Baytown Refinery

Commentary has said before that my Dad’s house is four blocks from the Baytown ExxonMobil refinery. We also own property directly across the street from today’s featured photo on Airhart Drive. The Chron E-Board has a solid take today on lawsuits against the facility over emissions. Here is a part of the E-Board take:

At roughly 3,400 acres, ExxonMobil’s Baytown refinery complex is the largest petroleum and petrochemical facility in the country. On a map, the scores of substations and storage tanks with pipes tidily bundled like thread that stand out in a sea of leafy suburban developments with names like Country Club Oaks, Denny Acres and Lakewood Oaks, where the facility is a daily part of life.

The site has a troubled history: injuries, explosions and dangerous, illegal emissions. It’s been the subject of lawsuits, including some that were eventually dismissed, from employees, the county, and, since 2010, environmental groups representing a handful of residents who say that the site’s poorly regulated emissions have damaged their health and quality of life.

Here is the entire take: Exxon Baytown case shows why citizen suits matter [Editorial] (houstonchronicle.com).

Denny Acres and Lakewood Oaks are on the western side of the refinery. Country Club Oaks is on the northern side.  My Dad’s hood Rio Vista, along with Central Heights and Old Baytown are on the eastern side. Don’t forget the hoods where mostly Latinos and African Americans reside.

My Dad’s house is on Humble St. Humble Oil was the name of the refinery until it had its name changed to Exxon in the 1970s.

Nice E-Board take on Baytown.

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I saw this in the Trib today:

The Texas Department of Public Safety wants $1.2 billion to turn its training center north of Austin into a full-time statewide law enforcement academy — starting with a state-of-the-art active-shooter facility that would need a nearly half-billion-dollar investment from Texas taxpayers next year.

“You play like you practice,” DPS Director Steve McCraw told budget officials last month. “You need to practice in a real environment.”

I don’t why anyone of sound mind would act on a recommendation from this fool.  Practice so DPS can cut down the waiting in a hallway to 45 minutes.

The arsehole governor and dumbsh_t GOP legislators will probably give this fool what he wants.

Here is the entire Trib read: Texas DPS wants $1.2 billion for academy, active-shooter facility | The Texas Tribune.

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Now that election returns are official, here is an interesting tidbit.

In the Family District Court race just above the Harris County Judge race, there were 53,991 undervotes, or folks who didn’t vote in that race.

In the County Court-At-Law race just below the Harris County Judge race, there were 41,769 undervotes.

In the Harris County Judge race, there were 19,250 undervotes.

Now you know.

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Astros players got a nice record payoff for their playoff run. Well deserved.