Many voters were confused about what the state oil and gas agency does because of its name.

In fact, this October was so hot that, looking back at the historical data, a quarter of all Septembers in Austin have been cooler than this recent October.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded Moment Energy $20.3 million to help build a facility in Taylor to repurpose and recycle electric vehicle batteries.

From Howard Lane to Onion Creek, bat colonies will lose roosting sites due to highway demolition. TxDOT is vowing to build them back.

The Texas General Land Office purchased the private Brewster Ranch that had been listed for sale at more than $245.6 million. State officials did not disclose a final sale price.

The three challengers seeking to unseat Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick focus on different issues, but share a common critique of the state's oil and gas regulator.

An ongoing drought in Texas has worsened the condition of the local aquifer and has impacted the river's water levels. Even with some rain on the forecast, Gov. Greg Abbott's disaster declaration for elevated wildfire risk is still in effect.

These state regulators sit on one of the most important agencies to oversee energy and – by extension – climate policy in the world.

Signing the declarations is preemptive and allows the city and county to put resources into place to respond quickly should a fire start.

The fire started around midday Thursday and quickly grew to 55 acres. It was fully contained by 4:37 p.m., according to the Austin Fire Department.