Commentary roundup: What newspapers around the state are saying
San Antonio Express-News
July 21 editorial, "Is what is good for Musk, good for Texas?"
The grand vision for frequent launches to the moon and Mars from a futuristic space port complete with a resort seems to be fading.
In February, when asked about his “long-term” vision for the site, Musk told a reporter he thinks Starbase is “well-suited to be kind of like our advanced R&D location.”
“I think probably Cape Kennedy will be our sort of main operational launch site,” he said.
Musk often changes his mind, as we’ve seen with the Twitter deal, but whatever the future holds, we’re left wondering if what’s good for Musk is good for Texas.— San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board
Dallas Morning News
July 22 editorial, "Texas must stop punting mental health care to the county jails."
On Thursday, almost 400 people in the Dallas County jail were waiting for a bed in a psychiatric hospital. That’s because courts had deemed those inmates incompetent, meaning they weren’t well enough to participate in their defense because of mental illness. Although some have the means to seek treatment at a private facility, most of them have no choice but to go to a state hospital to recover.
Yet the state government cannot staff roughly a third of its psychiatric beds, according to a presentation given to lawmakers in late June. So Texas is shifting the burden to the county jails, which have no alternative but to house the inmates until they can be placed in a state hospital or, in some cases, until they’ve been behind bars for so long that they have essentially served the sentence for a crime for which they have not been convicted.
The latter has happened with misdemeanor cases. In those circumstances, cases get tossed, and inmates are released from jail. But then they don’t get the health care that could restore them and help them avoid another run-in with the law.
The wait times in Dallas County offer a picture of how bad the situation has become. Female inmates waiting for a bed in a hospital that is not maximum security used to wait about 20 days in 2017; now they wait 353 days. For men, the current wait is 401 days.
Men who need a bed in a maximum-security hospital wait 822 days.
— Dallas Morning News Editorial Board
Kerrville Daily Times
July 18 editorial, "Don’t strike a fire: We’re still under a burn ban."
The heat is a danger, in and of itself, across the globe. It doesn't need any help lighting up.
Yes, we all like well-manicured lawns, and there's that yard debris or those moving boxes that need to be reduced to ash.
First, either let the yard go or take extra precautions when mowing the yard.
Secondly, we are under a countywide burn ban. That means no burning anything in our yards or pastures or even in a burn barrel or firepit.
We can all take care to prevent possible wildfires, and if we start one — well, we could be liable, according to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly.
Mother Nature doesn't need any additional help, and certainly, our firefighters deserve a break from fighting fires.
— The Kerrville Daily Times Editorial Board
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Re: July 21 editorial, "Is this awful summer heat is the new normal? Here's how Texas should prepare for the worst."
This is already a sweltering summer, even for Texas. Based on the long-term projections of climate change's effects, we'll see more like it. It's time for For tWorth and Texas to better prepare.
Heat waves cause myriad problems for residents, food and the land. In the last 20 years, Texas trails only Arizona in heat-related deaths.
We need more aggressive water-conservation strategies. Construction plans should factor in even greater energy efficiency and heat deflection. Governments need to anticipate more people needing help to stay cool and afford their utilities. We demand better fire prevention strategies.
And yes, there's work to be done to ensure our power grid can keep up.
It's slightly hotter in Phoenix, Arizona — we might consider learning from folks there. The mayor appointed a director of heat response and mitigation, someone who focuses solely on ways to handle extreme heat.
— The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman Commentary Roundup: July 24, 2022
