Latest news with #TexasHillCountry
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
JCE Law Group Launches Digital Legal Guide to Support Texas Property Damage Victims
New online guide provides practical legal information for homeowners, renters, and businesses across Texas facing damage from storms, accidents, or negligence. Houston, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - July 28, 2025) - JCE Law Group has introduced a new digital legal resource aimed at assisting Texas residents and businesses dealing with the aftermath of property damage. The publication, titled Texas Property Damage Attorney Guide: Storm Damage, Accidents, and Negligence Claims, offers clear legal insights for homeowners, tenants, and business owners navigating insurance disputes and liability issues. JCE Law Group Launches Digital Legal Guide to Support Texas Property Damage Victims To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: The launch of the Texas property damage guide comes in response to a recent series of severe storms and infrastructure-related incidents, particularly in areas such as Texas Hill Country. As insurance claims increase and many property owners consider legal recourse, the guide is intended to help Texans understand their rights and the steps involved in pursuing compensation under Texas law. Now available on the firm's website, the guide is structured to address a range of common property damage scenarios—from storm-related losses to third-party negligence. It is part of JCE Law Group's broader effort to improve access to legal services through online channels. The firm's clients often face a difficult combination of physical loss, insurance disputes, and legal confusion. The guide is meant to help individuals understand their options—whether they're filing a claim, challenging a denial, or considering legal action. It's a resource focused on clarity during a complicated time. The firm's new publication also reflects a growing trend in legal services: expanding digital tools to meet increased demand for remote support. Based in Houston, the attorneys at JCE Law Group frequently work on complex cases involving storm, fire, accident, and water-related damage throughout Texas. The guide features detailed explanations on filing timelines, how to document claims, signs of bad faith practices by insurers, and a section for frequently asked questions. It is written in accessible language and formatted for mobile use, enabling users to access the information from smartphones and tablets, especially useful during emergencies. Although the guide does not replace formal legal representation, it reinforces the firm's role as a go-to resource for public legal education. The firm, which provides experienced legal representation for both residential and commercial clients, continues to position itself as a trusted lawyer for property damage cases in Texas. The guide is also expected to help users evaluate when legal support may be necessary and how to prepare for potential claims. It emphasizes the importance of timely action, noting that the statute of limitations for property damage claims in Texas is typically two years from the date of the incident. Given JCE Law Group's work in disputes involving insurers, landlords, and other liable parties, the resource is especially relevant to those living in areas prone to weather extremes or rapid development. With the frequency of severe weather events on the rise, the firm anticipates growing interest in the guide and related legal services. About JCE Law Group JCE Law Group is a Houston-based law firm representing clients across Texas in property damage claims, insurance disputes, and liability litigation. The firm handles residential and commercial cases involving storm, water, fire, and accident-related losses. With extensive experience navigating state insurance systems and legal frameworks, JCE Law Group is committed to advocating for fair outcomes for clients impacted by property damage. The firm continues to develop digital resources to make legal information more accessible, including its latest Texas property damage guide for those seeking legal clarity and support. Contact Info:Name: Julie GhoshEmail: jghosh@ JCE Law GroupPhone: 720-805-3261Website: To view the source version of this press release, please visit Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Texas Lawmakers Will Debate Flood Response, Redistricting and Other Issues
A special legislative session in Texas, set to begin on Monday in the wake of the flood in Texas Hill Country, is shaping up to be an emotionally raw diversion into what Democrats say is the gerrymandering the state's House districts. Lawmakers will also take up questions about the handling of the devastating July 4 floods, which killed more than 130 people, including at least 37 children. Nearly 100 Texans remain missing. But that bipartisan imperative will be complicated by a hard-edge partisan agenda for the session, dominated by President Trump's push for the Legislature to redraw the state's congressional district maps to be more favorable for Republicans. He wants his party to gain five seats in Texas in the 2026 midterm elections to help retain control of the U.S. House. Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to also consider a dozen other items during the 30-day special session, including new hard-line conservative proposals to ban mail-order abortion pills, lower property taxes and regulate intoxicating hemp. And he wants lawmakers to consider a state constitutional amendment that would empower the state attorney general to prosecute election crimes. 'It's a wild situation,' said State Representative Jon Rosenthal, a Houston-area Democrat. 'The past sessions I've been a part of have been of a very limited scope.' Most Texans' attention will probably lie with the July 4 flood and what can be done to improve warning systems, such as placing outdoor sirens along flood-prone waterways like the Guadalupe River, where most of the deaths occurred. Image The special session of the Texas State Legislature that is scheduled to convene on July 21 will be 'a wild situation,' said State Representative Jon Rosenthal, Democrat of Houston. Credit... Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle, via Getty Images 'That's the most obvious thing that can be done,' said Sid Miller, the state's Republican agriculture commissioner. The redistricting fight, though, will have national implications and headline-grabbing potential. Democrats in the Legislature are considering walking out to try to thwart the effort by denying Republicans a quorum. Redistricting is 'an inside-baseball thing,' Mr. Miller said, noting that while he supported Republican efforts to win more seats, 'most Texans are not too concerned about that.' That dismissive shrug is probably not how it will play out more widely. 'Democrats must keep all options on the table,' said State Representative John Bucy III, an Austin-area Democrat gearing up for a fight on the issue. As recently as a few weeks ago, many people in Austin felt that a special session this year was unlikely. During the regular legislative session, the governor had finally accomplished his signature agenda item, a publicly funded private-school voucher program — an achievement that had eluded his Republican predecessors, George W. Bush and Rick Perry. But Mr. Abbott had unfinished business driving him toward an extra session. Then came orders from Washington: The president wanted Texas lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional map, because of worries about the slim Republican House majority surviving the midterm elections, which almost always favor the party out of power. And then the floods hit the Hill Country. Last week, just before Mr. Trump visited the flood-damaged area, Mr. Abbott added flood response legislation to the special session agenda, along with redistricting. Image President Trump spoke alongside Governor Abbott at a meeting with emergency response personnel and local officials in Kerrville, Texas. Credit... Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times It remained unclear in what order the State Legislature would take up the two high-profile issues. Some lobbyists and legislative aides suggested that redistricting appeared likely to be handled first, because Democrats might be less likely to stage a walkout to stop the map-drawing effort if it meant blocking action on flooding as well. But going forward with a partisan redistricting plan before taking any steps to address one of the state's worst natural disasters in generations could present political problems for Republicans, who control all levels of state government. 'The one thing that is mandatory is the flood — that's essential,' said Bill Miller, a veteran Austin lobbyist and longtime Texas political observer. 'If they don't do that, it will hurt them politically. And you'd better do it first.' Flood Response Mr. Abbott listed four matters related to flooding that he called on lawmakers to consider in the session: improvements to warning systems, relief funding for counties hit by the July floods, better emergency communications and cutting regulations surrounding disaster preparation and recovery. 'We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,' Mr. Abbott said. Lawmakers are expected to hold at least two public hearings on the flooding, on July 23 at the Capitol in Austin and then on July 31 in Kerrville, Texas, the epicenter of the flooding in the Hill Country. 'With only 30 days to act, we must make every moment count,' the speaker of the Texas House, Dustin Burrows, said in a statement announcing the creation of a select committee on disaster preparedness and flooding. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the State Senate, has called for the construction of sirens along the Guadalupe River. Image More than 130 people were killed in flash flooding in Central Texas earlier this month. Credit... Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times But he also suggested that some of the issues raised by the flooding, like previous government inaction on warning systems, may not be addressed in the special session. He promised that officials would gather the facts and answer the many questions raised after the flooding 'in the coming year, and into the next regular legislative session' in 2027. U.S. House Redistricting Few Republican lawmakers, in Austin and in Washington, have expressed enthusiasm for Mr. Trump's aggressive redistricting demand. 'I think we'll get five,' Mr. Trump said on Tuesday when asked how many seats he hoped Republicans would gain from the effort. Texas has 38 congressional districts, with 25 currently held by Republicans and 12 held by Democrats. One seat, representing a heavily Democratic district in Houston, is vacant; it will be filled in a special election in November. Maps are supposed to be redrawn around the beginning of each decade, using data from the latest census, which reapportions House seats among the states based on population changes. Mid-decade redistricting is rare, and almost always contentious. The Trump administration has argued that several districts in Houston and Dallas that are held by Black and Hispanic Democrats are 'unconstitutional racial gerrymanders' and need to be redrawn. That is a charge that Texas Republicans have long rejected when their maps have been challenged by Democrats and minority groups. In addition, Republicans have been looking at their recent growth in support among Hispanic voters, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley, as an avenue for drawing new district maps that would favor their candidates. Image A long list of agenda items awaits the Texas Legislature when it convenes for the special session. Credit... Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times Democrats have been strategizing about how to respond, including the question of whether to walk out of the special session to prevent a quorum. To do that in the 150-member Texas House, 51 of the 62 Democrats would have to join in. A walkout could come at a heavy cost for the participants. After the tactic was used in 2021, Texas Republicans have tried to deter future walkouts by adopting rules in the State House that include $500-a-day fines for each lawmaker who stays away. Beyond Texas, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, a Democrat, is threatening to have his state's House district lines redrawn to favor his party if Texas Republicans succeed in redrawing theirs. (For now, that might be bluster, since California's laws and state constitution make such a move a much taller order than it is in Texas.) The clock is working against Republicans. The Dec. 8 deadline for filing to get on the March 2026 primary ballot is fast approaching, and any new maps adopted during the special session would probably be challenged in court. That could complicate whether they would take effect in time for the midterm elections in 2026. The Governor's Other Desires Mr. Abbott put a long list of other items in his call for the special session, most of them measures that failed to become law during the regular session. The most contentious of them is a bill to regulate the industry that produces intoxicating hemp products like gummies, drinks and other consumable items that deliver a high similar to that from marijuana. Mr. Patrick, the state's powerful lieutenant governor, muscled a total ban on such products through the Legislature late in the regular session, only to see Mr. Abbott veto the measure. The governor said that lawmakers should consider regulating the products instead of banning them, and should make it a crime to sell hemp intoxicants to people under the age of 21. Currently there are no age restrictions on the products in Texas. Image Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick defending the THC ban at news conference in May. Credit... Ilana Panich-Linsman for The New York Times Mr. Abbott also wants the Legislature to take up measures favored by activist Republicans, including a proposed ban on local governments hiring lobbyists to advocate for their interests at the State Capitol; a bill to give the state attorney general new powers to prosecute violations of election law; and new legislation restricting abortion, in a state that already has a near-total ban. Anti-abortion activists urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would try to stop mail-order abortion pills from being used in Texas. 'They only have 30 days to do it,' said John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life.
CNN
19-07-2025
- General
- CNN
How a Hurricane Katrina victim is helping the smallest survivors of the Texas floods
Most people don't expect Mimi Hymel to remember Hurricane Katrina. After all, she was only 3 when the Category 5 storm slammed into her Louisiana home in 2005. But nearly 20 years later, as Hymel watched news of the floodwaters inundating Texas Hill Country and saw the harrowing images of destruction from Camp Mystic, she said those memories came back with sharp clarity. She can still recall the moment her family decided they couldn't ride out Katrina and the sinking feeling she felt as her mom placed Hymel and her sister in their car and drove away, leaving their dad behind to work at a nearby hospital. But most of all, Hymel said, she remembers how she struggled to fall asleep for days after they escaped the storm because she didn't have her favorite stuffed animal. 'I just had no idea if my dad was OK or even coming home at all,' she recalled. 'I had a teddy bear named Cuddles that I didn't get to take in the car with me. In a scary time like that, I really wanted it for comfort.' Indeed, the importance of these plush companions was apparent as the floodwaters began seeping through the Chatterbox cabin at Camp Mystic, prompting a 9-year-old to offer her top bunk as a safe place for campers to store their stuffies during the storm. Hymel said the trauma of escaping a natural disaster has a way of changing you. But all these years later, she's found a way of channeling her experience during Katrina into helping today's youngest survivors. In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, Hymel said there was no shortage of local organizations and kind neighbors who tried to meet her family's immediate needs for food, clothes and shelter. But as a child, she said she struggled to process such dramatic and rapid change. 'When we finally did get back to our house, everything was destroyed,' she recalled. And Cuddles had been lost to the floodwaters. Studies have long shown blankets or stuffed animals can help children adapt to unfamiliar or distressing situations and they become even more important when a child is processing grief. Although the family ultimately resettled in Texas, as she grew older, Hymel said she noticed how some first responders or families would share photos of stuffed animals they recovered after a disaster. 'I was once that child so it's always just emotional seeing those photos,' she said. 'I realized that kids experience disasters a little bit differently, so relief needs to work a little differently for them too.' That realization sparked Hymel to mobilize after catastrophes, coordinating with local businesses to host donation drives for stuffies and then partnering with first responders and other organizations to help distribute the plush toys in the aftermath of a tragedy. After the success of her early donation efforts, Hymel founded Comfort Bears in a Catastrophe. The nonprofit not only provides kids with a new stuffed animal after a crisis, but they also connect families to mental health resources. Each stuffed animal is tagged with a card offering free crisis counseling through the national Disaster Distress Helpline, which offers children and their families help navigating traumatic events. As interest in her work grew, so did the need. From the Miami Surfside condo collapse to the destructive fires in Maui and Los Angeles and countless floods and tornadoes, these days the steady drumbeat of disasters has been relentless, Hymel said. And so far, the nonprofit has donated more than 50,000 stuffed animals to children in need, Hymel said. She has also written a series of children's books called 'Miss Prepared and Captain Ready.' 'It teaches them important skills to know if a disaster were to hit, but it also encourages kids to get involved in their own way,' she said. But nothing, Hymel added, can compare to the joy of seeing a child receive a new stuffed animal and finding a sense of comfort in the midst of a crisis. 'After Hurricane Ian, I was able to donate to the hospital I was actually born in,' Hymel said. 'That was just kind of full circle.' From her home in Houston earlier this month, Annie Gully and her daughter watched as reports of flooding in the Texas Hill Country grew more dire by the hour. A close friend, she later learned, lost her niece, 8-year-old Blakely McCrory, in the floodwaters at Camp Mystic. 'It's just unfathomable to even wrap your head around something like this happening,' she said. 'You kind of have to go through the sadness and then you're like, 'OK, what can we do to help.'' Gully, who owns Tree House Arts and Crafts, a local children's art studio, said over the years she's seen how a child's favorite stuffed animal can become like a family member. So, when her daughter suggested a donation drive for kids, she leaped at the idea. She reached out to Comfort Bears on social media and within hours they had a game plan. Gully's donation drive was covered on the local news and 'that day alone, I think we collected 600' stuffed animals, she said. After three days they received more than 1,100 donations to be distributed throughout the state. 'Children don't really have an outlet to help' after a crisis, Gully said. 'You could tell their parents had explained to them that other kids have lost their lovies and how sad would it be if you lost your(s).' Gully is also selling 'Mystic Strong' artwork, and the proceeds will be donated to charity in honor of McCrory and the other lives lost at Camp Mystic. 'I feel like every time you turn on the news, there's just something worse that you hear about,' Gully said. But, she added, watching her community come together to donate comfort to the smallest victims of the floods in Kerr County has given her a reason to hope. 'No one cares who you are, what you look like or who you voted for,' she said, 'We're all just doing things together to help.'
New York Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Amid Flood Response, Texas Republicans Pivot to Political Maps
A special legislative session in Texas, set to begin on Monday in the wake of the devastating July 4 floods in Texas Hill Country, is shaping up to be a politically dangerous and emotionally raw diversion into gerrymandering the state's House districts. Lawmakers will take up questions about the handling of the floods, which killed more than 130 people, including at least 37 children. Nearly 100 Texans remain missing. But that bipartisan imperative will be complicated by a hard-edge partisan agenda, dominated by President Trump's push for the Legislature to redraw the state's congressional district maps to be more favorable for Republicans. He wants his party to gain five seats in Texas in the 2026 midterm elections to help retain control of the U.S. House. Gov. Greg Abbott has asked lawmakers to also consider a dozen other items during the 30-day special session, including new hard-line conservative proposals to ban mail-order abortion pills, lower property taxes and regulate intoxicating hemp. And he wants lawmakers to consider a state constitutional amendment that would empower the state attorney general to prosecute election crimes. 'It's a wild situation,' said State Representative Jon Rosenthal, a Houston Democrat. 'The past sessions I've been a part of have been of a very limited scope.' Most Texans' attention will probably lie with the July 4 flood and what can be done to improve warning systems, such as placing outdoor sirens along flood-prone waterways like the Guadalupe River, where most of the deaths occurred. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
How an outburst flood could wash out vulnerable American communities
As the US continues to deal with a summer full of devastating flash floods, scientists warn that something even worse could soon wash out vulnerable American communities. Flooded subway tunnels in New York City and deadly overflowing rivers in the Texas Hill Country were powerful examples of how destructive water can quickly become during extreme weather events. But scientists say an 'outburst flood' could deliver more destruction than 90 of the most powerful nuclear bombs in history. Officially known as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), they're becoming increasingly common due to climate change , and millions of people, including thousands in the US, are in harm's way. GLOFs are not new, but the scale and frequency are rising fast. At the end of the last Ice Age, roughly 15,000 years ago, the Missoula Floods swept across the American Northwest, triggered by massive glacial lakes bursting through ice dams. This catastrophic event all started with a remote glacial lake quietly growing in size, swelling more than twelvefold as melting ice relentlessly fed it. However, after several decades, the water became too much. With immense pressure building behind a ridge, the lake exploded, unleashing a wall of water up to 60ft that roared down a valley, obliterating everything in its path. Each of the 400 individual floods during this event unleashed the energy of 4,500 megatons of TNT, nearly 100 times the force of the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated, Soviet Russia's 'Tsar Bomba.' Water roared at speeds of 65 miles per hour, carrying boulders the size of cars, reshaping the landscape and carving vast canyons that are still visible today. In 2023, India's Sikkim region suffered the deadliest GLOF in recent memory, when a glacial lake burst following years of steady melt, killing dozens and leaving hundreds homeless. Now, attention is turning to the US, where three states - Alaska, Washington and Wyoming - are facing growing threats. One Alaskan lake, ominously named [Death] Basin, has burst two years in a row, releasing a staggering 14.6billion gallons of water in each event. That's the equivalent of 22,000 Olympic swimming pools flooding downtown Juneau, turning streets into rivers and forcing residents to flee with pets in carriers. Floods beneath the basin have been recorded since 2011, but researchers are now alarmed at the rapid acceleration. A recent study found 106 out of 120 glacier-dammed lakes in Alaska have drained at least once since 1985, and new lakes are forming as the glaciers retreat. 'The danger is growing,' scientists warned. 'As ice-free basins fill with water, they eventually reach a breaking point. 'Pressure builds until the glacier can't hold, and the result is a sudden, violent flood downstream.' These floods, they say, are often unpredictable and have already caused significant loss of life and infrastructure worldwide. Washington State was once the site of the legendary Missoula Floods, and experts say history could repeat itself. All 47 glaciers currently monitored in the state are retreating, creating new lakes in unstable terrain. Back in 1947, a combination of rain and glacial melt triggered a GLOF from the Kautz Glacier, sending 1.4 billion tons of mud and debris surging six miles and carving a canyon 300 feet deep. Now, the northeastern region of the state is considered a GLOF hotspot, and scientists have called for more urgent monitoring. In 2025, a panel of glaciologists urged the installation of seismic sensors and real-time weather stations to detect potential bursts before they happen. Despite advances in modeling and hazard mapping, the team wrote in the science journal called Nature, 'These events continue to cause large-scale destruction due to weak policy enforcement, inadequate warning systems and poor community preparedness.' While not as high-risk as Alaska, Wyoming's Wind River Range and Absaroka Mountains have experienced multiple GLOFs, and the state remains on alert. In 2003, the Grasshopper Glacier released 3.2 million cubic meters of water, damaging nearby infrastructure. A study using NASA Landsat satellite data found 13 separate GLOFs between 1994 and 2007, and local records have identified at least 15 total outbursts around Mammoth Glacier alone. That's the highest concentration of GLOFs documented in the Rockies since the Ice Age-era Missoula Floods. 'Glacial retreat is exposing new terrain where meltwater can accumulate,' scientists wrote. 'Eventually, these lakes become unstable, and when they go, they go fast.'
