Briefly Speaking
February 27, 2009
Drivers in Texas are getting some relief at the pump as retail gasoline prices tumbled 8 cents this week.
AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price for regular unleaded fell to $1.74 a gallon. The association attributed the decline to continued lower demand from drivers.
The nationwide price for gasoline slipped almost 8 cents, to $1.88 a gallon.
One year ago the cost per gallon was $3.06 across Texas.
AAA Texas says Corpus Christi has the cheapest gasoline this week, at $1.65, while the highest average was El Paso, at $1.95 a gallon.
Association spokeswoman Sarah Schimmer says experts are finding the oil market "continues to reflect chaotic price movement."
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded two Texas counties more than $5.4 million in grants for their cleanup efforts after Hurricane Ike.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, announced Thursday that Orange County is set to receive $2.88 million while Liberty County will get $2.57 million. The funds will reimburse the counties for the costs of their cleanup efforts.
Ike came ashore near Galveston on Sept. 13. It caused widespread damage across Southeast Texas counties, creating massive amounts of debris that are still being cleaned up.
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The Texas Transportation Commission is moving forward with a bundle of road maintenance projects to be paid for by federal economic stimulus money.
Commissioners approved an order Thursday that spends about $500 million of the state’s share of the stimulus money on road and bridge maintenance. The projects are spread throughout the state.
Texas is set to get $2.25 billion in transportation stimulus money. The transportation commissioners are waiting until next week to approve $1.2 billion in major road projects to be funded with the federal cash. The panel put off that decision for a week so it can receive more input from legislators and others.
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Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos announced the implementation of a Juvenile Non-Petition Deferred Prosecution Program effective, Monday, March 2nd. The goal of this program is to ensure that first-offender juveniles who commit non-violent misdemeanor offenses are not charged with a crime, but instead are diverted to a type of community supervision that, upon successful completion, will not result in a criminal conviction or record. The program is a collaborative effort between the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department.
Juveniles who have committed Class A or B misdemeanor offenses will be eligible for the program, unless the offense involves a weapon, violence against a person, intoxication, or the burglary of a motor vehicle. After an initial screening of a juvenile’s case by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and referral to the program, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department will contact the juvenile and family to inform the parents of their rights, gather social history information and inquire as to the family’s interest in participating in the Deferred Prosecution Program. If a juvenile successfully completes the probation, the juvenile will not be charged with a criminal offense in juvenile court by the DA’s Office.