I went out on Matagorda Beach Saturday to take a look at the crowds.
And the beach was crowded and the temperature was hot.
Welcome to Summer 2024.
I’ve lived in several parts of Texas during my long newspaper career and tagging along with my mom and dad as a boy over several Lone Star locales.
But summers here rank among the hottest and I’ve found no place in Texas escapes the heat.
Brownsville was hot, but the wind off South Padre Island mitigated the summers there.
Further up the Rio Grande Valley the cities were less blessed by the wind and seemed steamier than Brownsville.
The beach Saturday showed the hot season is on us and we have destinations on the Gulf that others from elsewhere want to share.
Matagorda was colorful this weekend, reminding locals and visitors alike the summer season is exciting.
I’ve noted before that I like living in a place – or close to one – that others want to visit.
I will note that we could do more to draw visitors here, but that sentiment doesn’t seem to hold much weight with the powers that be.
Besides the discomfort, another big downside to the heat is the electric bill we pay to stay cool.
A recent Texas Tribune article noted that a third of Texans have paid they electric bill late at least once during the year.
And 7% self-reported their accounts were referred to a collections agency.
As we slog through another political season that I dread, I really oppose the forces at play in the state government.
Our governor continues his relentless push for vouchers that will remove money from public education and place it in private schools that serve fewer students and have less accountability.
How in the world is that something Texans should want?
The guv shows little interest in boosting public schools, nor do his allies in the legislature.
House Speaker Dade Phelan is fighting for his political life, mostly because he’s opposed vouchers and their impact on public school.
And Gov. Greg Abbott has waged an expensive – probably not so much for him – campaign to have him removed.
Overall, state leaders can’t move far enough right and seemingly that’s all right for many Texans.
Texas has always been a conservative state, but not like this.
