Today is
Sunday June 07, 2026
TYLER –
Starting on Friday, May 23rd through Monday, May 26th, the Tyler Police Department will be adding additional officers on the street utilizing STEP (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program). With increased traffic in the city and at Lake Tyler for the Memorial Day weekend, these officers will be specifically watching for impaired or intoxicated drivers. They want everyone to enjoy the Memorial Day Holiday. Please be responsible and don’t drink and drive.
TYLER – It was a packed house Thursday at the W T Brookshire Conference Center, as Mayor Don Warren addressed the 900 attendees about Tyler today, and it’s future. Warren said, “One of the best decisions I ever made was coming back home to Tyler. This city raised me, and I’ve spent the last 11 years on Council and as Mayor working to ensure that every part of Tyler has the chance to thrive.”
He explained that the city is creating a foundation for long-term success. He gave examples of park upgrades to fixing city streets. Also, a new downtown parking garage is complete. A new courthouse is under construction and construction will soon begin on a complete streetscape redesign. The redesign, includes wider sidewalks, roundabouts, restored two-way traffic, and more room for outdoor dining. The City is also working closely with the Valencia Hotel Group on a proposed 144-room full-service hotel.
Read the rest of this entry »
This is an ideal app for the college student who is at home. Check out David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called OU Study. You can get OU Study in the Apple Store and Google Play below.
Do you need help remembering where you put your most cherished items? Get David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called Remember – A Brain Add-On. You can find Remember – A Brain Add-On in the Apple Store.
TYLER — Colm Conneen of Tyler, a May 2025 graduate of The University of Texas at Tyler, has received a one-year U.S. Fulbright fellowship to conduct post-graduate research beginning this fall at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. While there, Conneen will study microbial microcosms in pitcher plants, which is a continuation of his interests in community ecology and mathematical ecology. Fulbright selection is based on academic excellence and previous research experience.
“We congratulate Colm, who is a prime example of the excellent students we have in biology who go on to do amazing things,” said Dr. Neil Gray, UT Tyler College of Arts and Sciences dean. “I also want to thank Dr. Joshua Banta for being a tremendous mentor and supporter.”
A UT Tyler professor of biology, Banta previously taught Conneen and served as his undergraduate faculty research adviser in the lab. They collaborated on research focused on the ecological niche modeling –– which is predicting a species distribution area with statistical methods –– of Texas crayfish. Read the rest of this entry »
TEXAS – MarketWatch reports that mortgage rates surged after the credit-rating agency Moody’s downgraded U.S. debt. Moody’s cut the U.S.’s sovereign credit rating from AAA to Aa1. It was the last of the major credit-rating firms to strip the country of its triple-A rating. S&P Global Ratings downgraded U.S. debt in the summer of 2011. The downgrade of debt put upward pressure on bond prices on Monday morning. That pushed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage up 12 basis points to 7.04%, according to Mortgage News Daily. It later settled at 6.99% later in the day. Moody’s cited an increase in government debt and interest-payment ratios that were significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns as reasons for its decision.
Mortgage rates tend to move in tandem with Treasury yields. With the 10-year yield going up, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate was going to trend upward as well, Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com, told MarketWatch. (Realtor.com is operated by News Corp subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch publisher Dow Jones is also a subsidiary of News Corp.) Mortgage rates going up is “really not ideal for prospective buyers,” Krimmel added. The housing market, meanwhile, is mired in a crisis of affordability. Elevated mortgage rates and record-high home prices have put homeownership out of reach for many Americans, as demonstrated in the chart below. Home sales plummeted to a 30-year low in 2024. Even though the spring season is typically the busiest time of the year for the residential real-estate market, buying and selling have remained “sluggish,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said of home sales through March.
Want to make you television viewing that much better? Then get David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called JustWatch. You can get JustWatch in the Apple Store and Google Play below.
Do you need a guardian for for child’s online experience? Check out David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called Qustodio. You can find Qustodio in the Apple Store and Google Play below.
TYLER – The City of Tyler announced that there will be base repairs to the Fair Park Drive foundation Tuesday, May 20. Work will be conducted from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., weather permitting. Repairs will be from West Front Street to Rose Park Drive. The road will be closed to through traffic. Drivers are asked to follow any posted detours and to allow for an additional 15 to 20 minutes of travel.
HOUSTON COUNTY – UPDATE: Graphic Warning: The following contains graphic content that some might find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
Our news partner, KETK, reports that an affidavit from the Houston County Sheriff’s Office sheds new details on the murder of a 16-year-old who was found near a riverbank with his left hand missing in early May.
Officials believe Michael Ortiz was killed on April 29 in the area of Mt. Olive Baptist Church on County Road 4020 in Crockett.
During the investigation, an eyewitness told the Crockett Police Department that she saw Emmanuel “Manny” Mata, two juveniles and Edgar Hernandez, including his 2012 Ford Mustang, at the Mt. Olive Church on the night of the murder.
“On the night of April 29, the witness states that once she heard his [2012 Ford Mustang] she left her residence and made her way to the church,” the affidavit said. “Once she arrived at the church, she was met by the two minors and Mata. All three men stated that she needed to get out of there, and she didn’t want to be part of what was going on.” Read the rest of this entry »
Do you need a fitness and nutrional guide just for women? Get David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called Resilient. You can find Resilient in the Apple Store and Google Play below.
TYLER — With severe weather hitting East Texas Tuesday afternoon, electric utilities and cooperatives are reporting power outages. Our news partner KETK has a county by county power outage list, you can see it here.
Do you feel you need an extra level of smartphone security? Find David Rancken’s App Of The Day. It’s called Who touched my phone? You can get Who touched my phone? in the Apple Store.
TEXARKANA – 
A Dallas man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. Emmanuel Robles, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III on May 5, 2025.
According to information presented in court, between 2019 and 2021, Robles conspired with others to bring methamphetamine to East Texas for distribution. During this time, Robles distributed more than 1.5 kilograms of actual methamphetamine. Robles admitted to providing controlled substances to another co-conspirator in July 2019; August 2019; September 2019; October 2019; December 2019; January 2020; February 2020; March 2020; and April 2020. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The City of Tyler will show appreciation for outstanding public servants during Public Service Recognition Week from May 5 through May 9. All City of Tyler non-emergency offices and facilities will be closed Friday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for an interdepartmental event. However, essential and emergency functions will continue. Celebrated since 1985, Public Service Recognition Week is a nationwide public recognition campaign honoring the men and women who serve as federal, state, county and local government employees.