By Laylan Copelin AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Updated: 5:11 a.m. Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Published: 8:53 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, 2012 The state's primary electricity grid operator is projecting potential power shortages during peak demand times over the next decade, putting more pressure on attempts to encourage conservation and raise the cap on wholesale prices.The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, commonly known as ERCOT, on Tuesday released its 10-year forecast, which takes into account the growing demand for electricity, weather conditions, the economy and plans for new generation."To ensure future electric reliability in the ERCOT region, we need to take immediate steps to address this issue — on both the supply side and the demand side of the resource adequacy equation," said Trip Doggett, CEO of ERCOT.Texas ... Continue reading →
Federal prosecutors charged a Mexican businessman with San Antonio ties with money laundering Tuesday and accused him of being a front for corrupt officials from the border state of Tamaulipas. In a related civil filing, prosecutors said Tomás Yarrington Ruvalcaba, the former governor of that border state, took millions from drug cartels and ran his own extortion and bribery schemes. An indictment in Brownsville charges Fernando Alejandro Cano Martinez, 55, with taking millions from the Matamoros-based Gulf Cartel and its one-time enforcers, the Zetas. Cano took bribes from the cartels and delivered the money to high-ranking officials in the border state of Tamaulipas, the indictment says. The indictment also alleges he created companies in San Antonio and across South Texas to purchase hundreds of acres ... Continue reading →
GREENSBORO John Edwards has been described many ways throughout his trial, as a philandering husband, an opportunistic political climber and an egotistical, tragic character. But he also is a single father of two school-aged children who lost their mother to cancer almost 18 months ago. He has a grown daughter who has not only lost her mother but also was a teenager when her brother, Wade, was killed in a car wreck at age 16. Edwards attorneys say he is also involved in the life of the 4-year-old daughter he had with his former mistress, Rielle Hunter. They say Edwards routinely visits the preschooler, who lives with her mother in Charlotte. As the high-profile defendant awaits a verdict, the children whose lives have been forever ... Continue reading →
Bidding wars are erupting from Homestead to Weston, as home sales and prices take off, further reinforcing the end of a prolonged market slump.A two-bedroom, two-bathroom, bank-owned condominium in Coral Springs sparked 64 offers within 10 days — selling for $71,000 on Tuesday, or 34 percent over its $53,000 listing price.“It was a feeding frenzy. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Marta DuPree, broker associate and vice president of the Keyes Company in Coral Springs. “It was a rentable building, so all the investors were out.” In Broward County, the median sales price of single-family homes rose 17 percent in April to $205,000, and condominiums jumped 17.4 percent to $84,300, compared to prices in April 2011. And in Miami-Dade, home prices continued a five-month ... Continue reading →
"Later today our public information office will release a statement," said Heather Dickson, OU Medical Center clinical coordinator. "All patients' information is confidential at this time." Five of eight victims were taken to OU Medical Center following the shootings. At least eight people were shot downtown shortly after the Thunder game let out Monday night, police said. VIDEO Bricktown shooting user-generated videoAt least eight people were shot downtown shortly after the Thunder game let out Monday night, police said. About 11:35 p.m., shots were reportedly fired on Reno Avenue between Mickey Mantle Drive and Joe Carter Avenue, about three blocks east of Chesapeake Energy Arena. “Preliminary reports indicate that eight people were shot and one person suffered blunt trauma, and that person was a pregnant ... Continue reading →
GREENSBORO -- John Edwards might be the one with the most to win or lose with the jury deliberating his fate, but the U.S. Department of Justice has a lot riding on his case, too.When the eight men and four women return to the federal courthouse in downtown Greensboro Tuesday morning, they will begin their third day of deliberations in a case that also has put the Justice Department’s small public-integrity section under scrutiny.Edwards’ trial came almost four years after the unit’s federal prosecutors bungled a 2008 corruption case against Ted Stevens, then a U.S. senator from Alaska accused of failing to properly report more than $250,000 in gifts. Stevens, who died in a 2010 plane crash, was convicted, but the verdict was appealed and ... Continue reading →
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A first-of-its-kind commercial supply ship rocketed toward the International Space Station following a successful liftoff early Tuesday, opening a new era of dollar-driven spaceflight. The SpaceX company made history as its Falcon 9 rocket rose from its seaside launch pad and pierced the pre-dawn sky, aiming for a rendezvous in a few days with the space station. The rocket carried into orbit a capsule named Dragon that is packed with 1,000 pounds of space station provisions. It is the first time a private company has launched a vessel to the space station. That's something only major governments have done - until Tuesday. "Falcon flew perfectly!!" SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, said via Twitter. "Dragon in orbit ... Feels like a ... Continue reading →
