed HB 2532 on Feb. 6 that would allow APRNs to practice as independent practitioners. The bill will give APRNs the ability to treat health problems and prescribe medications (including controlled substances).

APRNs’ tasks include treating and diagnosing illnesses, manages chronic disease, advising the public on health issues and engaging in ongoing education to remain ahead of any developments. APRNs have a master’s degree, or higher, while a registered nurse only has standard education and licensing. In order to qualify, APRN’s must apply to the Texas Board of Nursing and pay an application fee. The deadline for the fee will vary by program and school. An advanced practice registered nurse can assess patients, diagnose conditions and prescribe medication, but Curran believes a patient’s safety can still be compromised. Continue reading Rep. Shofner introduces bill to improve healthcare in East Texas

Texarkana Police needs help finding hit and run driver

Texarkana Police needs help finding hit and run driverTEXARKANA – The Texarkana Police Department is currently searching for a driver who was involved in a hit and run that left a woman critically injured on Friday. According to our news partner KETK the woman pedestrian was critically injured after she was hit by a white SUV in the 2300 block of New Boston Road at around 10:20 p.m. on Friday night. Officials are searching for the driver and are asking anyone who lives near the hit and run scene to check their security cameras for a white SUV in the area near that time.

“We’ve been working non-stop all weekend to track down the driver, but we still haven’t been able to identify the vehicle. If you live or work in the area, please check your security cameras! If you see anything that might help—no matter how small—please reach out to us. It could well be the break that we need.”
Texarkana PD

Anyone information can contact Texarkana PD by phone at 903-798-3876 and any video can be submitted to the Texarkana Police Department online through their new online evidence portal.

East Texas man arrested for drug and firearm charges

East Texas man arrested for drug and firearm chargesPALESTINE — Our news partner, KETK, reports that an East Texas man was arrested for multiple drug and firearm charges after a homeowner reported a person was shining a flashlight near their home.

According to the Palestine Police Department, around 4:32 a.m. officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at 2102 Martin Luther King Blvd where they found Lucas Dane Stevens, 31 of Winona, who has multiple felony convictions.

Officials said during the investigation officers found multiple firearms, illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia in Stevens’ truck. Officers discovered over 380 grams of suspected meth, 97 grams of suspected Oxycodone, marijuana, THC vape cartridges and multiple items commonly used for drug trafficking. Continue reading East Texas man arrested for drug and firearm charges

Boil water notice rescinded for West Jacksonville Water Supply

Boil water notice rescinded for West Jacksonville Water Supply
UPDATE: As of Wednesday, March 12, the boil water notice has been rescinded.

JACKSONVILLE – West Jacksonville Water Supply reports because of a major break in a water line, a boil water advisory has been issued. This only applies to customers that are experiencing a water outage. Those affected are asked to boil their water to a rolling boil for two minutes prior to consumption. West Jacksonville Water Supply thanks their customers for their patience and will have a release issued when the water line break is fixed.

Bill proposed to make Texas a nuclear energy leader

Bill proposed to make Texas a nuclear energy leaderTYLER – Our news partner, KETK, reports that an East Texas State Representative filed a bill on Thursday to position Texas to become a “global leader in advanced nuclear energy”.

State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) filed House Bill 14 with hopes of it strengthening America’s position as a top exporter of nuclear technology. Harris spoke about the global implications that nuclear technology has on America, and how it is imperative that the U.S. continue to make advancements to avoid being surpassed by rival countries.

“The U.S. must win the nuclear renaissance, we cannot allow Russia or China to dominate the future of nuclear technology,” Harris said. “By stimulating advanced nuclear reactor deployment in Texas, we will deliver safe, reliable energy to Texans”

No “Drill Baby Drill” until the price rises

TEXAS – The Hill reports that President Trump and Texas lawmakers are pushing to loosen the laws and liabilities governing the state’s oil and gas industry and give companies a freer hand to “drill, baby, drill,” drawing mixed reactions from the heart of oil country. On his first day back in office, the president declared a “national energy emergency.” With demand for electricity rising, the U.S. would now be able to “do whatever you have to do to get out of that problem,” he said. His administration has moved quickly to strip away a number of regulations and liabilities that impacted the oil and gas industry, lifting endangered species protections in the Permian Basin, instructing the Army Corps to fast-track pipeline construction under the Clean Water Act and laying the groundwork to overhaul a bedrock law that requires the government to consider environmental consequences before approving infrastructure projects.

Industry executives are hailing the new administration as a breath of fresh air: an end, as oil executive Kirk Edwards of Odessa-based Latigo Petroleum told The Hill shortly before Trump’s inauguration, to “these useless regulations that have been coming our way that we have to battle all the time.” Energy experts have been widely dismissive of the idea that Trump can increase drilling, however. They say that a rising global price of oil — potentially driven by more upheaval abroad — is the only likely driver of further oil-sector expansion. In regulatory terms, fossil fuel “investors have a friend in the White House,” Trey Cowan of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis told The Hill. But he added that markets, and not the White House, would determine whether there would be more drilling. And personal injury attorneys, law enforcement and worker safety advocates alike warn that if the sector does expand — particularly in tandem with continued deregulation — it would mean a lot more deaths on the nation’s roads, construction sites and well pads, where some workers already report being pushed past the limits of safety.

Kaufman County deer breeding facility quarantined

KAUFMAN COUNTY – Kaufman County deer breeding facility quarantinedA deer breeding facility has been placed under quarantine by the Texas Animal Health Commission, after ante-mortem tests for two white-tailed deer reveal positive results for a fatal neurological chronic wasting disease. A first for Kaufman County, according to our news partners at KETK. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed the results for a 20-month-old male and an eight-month-old female after two laboratories detected the disease. The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory analyzed the samples and then the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa provided a second opinion which came back with the same conclusion. Continue reading Kaufman County deer breeding facility quarantined

Christi Craddick and Don Huffines announce bids for Texas comptroller

AUSTIN – Texas Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick and former GOP state Sen. Don Huffines announced Friday they are running for comptroller, minutes after the office’s current occupant, Glenn Hegar, was named chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

Hegar’s impending departure from the comptroller’s seat creates a rare opening for one of Texas’ coveted statewide offices, most of which have remained occupied for the last decade.

Once Hegar leaves office, Gov. Greg Abbott will be tasked with appointing a replacement to serve out the remainder of his term, which runs through January 2027. The seat is up for reelection in 2026.

The comptroller serves as the state’s chief financial officer, accountant, revenue estimator and treasurer. Abbott has not revealed his pick to succeed Hegar.

Huffines, a businessman and GOP donor who challenged Abbott unsuccessfully in the 2022 gubernatorial primary, pledged to spend at least $10 million on his comptroller bid. If elected, he said, “I will DOGE Texas by exposing waste, fraud, and abuse in government to increase efficiency and put every penny we save into property tax relief.”

Craddick, a Republican, has served on the oil-and-gas-regulating Texas Railroad Commission since 2012. She easily cruised to reelection last year, winning another six-year term through the end of 2030. She will not have to give up her seat on the commission to run for comptroller.

Craddick, an attorney from Midland, is the daughter of Rep. Tom Craddick, a former House speaker.

“Serving for more than a decade as Railroad Commissioner has uniquely prepared me to help Texas build upon its momentum as the economic engine of the United States,” Christi Craddick said in a statement. She added that during her time on the commission, “we have managed our work with efficiency, transparency, and common sense, reflecting the bedrock principles the Texas economy has been built upon.”

Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.

Undocumented students could be charged for public school

Undocumented students could be charged for public schoolTYLER — According to our news partner, KETK, a new bill has been introduced in Texas which will require public schools to charge tuition to undocumented students.

At the beginning of Trump’s term, the president signed an executive order that ensures that the federal government protects the American people by executing the immigration laws of the United States. Texas Sen. Bill Hall (R-D2) filed S.B. 1205 that coincides with this executive order and requires undocumented students to pay tuition.

S.B. 1205 will “charge a student…tuition to an amount equal to the districts average cost of providing educational services to students of the same grade level; and document the student’s immigration status in the district’s records, and report that information to the agency.” Continue reading Undocumented students could be charged for public school

Rural Texas scrambles to respond to measles

LYNN COUNTY – The Texas Tribune reports that Five years ago, Melanie Richburg used a roll of duct tape, a HEPA filter and a portable fan to draw contaminated air out of a hospital room where patients were tested for the coronavirus.

Now, as the state’s largest measles outbreak in three decades sickens an increasing number of Texans in the South Plains region, the Lynn County Hospital District, where Richburg serves as the chief executive officer, is still without specialized isolation rooms to treat patients.

So, she’s prepared to bring out the duct tape again.

“If we see the volume of patients exceeds the number of beds available at children’s hospitals, we’re going to need a contingency plan,” said Richburg, whose county is 30 miles south of Lubbock and has had two measles cases. “The biggest struggle we have is the same struggle we had during COVID.”

The coronavirus pandemic underscored the need for robust public health infrastructure. And it brought to light a remarkable urban-rural divide in access to basic health services. In the months after the virus ravaged the country, federal dollars flowed to local public health districts, and policies targeting health care deserts saw a renewed push.

Yet as a disease that had been declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 makes a resurgence, rural West Texas communities and state officials are scrambling to respond. Aging infrastructure, a dearth of primary care providers and long distances between testing sites and laboratories plague much of rural Texas, where the measles outbreak has concentrated.

At least 198 people in Texas have been infected with measles since late January, and one child has died from measles, the first such death in the country in a decade.

More measles cases are expected, and the outbreak could last for months, state health services commissioner Jennifer Shuford told lawmakers last week.

Though different from COVID in many ways, measles is similarly revealing how a lack of public health resources leaves rural communities vulnerable. What’s left are local leaders forced to scrape together the few tools they have to respond to an emergency, contending with years of lackluster investment from the state and federal level to proactively prevent emerging public health threats.

“We’re in a public health shortage area,” said Gordon Mattimoe, director of the Andrews County Health Department.“ You have to think outside the box.”
Lack of infrastructure

Some 64 Texas counties don’t have a hospital, and 25 lack primary care physicians, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. Twenty-six rural Texas hospitals closed between 2010 and 2020, according to a rural hospital trade organization, and although closures slowed in the years since, those still standing are often in crumbling buildings with few medical providers.

Swaths of Texas have scant resources for public awareness campaigns. And they lack sufficient medical staff with expertise to provide the one-on-one education needed to encourage vaccination and regular visits to the doctor.

“We have a difficult time in our area finding pediatricians for our newborns,” said Sara Safarzadeh Amiri, chief medical officer for Odessa Regional Medical Center and Scenic Mountain Medical Center. “That’s a problem. If you can’t find a pediatrician, then when a serious question comes up, who do you ask?”

Most of Texas’ measles cases are in unvaccinated school-aged children and are concentrated in the Mennonite community in Gaines County. Cases have also been confirmed in eight other counties spanning Dallam near the Oklahoma border down to Ector, south of Gaines.

To contain the illness, rural health care teams have cordoned off spaces to conduct measles testing, used social media to blast residents with information about vaccination efficacy and schlepped throat swabs across counties to ship them to a state lab in Austin — the only public state facility that was conducting measles testing until the Texas Tech University Bioterrorism Response Laboratory, part of a national network of CDC-funded labs, began measles testing last Monday.

Testing is critical for measles, experts say, because infected individuals can be contagious for several days and must isolate themselves to avoid spreading it further.

In Gaines County, runners have had to drive specimens up to 70 miles to get to a FedEx office where they could ship the specimen to the state laboratory. It could then take another 48 hours to get test results. During that time, public health officials would ask patients suspected of measles to quarantine — but they don’t know if they followed through.

“Some people need the test to say ‘I’m positive’ before they actually do something or follow the directions given,” Amiri said. “Having that testing available is very important.”

In Andrews County, just south of Gaines, Mattimoe is using the old City Hall building as a testing site because he doesn’t have a reverse pressure room.

Those rooms prevent contagious diseases from spreading to other people, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends suspected measles patients are treated there when possible. In the absence of such spaces, rural counties including Lynn and Yoakum have improvised a room for measles testing, hoping they don’t get overrun with more patients they can handle.

Mattimoe, who said he is anticipating more cases, opted to open up City Hall for testing since that building happens to be vacant.

Without it, Mattimoe said, he’d have to “shut down the entire department for two hours between suspected cases.”

Public health is based upon prevention, yet it’s emergencies that spur the most action, particularly in rural communities.

It was only after a school-aged child died from measles that state and federal support intensified. Twenty seven contractors were brought into the outbreak area last week to assist local health departments, Shuford, the state health services commissioner, said during a legislative hearing. A public awareness campaign with billboards and social media messaging was also launched. And, upon a request from the state, the federal CDC sent “disease detectives” to West Texas.

County officials also doubled down their efforts. In Ector County, County Judge Dustin Fawcett made media appearances to discuss the efficacy of the MMRV vaccine whose two doses provide 97% protection against measles. And the commissioners court approved the purchase of a $7,695 freezer to store measles test specimens — samples shipped after the date of collection must be kept at -70 degrees celsius.

In Andrews County, residents stepped up their communal responsibilities. Mattimoe saw a surge of people coming into the clinic to get vaccinated. “Unfortunately, the death of a child was one of the things that spurred many people to come in,” Mattimoe said.

Even as state and federal officials are sharing more information on vaccines, experts say those campaigns needed to come sooner. They have known for years that vaccination rates have been declining.

“We shouldn’t be doing it during an outbreak,” Amiri said. “We should be doing it beforehand to prevent the outbreak.”

Getting vaccines in residents is further complicated by the fact that Texas has a mostly decentralized system of public health. Cities and counties can stand up their own public health departments or districts, but the majority of rural counties can’t afford to have their own. Instead, they rely on one of 11 public health regions.

Those regions cover vast territories with limited dollars and don’t always know the ins and outs of local communities, especially on how to motivate residents to get vaccinated. The logistical challenges of traveling across counties adds another layer of difficulty.

“You have to call these tiny towns and figure out who can give you space for free to set up a testing clinic,” Wells said. “Then you’re driving from Lubbock to rural areas and that cuts how long you can keep the clinics open.”

And then, rural public health departments are having to contend with mixed messaging from the federal level as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, has cast vaccination as a personal choice while downplaying the news of the outbreak.

“I think with the changes that are occurring at the federal level, we need to realize that we do need to strengthen our local public health,” Amiri said.
The power of funding

Years of underinvestment in public health left Texas ill prepared for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Hospital equipment was scarce, and state and local health departments had outdated technology that limited access to crucial data.

The pandemic also exposed the rural-urban inequities in health care access. Residents of Texas counties without hospitals died from COVID-19 at 20% higher rates than residents of counties with hospitals, according to an analysis by the Austin American Statesman.

An influx in federal funding helped shore up local public health departments and stave off more rural hospital closures. Texas received $35.5 million in grants for improvements in public health infrastructure in fiscal year 2020. An additional $221 million — the most of any state — is flowing to Texas through the CDC’s five-year Public Health Infrastructure Grant.

That funding has helped some local health departments address the measles outbreak, public health officials said. The Lubbock public health department has nearly doubled in size thanks to a $2 million grant. Those extra workers have been on the front lines of testing for measles and vaccinating children.

“It moved us from undersized to right sized,” said Katherine Wells, director of the city’s public health department. “It got us to the…health department we need for Lubbock.”

In Andrews County, Mattimoe has also used grant dollars to grow his health department. Four new employees, including an epidemiologist and a social worker, have helped the county complete a population health assessment that offers a snapshot of residents’ needs. And its year-round vaccine clinics have helped stave off the worst of the measles outbreak.

“Community immunity has really saved us,” Mattimoe said. “There will be a case eventually, but there’s something to be said about herd immunity.” Andrews County does not have any confirmed measles cases as of Friday.

The influx of dollars that rural communities received during the height of the pandemic showed the meaningful changes that officials could do with more support, but it still hasn’t been enough.

Texas spends less on public health per person than the vast majority of other states, according to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, whose analysis shows Texas spent $17 per person on public health in 2023. A decade earlier, the spend was $19.

The low levels of state funding particularly hurt rural communities that have higher rates of uninsured Texans and more senior citizens with greater health needs, according to the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals. Deteriorating buildings and the shortage of medical professionals still persist in rural areas, while lower volumes of patients means higher health care operational costs.

In Lynn County, Richburg, the CEO of the health district, had hoped the makeshift contraption she made during COVID for a reverse pressure room wouldn’t be needed again in her rural community of 5,500 people. She attempted to pass a bond last year to pay for infrastructure upgrades, including a mini intensive care unit with four negative pressure rooms.

Voters rejected the proposed tax increase, though, a gut punch to Richburg.

“We wanted those four specific beds so that when we had situations where we needed to isolate patients, they’d be adequately cared for and not in a room with a broken window with a fan duct taped in it,” she said.

In addition to isolation rooms, Lynn County’s health care system is due for a major electrical upgrade, Richburg said. The facility’s backup power generator doesn’t cover the MRI machine or the CAT scan. In the meantime, Richburg and her staff plan to do their best with what they have.

“We’re still here, the lights still come on every morning, and patients still come in for services,” Richburg said. “We’re not going away.”

CHRISTUS Health opens new Tyler clinic

CHRISTUS Health opens new Tyler clinicTYLER – Our news partner, KETK, reports that CHRISTUS Health has opened a new, multi-provider family medicine and internal medicine clinic in Tyler.

The clinic located at The Village at Cumberland Park in the former BuyBuy Baby building will provide “comprehensive primary care including preventative services, chronic disease management and physical exams for all ages.” The clinic has 30 exam rooms with full-service lab and onsite imaging.

“This is a growing area in Tyler and an area that we saw as an opportunity to expand our footprint and access to care for the community,” Chief Medical Officer for CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic Dr. Brent Wadle said. “This new location provides more visibility and accessibility to our providers, ensuring we reach as many people as possible. Continue reading CHRISTUS Health opens new Tyler clinic