Tagged: local news

The Texas Agriculture Commissioner is pushing congressional leaders to suspend contracts with Mexico if the country doesn't release water owed to Texas farmers and ranchers.

Mexico is required to release 1.8 million acre-feet of water every five years to the U.S. from six tributaries that feed into the Rio Grande. In exchange, the U.S. delivers water from the Colorado River to Mexico, but under the current agreement Mexico has left South Texas farmers dry, owing the state over 350,000 acre-feet of water.

Parents, students and several lawmakers crowded into the governor's press room to witness Gov. Rick Perry signing legislation into law that changes the state’s public education system. 

While there were a handful of bills on hand, the one that stood out most was a bill that reduces the number of high-stakes exams students are required to take from the current 15 standardized tests down to five.

Coming off his February trip to California and an Illinois stop two months later, Gov. Rick Perry is taking his business pitch to New York and Connecticut hoping to lure businesses to the Lone Star State.

Starting on June 16 Perry will be showcasing some of the state's finer points for businesses to relocate to the Lone Star State while also visiting the East Coast.

The advertisements  feature various business leaders in Texas and celebrities like former NFL star Emmitt Smith and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.

As an example of their effort to standardize more of its parts, Toyota is reducing the variety of air bags it installs in different vehicles.

Toyota was using 50 different types of airbags to protect driver's knees in all their available models, and has found from a cost savings audit that they can cut that number down to ten.