Tap water emergency in Corpus Christi ends following chemical leak
After days of little to no water use in the city, Corpus Christi lifted its water ban last Sunday, ending a chemical contamination emergency. City officials placed the city under a water-use ban after they learned that an asphalt emulsifying agent in a chemical tank leaked into the water lines in the industrial district. The ban shut down school districts and water-dependent businesses and forced residents to scrounge for bottled water and forgo showering. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has launched an investigation into the water contamination. It was the fourth time in 17 months that Corpus Christi has made such an announcement and, for residents, seemed to prove as just another example of the city’s failure to deliver basic municipal services.
Harris County DA-elect Ogg begins to clean house
Incoming Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Tuesday that she will investigate at least three prosecutors accused of misusing official information. The allegations come just days after she fired 40 staffers from the state’s largest district attorney’s office. Ogg said crime victims in at least five cases contacted her to say they were told their cases were in jeopardy or defendants were given lenient plea deals because of the firings. The firings were Ogg’s first major action since winning the seat in November. Ogg got rid of a number of loyalists to outgoing DA Devon Anderson and some prosecutors tied to scandals that have erupted over Anderson’s three-year tenure.
Longtime Fifth Ward pastor C.L. Jackson dies at 80
The Rev. C.L. Jackson, longtime pastor of the domed Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in the Fifth Ward, was known as one of the old bulls of Houston’s aging guard of black Baptist preachers. Jackson traveled to several African nations with President Bill Clinton, was appointed to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice by Gov. Rick Perry and took the microphone at conservative radio host Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally in 2010 at the Lincoln Memorial. Jackson was a registered Republican. His Christian evangelistic ministry spanned more than 50 years, from the streets and prisons to published books and radio broadcasts.