Action Update - Issue 90 :: February 26, 2007

PRNewswire

An 800-mile, $1.5 billion electric transmission project has been proposed for the Texas Panhandle, part of an effort to ship more power - wind, but also coal and natural gas-generated electricity - to the state's population centers.

Preliminary planning has assumed approximately 4,200 MW of wind power, 2,000 MW of gas-fired power, and 1,800 MW of coal-fired power in the region. By interconnecting such a diverse mixture of fuel sources, the Panhandle Loop brings the environmental benefits of wind power to the ERCOT market, coupled with the constant power availability provided by coal and natural gas generation. This combination of wind, coal, and gas generation ensures that a greater amount of electric power is constantly flowing along the power lines, thus resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective transmission system.

The Panhandle Loop will be open access, meaning any generator -- whether it is wind, coal, natural gas, or any other source -- is welcome to use the Panhandle Loop to access the ERCOT power market, provided it is approved under ERCOT's interconnection procedures. This will enable the potential development of more than $10 billion in new generation projects in the Panhandle, which will spur economic development through capital investments, increased tax bases, and permanent jobs once facilities are built.

As the name implies, the Panhandle Loop will be a "looped" transmission system, with three interconnected transmission lines extending from three separate points in the existing ERCOT grid. The benefits of using a looped system, rather than a single radial line that simply connects two points, is that a looped system is inherently more reliable. If one line should go down, the remaining two lines will ensure that power still flows throughout the region.

"Texas needs more power, and the sooner, the better," said Pat Wood, Chairman of Airtricity's North American Advisory Board and former chairman of both the PUCT and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "The potential wind tapped by this project could power over 1 million homes annually in Texas. By bringing together natural gas and coal-fired plants with abundant Panhandle wind power as early as 2010, Sharyland's cost-effective and reliable Panhandle Loop will benefit the entire state."

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Jefferson Calls for Court System Reorganization

By Will Lutz - Lone Star Report

Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson

Texas Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson wants the Legislature to consider possible reorganization of a state judicial system known for its multiple jurisdictions, many of which overlap at the local level.

Jefferson’s remarks, from his State of the Judiciary address Feb. 20, could cause lawmakers to consider seriously whether to consolidate the different types of local courts.

The biennial address allows the chief justice to discuss with legislators concerns about how the court system operates.

Besides recommending structural reforms, Jefferson urged attention to the plight of innocent people wrongly convicted and to the question of better funding for the judicial branch.

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The High Cost of Failing to Reform Public Education in Texas

Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation

Many agree with the concept. Some disagree. And some simply want more information. As the public debate continues to grow louder about how best to provide a quality education to all Texas children, it is critical to know the facts about school choice, and to have an understanding of how school choice programs have had an impact on communities, parents and students around the country.

All of this analysis is done with one goal in mind: The best possible education for all of Texas’s children.

Conclusions:

Texas spends more on dropouts each year after they leave school than it spent when they were in school
School choice improves public school graduation rates and produces millions in public savings

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What hasn’t been discussed about the HPV Vaccine

by Royal Masset

You have probably already decided whether you are for or against the Governor’s stand mandating the HPV vaccine. I’m not going to try to change your mind. But I do want to give you some things to think about that haven’t been widely discussed.

First, a great deal of opposition to the HPV vaccine was based on the very valid concern that mandating this vaccine for sixth graders would require sex education and would lead to less abstinence, which we all agree, at least most of us readers of Texans for Texas, is the best way to cut down any STD. My expectation was that by mandating this vaccine my daughter, on entering sixth grade, would receive this vaccination along with any others that are prescribed at that time. She certainly didn’t get lectures when she received shots for Hepatitis A and B, and Tetanus. She would not need a lecture to get the HPV vaccine.

Texas Taxpayer Summit
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Stephen F. Austin Hotel

Austin

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