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Tribe, activists ask Oregon Treasury to divest $350 million in proposed Texas gas terminal – Oregon Capital Chronicle

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Tribe, activists ask Oregon Treasury to divest 0 million in proposed Texas gas terminal – Oregon Capital Chronicle


Members of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas and activists from a financial watchdog group arrived in Portland this week to ask the Oregon State Treasury to divest from a controversial gas terminal proposed along the Gulf of Mexico. 

For more than eight years, tribal members and environmental and social justice activists from Brownsville, Texas, have fought the proposed Rio Grande Liquified Natural Gas terminal at the Port of Brownsville, arguing that it’s a risk to the climate, to public health and to the fishing and tourism industries that people along the Gulf Coast depend on. 

They arrived ahead of a Wednesday meeting of the Oregon Investment Council, which includes State Treasurer Tobias Read. Read and the other five members of the council decide where to invest money from Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS. The Carrizo/Comecrudo tribal leaders and activists plan to speak at the meeting and submit written comments from activists who have been fighting the proposed terminal since 2015. 

Oregon became involved last year, when the treasury department invested $350 million of the state’s public employees pension in Global Infrastructure Partners’ Fund V. Global Infrastructure Partners is a New York City-based private equity fund. Through its Fund V, the firm has invested $3.5 billion in the Rio Grande Liquified Natural Gas Terminal, according to the nonprofit financial watchdog group Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

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The Rio Grande terminal, if built, would receive fracked gas from West Texas oil fields via a proposed pipeline called the Rio Bravo pipeline. Both would be owned by Houston-based NextDecade Corporation. The Rio Bravo pipeline, if built, would go through the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe’s ancestral land. 

At the terminal, the fracked gas would be cooled to a liquified state and exported via tanker ships as liquified natural gas for global markets. Natural gas is almost entirely methane gas, which is among the most potent climate-warming greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. 

Global Infrastructure Partners’ media representative did not respond to questions from the Capital Chronicle by Tuesday evening. Read, who is also preparing to present a “net-zero” plan for Oregon’s pension system on Feb. 6, will meet with activists and tribal members on Wednesday following the investment council meeting.

He declined to talk with the Capital Chronicle Tuesday, but treasury spokesperson Eric Engelson said in an email that, in general, the state treasury is unaware of individual investments in a private equity fund. Engelson said private equity managers provide disclosure documents that outline general aspects of investments.

Emissions

The Rio Grande terminal is one of two liquified natural gas export terminals proposed at the Port of Brownsville. Construction on both was slated to begin by 2023, but both are instead still seeking financing. Two banks have already backed out of their investments in the terminals.

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The Rio Grande project could result in 163 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to the Sierra Club, as much as the emissions of 44 coal plants, or more than 35 million cars.

Rebekah Hinojosa, Gulf Coast campaign representative for the nonprofit Sierra Club and a member of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, a coalition of nonprofit environmental groups working to shut down the terminal, has been fighting the Rio Grande Terminal since she read about it in 2015. She lives in Brownsville and grew up in the Rio Grande Valley.

“We’re protesting every company, bank or pension fund that is involved,” Hinojosa said. “We are calling on them to immediately withdraw, because our community does not want to be sacrificed for gas projects.” 

Joining members of the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe at Wednesday’s Oregon Investment Council meeting are representatives from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

Nichole Heil, a campaign coordinator with the group said at the very least, they are asking the investment council to bring their concerns to Global Infrastructure Partners. Company representatives have not responded to activists, including repeated requests to meet, Heil said. 

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The group and coalition recently submitted comments to the Washington State Investment Board requesting it divest its $400 million investment in Global Infrastructure Partners’ Fund V. 

At least three cities along Texas’ Gulf Coast have passed resolutions opposing the gas terminal and one, the city of Port Isabel, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency alleging officials did not conduct a sufficient environmental review. 

Hinojosa said it feels as if gas projects are being forced on residents by the gas industry, and by state and federal governments. 

“Every company, every private equity firm that’s involved, every regulatory agency, they’re all equally to blame,” she said. “And that’s why we’re urging Global Infrastructure Partners and the Oregon Investment Council to divest immediately. They should not be complicit with this project; with the destruction of our community. They can help us stop this project by withdrawing their investment immediately.”

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Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

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Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider


fatmata janneh lady vols basketball
Photo via Texas A&M Athletics

Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.

With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.

Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.

Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.

More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball

Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

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The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.

So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.

Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.





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Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says

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Texas needs at least 4 billion to avoid water crisis, state says


AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.

The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said. 

The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.

In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.

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“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”

The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.

The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.

The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.

The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.

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“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”

Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.

“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.

Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.

“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“

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The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.

“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”

Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.

“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”

Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.

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Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.



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Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say

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Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say



A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.

The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. 

Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.

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Car found at Arlington motel 

Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work. 

Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.

  Gregory D. Lewis, 34

Tarrant County Jail

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Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side 

King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said. 

According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car. 

Medical examiner review pending 

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. 

CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.

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