Frontline workers within the Texas Medical Center were celebrated with breakfast Thursday morning..

Wenping Dai is a senior cytogenetic scientist at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She said, “I think it gave us a lot of spirit.”

Dai is one of more than 120,000 employees within the largest medical city in the world to feel loved during this pandemic.

Azuka Ibeanu is a pharmacist at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“It’s hard to believe we’re still going through the situation,” she said. “It has been taxiing overall, but I am grateful we are still standing.”

She said the rise of omicron cases in Houston is on her mind. “Definitely concerned, slightly anxious,” she said.

It’s these reasons Bill McKeon, the president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, wants to show frontline workers they’re appreciated.

“We do this to reinforce we are appreciative,” McKeon said. “This is not just about COVID, this is about what they have been doing here for 76 years, here on this campus, and it’s just the small things in life to remind them we are appreciative and we love them for their dedication and passion to really providing the best care in the world.”

Source: www.click2houston.com

Lake made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference in Austin to give an update on “improvements” public utility providers have made to ensure there won’t be a complete infrastructural meltdown, resulting in 4.5 million Texans being without power or heat for days.

“At both ERCOT and the PUC, we are operating at lightning speed to improve operations, enhance our grid, and ensure reliability for this winter,” Lake said. “For the first time ever, we’ve gotten improved checks and balances to ensure a higher level of reliability than we’ve ever had.”

Wednesday’s vote of confidence follows a new law requiring power plants to winterize their facilities. While the law mandates the move, it doesn’t outline a schedule or deadline to go about doing so.

Lake, who was joined by interim ERCOT CEO Brad Jones, outlined one.

“We began on Dec. 2 with those inspections,” Jones said. “During this inspection cycle, between Dec. 2 and Dec. 29, we intend to inspect over 300 generating and some 21 transmission providers,” Jones said.

Jones added that some 55 power generator units have been inspected thus far. Power generators were supposed to file a winter weather readiness report by Dec. 1, in addition to ERCOT’s in-person inspections. The Public Utility Commission has filed violation reports against eight companies for failing to meet that deadline.

Lake said violations for power providers who don’t abide by the requirement to winterize could amount to $1,000,000 in fines per day, per violation.

“We go into this winter knowing that because of all of these efforts the lights will stay on. No other power grid has made as remarkable changes in such an incredibly short amount of time as we have,” Lake said.

The Public Utility Commission has oversight over electric power generators. It does not regulate natural gas. That falls under the responsibilities of the Texas Railroad Commission.

Lake said the railroad commission has required winterization mandates for natural gas providers as well.

“In conjunction with the railroad commission, we will continue mapping more granularly the natural gas critical infrastructure across the state and importantly, in conjunction with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas energy reliability council is up and running to enhance communication and planning between state agencies, the electric industry, and natural gas industry,” Lake said.

Lake said a multitude of improvements reinforce his confidence that the grid will sustain in the event of another winter storm.

However, his words Wednesday seemingly contradicted ERCOT’s Seasonal Assessment of Resource Agency, or SARA report, issued last month, which said the grid likely can’t withstand another worst-case scenario.

Lake said there is not a contradiction, rather, the SARA report analyzes several scenarios that don’t take into account the changes he said the organization has made to better ensure regulation.

“It does not incorporate all of the extraordinary measures I’ve outlined today. It’s excellent for scenario analysis. It’s not a promise of an outcome,” Lake said.

Source: www.click2houston.com

The more than 300 lawsuits that have been filed so far in Houston following a massive crowd surge at the Astroworld festival that left 10 people dead have been consolidated and will be handled by one judge as the cases proceed through the court system, a judicial board ruled.

In an order issued on Tuesday, the Board of Judges of the Civil Trial Division of the Harris County District Courts in Houston granted a request by attorney Brent Coon to have all pretrial matters in the various lawsuits be handled by one judge. If any of the lawsuits go to trial, the case would return to its original court.

“This consolidation will promote the expeditious and efficient administration of justice,” the two-page order said.

All pretrial motions and issues in the lawsuits will be heard by state District Judge Kristen Hawkins.

Those who have been sued include rap superstar Travis Scott, who created the festival and was the headliner, concert promoter Live Nation and other companies connected to the event.

The 10 people who died were among 50,000 who had attended the festival and were in the audience on Nov. 5 when Scott’s concert turned deadly as fans surged toward the stage during his set.

The youngest victim was 9-year-old Ezra Blount. The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27. Some 300 people were injured and treated at the festival site and 25 were taken to hospitals.

Coon, who is representing about 2,000 concertgoers and is asking for $10 billion in damages, made his consolidation request last month. He said Wednesday that having all the cases before one judge will create efficiency, eliminate redundancy and spread costs in the cases to everyone involved in the litigation.

“You don’t want to have all the same issues argued and all the same witnesses deposed over and over again in every courtroom,” Coon said.

But the consolidation that was granted on Tuesday might conflict with a similar request made by lawyers for ASM Global Parent, Inc. and its subsidiaries, which manage events at NRG Park, where the Astroworld festival was held.

Lawyers for ASM Global have also asked in a motion filed with the Texas Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which is overseen by the Texas Supreme Court, to consolidate the lawsuits but assign them to a different Harris County judge, Lauren Reeder.

“Counsel representing more than 2,500 plaintiffs or potential plaintiffs and all principal defendants have agreed to this motion,” ASM Global’s attorneys said in their motion, which was filed on Dec. 1.

ASM Global’s attorneys have asked that all discovery in the lawsuits — when attorneys can request or obtain documents or other information or depose witnesses — be halted until the state panel issues a ruling.

Attorneys for ASM Global didn’t immediately return emails on Wednesday seeking comment.

Coon said he believes the company’s request is no longer needed. If the state panel were to issue a decision, it would overrule the local order.

“Harris County has already addressed that with this order. So, if the (Texas) Supreme Court did anything now, they would just be meddling,” Coon said.

Earlier this week, Scott’s attorneys also filed his first response to several of the lawsuits, denying the accusations against him and asking that the cases be dismissed.

Coon said Scott’s denial of the accusations and his request for dismissal are standard in such lawsuits and similar to an individual entering a not guilty plea at the start of a criminal case.

Scott and the event organizers are the focus of a criminal investigation by Houston police. No one has been charged, and no timetable has been set for when the investigation would be completed.

Scott’s attorney had previously reached out to the families of the 10 who died, offering to pay for their loved ones’ funeral costs. Several of the families turned down the offer.