Texas
Can data center project help Texas town pay for repairs?
The Waco Bridge is a nonprofit local news organization supported by The Texas Tribune, reporting on Waco government, education and community. Sign up for the Bridge’s free newsletter here.
Jim Wallingsford drove his white Chevy truck one morning last month down North Walnut Street in Lacy Lakeview, dodging potholes on his way to inspect a repair project on a sewer lift station.
As public works director for this Waco suburb of 8,000 residents, Wallingsford is always triaging the city’s needs: Cracked and cratered streets, aging pipes and pump stations and the old water tower, which needs a $1 million facelift.
“I want to be a good steward of the City of Lacy Lakeview with the money I’m given to spend,” he said. “So I give everything a weighted scale and I base it off of the likelihood and consequences of failure.”

Lacy Lakeview, population 8,000, is typical of many small Texas towns that lack the resources to keep up with streets and pipes that are wearing out. Most of that infrastructure in Lacy Lakeview was installed more than 50 years ago. And the longer maintenance is deferred, the faster it deteriorates.

Mayor Chuck Wilson has pointed to the city’s maintenance backlog to justify the pursuit of a data center. He wants to partner with Infrakey to develop and annex a proposed $10 billion data center north of town near Ross.
That development represents tax base that would increase Lacy Lakeview’s tax base enough to increase city tax revenues from $6.5 million to $50 million a year. But the project has drawn a backlash from neighbors of the Infrakey site, as well as from some Lacy Lakeview residents, who just elected data center opponent Amy Gage to the City Council.

As Wallingsford sees it, the city needs new development, or the existing taxpayer and utility ratepayers will be on the hook for improvements.
“Everything that we purchase is going up, literally,” he said. “The only other solution is that we have to have a rate increase just to be able to keep up.”

Wallingsford stopped his truck at the Meyers water pump station, which was under repair after it was observed to be leaking.
“The consequence of them failing is pretty high but their issues aren’t critical and they continue to operate,” he said. “The city only needs one pump to operate and we have three, so there’s a backup.

“At the end of the day when something fails, we go back and work off of the plan.”
Wallingsford, a former city of Waco staffer, said utility infrastructure like this typically has a 50-year lifespan, and the ideal practice in public works is to set aside 2% of the system’s cost each year for replacement.
“I haven’t worked for a city that’s ever done that,” he said.
Even more visible is the wear and tear on Lacy Lakeview’s 30 miles of city streets. Asked which ones need to be repaved, he didn’t hesitate.
“All of them,” he said. “They all need to be done. I’d say we have about 15 critical streets” that need to be repaved.


The city is now repairing and reconstructing streets using a $9.5 million bond issue that voters approved in 2024. To save money, the city is using its own workers and equipment to grind up and recycle pavement, which is then compacted and resealed.
Among the most critical projects is Walnut Street, which is being reconstructed along with replacement of water, sewer, fiber optic and gas utilities under the street. That project is to be completed in February 2027.

This article first appeared on The Waco Bridge.
Source link
Texas
Texas reports 48 cyclospora cases and the source is still unknown
Texas has reported 48 cases of Cyclospora, a foodborne illness caused by a parasite that health experts say can lead to severe gastrointestinal symptoms.
Dr. David Winter, an internal medicine physician with Baylor Scott & White, said cyclospora infections typically increase during the summer. However, he said the current increase affecting several states could become the worst in years.
At least 20 people nationwide have been hospitalized with symptoms that can last for weeks.
“It’s really bad disease right now and sometimes you get in your intestines and that gives you these horrible cramps and gurgling and then diarrhea. In fact, the diarrhea is so bad, they call it explosive diarrhea,” Winter said.
Cyclospora is caused by a parasite rather than a virus or bacteria. Winter said the parasite multiplies inside the intestines, contributing to recurring symptoms.
“It’s a parasite. It’s not a virus, it is not bacteria. So the parasite, once it gets in your intestine, it starts to multiply. And then when it builds up a certain amount, then it comes out with this explosion, and then it starts multiply again,” Winter said.
The illness spreads through food or water contaminated with infected feces and is rarely transmitted from person to person.
The source of the current outbreak is unknown. Previous outbreaks have been linked to fresh fruits and vegetables, including basil, cilantro, raspberries and snow peas.
Doctors recommend thoroughly washing fresh produce before eating it to help reduce the risk of infection.
For many people, symptoms can be managed at home, and antibiotics are also effective, according to Winter.
He said patients with severe diarrhea should let their doctor know about their symptoms because many routine stool tests do not automatically screen for cyclospora.
“Most stool tests in laboratories don’t look for this. So you want to be sure and tell your doctor, I’ve got this, quote, explosive diarrhea. I’m cramping, I feel like hell, I have all this fatigue,” Winter said.
While the infection is uncommon, Winter said it can be especially difficult for those who become sick.
“It’s rare, but boy when you get it, it is tough,” Winter said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.
Texas
Family demands investigation after US man killed by ICE agent in Texas
Published On 8 Jul 2026
The family of a man killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Texas has called for an investigation into the incident.
The appeal on Wednesday came a day after the ICE agent fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston during a traffic stop, the most recent high-profile killing by immigration enforcement agents amid the administration of US President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Salgado Araujo’s family said he was working at the time he was killed, driving a crew to a home build in the area. They said he may have been scared that the individuals in the unmarked vehicles that stopped him were trying to steal his tools.
They further said the Mexican national had lived in the US for 35 years and was working towards getting legal status. He had no criminal record and worked tirelessly to support his three US sons, all US citizens.
“He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of ‘Mexican man shot and killed by ICE’,” son Ronaldo Salgado said during a news conference.
“He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream,” he said.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said Salgado Araujo attempted to ram an ICE agent, who opened fire in response. Prior to that, they said Salgado Araujo’s car had struck an ICE vehicle.
No video or images of the incident have been released, although a bystander recorded its aftermath.
DHS said Salgado Araujo had been targeted by the agents because he was living in the US without documentation.
While the Trump administration had initially said it would only target criminals in its mass deportation push, it quickly said that it considered anyone in the US without documentation a criminal. Irregularly entering the US is a civil, not a criminal, violation.
Rights groups have accused immigration agents of using “dragnet” techniques under pressure to meet detainment quotas. The Trump administration has denied such quotas exist.
Speaking at the news conference on Wednesday, League of United Latin American Citizens President Roman Palomares said the immigration crackdown has created a country where it is “open season on Latinos” by officers who think they can “shoot and explain later”.
The initial details of the Texas killing resemble the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota in January. DHS officials initially said that Good, a US citizen, was attempting to ram an ICE agent when she was fatally shot, although video appeared to show her steering around the agent, who opened fire after stepping to the side of her vehicle.
Just days later, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer as he sought to document immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis.
Little has emerged from federal probes into the killings, which came amid an enforcement surge in the city. In a rare move, the Department of Justice declined a separate civil-rights probe into Nicole Good’s killing.
‘Working to give us the American dream’
Speaking at the news conference on Wednesday, Ronaldo Salgado recounted frantically looking for his father at his job site after his mother had been told something bad had happened.
At some point during the search, he was shown the video of his fatally wounded father.
“I recognised him, not from his appearance but from his voice crying for help as he lay on the street,” Salgado said.
“After nearly 35 years of working to give us the American dream, he made the choice to begin the process of obtaining his American dream through a work permit,” Salgado said.
“We dotted every I, crossed every T, filled every document, and attended every appointment. He was close to obtaining his legal status.”
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum also condemned the killing, saying she was considering legal measures or an appeal to the United Nations.
“There has been another tragic death of one of our compatriots in the United States due to detention issues, even though their only ‘offence’ is not yet having proper documentation,” Sheinbaum said.
The shooting was at least the eighth known death during an encounter with federal immigration officers since the start of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Texas
Triple-digit heat returns to North Texas before weekend storms bring relief
Dallas weather: July 8 morning forecast
High pressure starts to build back into North Texas, which lowers our rain chances and brings triple digit temperatures to parts of the region. Expect partly to mostly sunny skies today, with highs near 100.
DALLAS – A building system of high pressure is bringing triple-digit temperatures back to North Texas, though the intense heat will be short-lived before a weekend weather shift brings relief and renewed chances of rain.
Wednesday forecast
We expect partly to mostly sunny skies Wednesday, with high temperatures reaching near 100 degrees across much of the region. While hot and dry conditions will dominate, a low chance of scattered rain showers remains possible, primarily in areas east of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
The heat is expected to solidify Thursday as the upper-level ridge settles firmly over the area. We have removed all chances of precipitation from Thursday’s forecast, locking in dry conditions and an afternoon high temperature of 100 degrees.
However, relief is on the horizon for the upcoming weekend. The high-pressure ridge will lose its grip on North Texas as it begins to shift westward toward the desert southwest.
Weekend forecast
By late Saturday and continuing into Sunday, the atmospheric shift will establish a northerly flow aloft. This pattern change is expected to funnel a series of weather disturbances into the region, triggering a return of widespread rain and thunderstorm opportunities.
The unsettled weather pattern is forecast to linger well into next week. The persistent cloud cover and moisture associated with the continuing rain chances will successfully suppress the heat, keeping afternoon highs closer to historical norms for this time of year.
7-Day forecast
The Source: Information in this article is from the FOX 4 weather team.
-
Idaho3 minutes ago
Idaho Power crews respond to outage affecting 2,163 customers in Canyon County
-
Illinois14 minutes agoAs Illinois enters 10th year under Evidence-Based Funding model, equity remains an elusive goal
-
Indiana17 minutes agoFAIRFIELD NATIVE AND HIS WIFE FOUND DEAD IN THEIR NEWBURGH, INDIANA HOME
-
Iowa22 minutes agoFrom caviar nuggets to bison, 10 new Iowa State Fair food trends
-
Kentucky32 minutes agoKentucky lawmakers hold town hall on AI data centers in Louisville
-
Louisiana37 minutes agoNorman C. Francis library naming honors Lafayette education legacy
-
Maine44 minutes agoLive updates: U.S. and Iran escalate attacks; jockeying starts in Maine after Graham Platner drops Senate bid
-
Maryland47 minutes agoHow the Baltimore-style hot dog tells a uniquely Maryland story