Latest news with #HoustonChronicle
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BKV Energy Wins "Best Electricity Provider" in 2025 Houston Chronicle "Best of the Best Awards"
HOUSTON, July 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BKV Energy is proud to announce that it has been named Best Electricity Provider in the Houston Chronicle's 2025 "Best of the Best Awards," a recognition voted on by thousands of readers across the Houston area. "This award means the world to us because it comes directly from the people we serve," said Javier Hinojosa, Vice President of BKV Energy. "We're honored, humbled, and incredibly thankful to our customers, families, friends, business partners, and the entire Houston community for putting your trust in us." As a relatively new name in the Texas energy market, BKV Energy has focused on doing things differently, starting with transparency. Unlike many name-brand electricity companies, BKV Energy doesn't offer gimmicky promotions, hidden fees, or confusing plan structures. Instead, customers are flocking to straightforward, fixed-rate plans like the Bluebonnet plan, which comes with benefits and smart timing that truly reward loyalty. With the Bluebonnet plan, customers benefit from access to BKV Energy Plus, a set of built-in perks including: Reduce Your Rate: A one-of-a-kind feature that allows customers to switch to a lower rate mid-contract, without fees, when electricity prices drop. ElectroShare: A customer loyalty payout every year in November, just for sticking with BKV Energy. "This win isn't just a milestone for our team - it's a signal that Texans are tired of the old ways and ready for an electricity provider that puts people first," said Hinojosa. "More and more customers are telling us the same thing: they want simple, honest electricity and they want to save money over time. That's exactly what we're here to provide." BKV Energy's rapid growth and strong customer satisfaction are proof that the market is shifting. What started as a bold idea to disrupt the energy status quo is now a movement, and Houston has helped lead the way. As the company looks ahead, BKV Energy remains focused on expanding its offerings, improving the customer experience, and helping even more Texans save on electricity - without the gimmicks. To learn more about BKV Energy and its commitment to customers, contact Lauren Santerre at bkve@ or (713) 913-1780. About BKV Energy BKV Energy is a Texas-based electricity provider serving residential customers across the state. BKV Energy offers affordable, transparent, fixed-rate energy plans without the misleading promotions or hidden fees. The company's flagship Bluebonnet plan includes BKV Energy Plus, a suite of benefits that reward smart energy decisions and customer loyalty. For more information, visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE BKV Energy 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
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump pushes Texas to redraw congressional map to favor GOP
President Trump is pushing Texas to redraw its congressional map to favor Republicans - a plan Beto O'Rouke is warning could backfire on the GOP nationally. NBC News' Ryan Chandler reports from Dallas on Governor Abbott's special legislative session. Houston Chronicle Political Reporter Jeremy Wallace and Brendan Buck, former Aide to Speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner, join Chris Jansing to share their political analysis.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Noem takes heat on Texas amid doubts over FEMA flood response
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is under fire amid reports of a botched disaster response effort in Texas, one that the editorial board of the state's biggest newspaper is comparing to the debacle that followed Hurricane Katrina. 'Heck of a job, Secretary Noem,' the Houston Chronicle's editorial board wrote Monday, riffing on former President George W. Bush's notorious praise of then-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown as New Orleans flooded. The editors joined Democratic members of Congress — including Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Ed Markey (Mass.), as well as Texas Reps. Greg Casar and Jasmine Crockett — in calling for investigations into Noem's handling of FEMA, an agency both she and President Trump have previously talked about closing, amid reports of poor response times and local volunteers filling in for federal responders. On Tuesday, Markey called for Noem's resignation, describing her handling of the floods as 'an absolute disgrace.' In a video posted to the social platform X, Murphy said FEMA had begun to look like 'a PR agency for the secretary of Homeland Security, not an actual disaster response agency.' Rafael Lemaitre, FEMA director of public affairs under former President Obama, said Trump and Noem's vision for FEMA — one where it exists mostly to back up state responses — is largely already reality. The Trump administration, he said, 'is in denial about the role of FEMA, the improvements that FEMA has made since Hurricane Katrina — not only in its ability to respond better to disasters but to help communities prepare for them in an era of increased severity and frequency in disasters.' Since the reforms after hurricanes Rita and Katrina, FEMA has functioned as a support service for local officials, who must request its aid and run the disaster response themselves. 'If there ever was a federal agency built not to tell states how to handle things but to support them when needed, it's FEMA, which only kicks in when a state's capacity is exceeded, whether in response, recovery, mitigation, or preparedness,' Lemaitre said. 'Governors, red or blue, are in charge. They ask for what they need, and we provide it.' He argued that the administration is undoing the post-Katrina reforms, starting with its new head, David Richardson, who is under fire for his failure to make any public statements or appearances for more than a week after the floods. Richardson, who runs FEMA part-time, is the first agency head since Brown without any background in disaster response. Under the post-Katrina law requiring FEMA heads to have at least five years of disaster management experience, he would be disqualified — but as an acting head, he's exempt. On Wednesday, at the inaugural Hill Nation Summit in Washington, Noem told NewsNation's Blake Burman that Trump's 'vision for FEMA is that we would empower states to be able to respond to their constituents much more than what FEMA has done in the past.' 'In Texas,' she told Burman, the agency 'cut through the bureaucratic red tape and the rules and regulations that were left over from the Biden administration so that we immediately predeployed millions of dollars to Texas so that they could run their response.' Over the weekend, Noem attacked the press reports of a poor response in Texas, insisting on 'Fox and Friends' that the reporting of FEMA delays are 'fake news' and 'absolute trash.' She told NBC News that 'it's discouraging that during this time, when we have such a loss of life, and so many people's lives have turned upside down, that people are playing politics with this, because the response time was immediate.' Pressed on reports of low response rates at FEMA hotlines, Noem said she didn't believe the numbers and challenged anonymous sources to come forward. In a statement to The Hill, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin decried reporting that the agency had been slow to deploy teams as 'lies' and 'an unapparelled display of activist journalism.' 'Within moments of the flooding in Texas, DHS [Department of Homeland Security] assets, including the U.S. Coast Guard, tactical Border Patrol units and FEMA personnel surged into unprecedented action alongside Texas first responders,' McLaughlin said. 'By Tuesday, FEMA had deployed 311 staffers, providing support and shelter for hundreds of people,' she added. McLaughlin argued calls to dismantle the agency had been metaphorical. Under the new administration, she said, 'It's no secret that FEMA, as it is today, will no longer exist.' In what has now become a mantra of Noem's tenure, she added that the agency 'is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief.' That message has also been embraced by Trump's Republican allies in Texas. In a press conference Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) agreed with the administration that FEMA needed to be 'what I call rightsized, so that it would be more nimble, quicker in response — understanding it's the locals that know what's best in responding to a disaster.' But this description of the future course of the agency looks a lot like how it has traditionally looked, former disaster management professionals have told The Hill. 'They try to equate FEMA with red tape, but that's a red herring, because that's not how the disaster response system has been set up, particularly since Katrina,' Lemaitre said. FEMA has lost 25 percent of staff since Trump took office, cuts worsened after the floods when hundreds of call center contractors were let go, according to The New York Times. That followed reporting from CNN that Noem waited 72 hours to send FEMA disaster response teams to Kerr County — because under her leadership, the agency has to get her approval for every expenditure of more than $100,000. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson called CNN's reporting 'absolute hogwash.' Given the funds that FEMA works with and the size of Noem's purview at the department, the reported delays are 'really, really upsetting,' said Candace Valenzuela, who ran the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the region that includes Texas under former President Biden. 'It just reeks of looking at things granularly, and not understanding that this is a massive country, and doing it at that level just does not work — or wanting to pick winners and losers,' Valenzuela said. One impact of Noem's new mandate seems to be fewer federal personnel on the ground than in past disasters. In far western Travis County, where devastating floods killed more than a dozen people, even the county's chief executive isn't clear what role FEMA is playing. While Judge Andy Brown declared a local disaster in the county the day of the floods, Trump didn't approve it until nearly a week later, and, as of Tuesday, Brown had seen just one uniformed FEMA official on the ground. 'As far as I know, they have not set up that station where people can walk in, ask questions to FEMA and apply for things,' he told The Hill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Houston Chronicle Uses 4 Sarcastic Words To Shred Kristi Noem's Flood Response
The Houston Chronicle rebuked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's response to the recent deadly floods in Texas. It published an editorial Monday which was sarcastically titled, 'Heck of a job, Secretary Noem.' The newspaper's editorial board drew a stark contrast between grassroots fundraising efforts by Texans and what it described as an apparent lack of urgency in Washington to assist with the recovery. While 'Texans are stepping up to do what we can to help our neighbors in need,' the editorial said, 'some officials in Washington are more focused on saving cash.' The board condemned reports that cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's budget left some flood victims unable to get through on emergency lines. 'Leaving disaster victims on hold isn't governmental efficiency,' the Chronicle wrote. 'It's heartless. Read the full editorial and analysis here. Related... GOP Rep's Response To Trump's Slam Of 'Weaklings' Base Is Just… Wow Fox News Star Stuns With Unreal Take On 'Nazis' And 'The Blacks' OOPS! Trump Taunts AOC And Crockett, Then Undermines Himself In Next Breath
Daily Mirror
17-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Killer inmates on America's harshest death row get rare privileges and incredible new perk
The program allows the selected prisoners to spend several hours a day outside their cells and allows them to enjoy communal meals, TV time, prayer circles and - for the first time in decades - direct human contact Some of America's death row inmates are getting a rare set of privileges which inmates say have "given guys hope". Death row in Texas is considered one of the harshest in the nation. For decades inmates were subject to extreme isolation with many spending up to 22-hours a day in their cramped cells. But day-to-day life looks very differrent for some lucky inmates. A prison program is granting some of Texas' most hardened criminals 'recreational time' for limited time periods each day. However, the rare set of privileges is only being offered to a select group of well-behaved prisoners on death row. The program allows the selected prisoners to spend several hours a day outside their cells. The allowances include communal meals, TV time, prayer circles and - for the first time in decades - direct human contact. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Alvarez Medrano, 45, is a death row inmate at Allan B. Polunsky Unit in West Livingston who has been chosen for the new program. He has been allowd out of solitary confinement and for the first time in two decades, he was allowed out of his death row cell without handcuffs. He told the Houston Chronicle: "All of these changes have given guys hope." He explained how before the 'life-altering' new program, he was in isolation at least 22 hours a day. Death row was in the Huntsville Unit from 1928 to 1999 but since a daring death row escape in 1998 prompted prison officials to move death row to a newer prison in Livingston in 1999. The Polunsky Unit houses death row inmates separately in single-person cells, with each cell having a window. Death row inmates are also recreated individually. Inmates on death row receive a regular diet, and have access to reading, writing, and legal materials. Depending upon their custody level, some death row inmates may have a radio. Inmates on death row do not have regular TDCJ-ID numbers; they have special death row numbers. Following the attempted escape, restraints were tightened and inmates were thrown into solitary, lost their prison jobs and their access to rehabilitative programs was eliminated, reports MailOnline. The pilot recreation program was launched under former warden Daniel Dickerson, as he believed offering basic privileges to well-behaved inmates would improve conditions for both prisoners and staff working there. He said: "It's definitely helped give them something to look forward to. All it takes is one bad event, and that could shut it down for a long time. And they understand that because they've been behind those doors for so long - they know what they have to lose probably more than anybody else." It seems the program is a huge success so far as in the 18 months since it began, officials say there have been no fights, no drug seizures, and no incidents requiring disciplinary action. Elsewhere across America many prisons are struggling with contraband and violence. It has also had a huge impact on staff, who have reported fewer mental health breakdowns and better working conditions.
