President Joe Biden has said the Supreme Court abortion ruling “insults” the rule of law, says government will seek ways to protect access to the procedure.

A deeply divided Supreme Court has allowed a Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in force, for now stripping most women of the right to an abortion in the nation’s second-largest state.

The court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and others that sought to block enforcement of the law, which went into effect Wednesday. But the justices also suggested that their order likely isn’t the last word on whether the law can stand because other challenges to it can still be brought.

The Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, prohibits abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks and before many women know they’re pregnant.

It is the strictest law against abortion rights in the United States since the high court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 and part of a broader push by Republicans nationwide to impose new restrictions on abortion. At least 12 other states have enacted bans early in pregnancy, but all have been blocked from going into effect.

The high court’s order declining to halt the Texas law came just before midnight Wednesday. The majority said those bringing the case had not met the high burden required for a stay of the law.

“In reaching this conclusion, we stress that we do not purport to resolve definitively any jurisdictional or substantive claim in the applicants’ lawsuit. In particular, this order is not based on any conclusion about the constitutionality of Texas’s law, and in no way limits other procedurally proper challenges to the Texas law, including in Texas state courts,” the unsigned order said.

Chief Justice John Roberts dissented along with the court’s three liberal justices. Each of the four dissenting justices wrote separate statements expressing their disagreement with the majority.

Roberts noted that while the majority denied the request for emergency relief “the Court’s order is emphatic in making clear that it cannot be understood as sustaining the constitutionality of the law at issue.”

The vote in the case underscores the impact of the death of the liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last year and then-president Donald Trump’s replacement of her with conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Had Ginsburg remained on the court there would have been five votes to halt the Texas law.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor called her conservative colleagues’ decision “stunning.” “Presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority of Justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand,” she wrote.

Texas lawmakers wrote the law to evade federal court review by allowing private citizens to bring lawsuits in state court against anyone involved in an abortion, other than the patient. Other abortion laws are enforced by state and local officials, with criminal sanctions possible.

In contrast, Texas’ law allows private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone involved in facilitating abortions. Among other situations, that would include anyone who drives a woman to a clinic to get an abortion. Under the law, anyone who successfully sues another person would be entitled to at least $10,000.

In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan called the law “patently unconstitutional,” saying it allows “private parties to carry out unconstitutional restrictions on the State’s behalf.” And Justice Stephen Breyer said a “woman has a federal constitutional right to obtain an abortion during” the first stage of pregnancy.

After a federal appeals court refused to allow a prompt review of the law before it took effect, the measure’s opponents sought Supreme Court review.

In a statement early Thursday after the high court’s action, Nancy Northup, the head of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents abortion providers challenging the law, vowed to “keep fighting this ban until abortion access is restored in Texas.”

“We are devastated that the Supreme Court has refused to block a law that blatantly violates Roe v. Wade. Right now, people seeking abortion across Texas are panicking — they have no idea where or when they will be able to get an abortion, if ever. Texas politicians have succeeded for the moment in making a mockery of the rule of law, upending abortion care in Texas, and forcing patients to leave the state — if they have the means — to get constitutionally protected healthcare. This should send chills down the spine of everyone in this country who cares about the constitution,” she said.

Anti-abortion groups cheered the court’s action.

“We are celebrating this decision for what it is, baby steps in the right direction toward the obvious conclusion that Roe is fatally flawed and must go,” said Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, in a statement.

Texas has long had some of the nation’s toughest abortion restrictions, including a sweeping law passed in 2013. The Supreme Court eventually struck down that law, but not before more than half of the state’s 40-plus clinics closed.

Even before the Texas case arrived at the high court the justices had planned to tackle the issue of abortion rights in a major case after the court begins hearing arguments again in the fall. That case involves the state of Mississippi, which is asking to be allowed to enforce an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Source: www.click2houston.com

With Labor Day weekend approaching, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is reminding everyone to be safe this holiday by following basic boating and water safety precautions. In 2020, Texans took advantage of the outdoors and hit the waters in droves, driving recreational boating accidents to a 30 year high. Outreach efforts by Texas Game Wardens and community partners have resulted in a 24 percent decrease in boating-related accidents but numbers remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.

“We are expecting another boost in Texans enjoying the outdoors during the Labor Day weekend so Texas Game Wardens will be out in force to ensure that everyone exercises proper safety protocols on the water,” said Cody Jones, TPWD Assistant Commander for Marine Enforcement. “We want to ensure water-related activities are handled in a responsible manner. While you are on a boat, wear a life jacket, closely supervise any children with you, use the engine kill switch, and abstain from driving a boat if you are drinking alcohol.”

Learning to swim, checking weather reports, and participating in a boater education class are also simple steps to take before heading out on the water. The TPWD boater education website offers multiple resources and boater education courses which must be completed by anyone operating a personal watercraft or a boat with a 15-horsepower rating or more.

“As usual, the increase in boating traffic goes hand in hand with a higher visibility of Texas Game Wardens,” Jones added. “Boaters should expect to see us out on patrol ensuring that everyone under the age of 13 is wearing a life vest, that boats are equipped with the proper flotation devices, and no one operating a boat is under the influence of alcohol. We want to ensure Texans have a great holiday and the only way to do that is by following state laws.”

Source: tpwd.texas.gov

The Railroad Commission of Texas issued a total of 687 original drilling permits in August 2021 compared to 451 in August 2020. The August 2021 total includes 613 permits to drill new oil or gas wells, 10 to re-enter plugged wellbores, and 58 for re-completions of existing wellbores.

The breakdown of well types for original drilling permits in August 2021 in 149 oil, 53 gas, 452 oil or gas, 21 injections, and 12 other permits.

In August 2021, Commission staff processed 649 oil, 109 gas, and 291 injection completions for new drills, re-entries, and re-completions, compared to 1,007 oil, 211 gas, and 197 injection completions in August 2020.

Total well completions processed for 2021 year-to-date for new drills, re-entries, and re-completions are 6,108 compared to 10,804 recorded during the same period in 2020.

Detailed data on drilling permits and well completions for the month can be found at this link:

TABLE 1 – AUGUST 2021 TEXAS OIL AND GAS NEW DRILLING PERMITS AND COMPLETIONS BY RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS DISTRICT*

Source: www.rrc.texas.gov

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board of Directors has unanimously approved the DARTzoom Final Bus Network Plan, which includes a complete redesign of the DART bus network. With the goal of providing greater frequency, longer service hours and improved access to destinations, the redesigned network goes into effect on January 24, 2022.

As the North Texas region continues to experience unparalleled growth, becoming a national and international destination for both residents and corporations, DART has undertaken a complete blank-slate redesign of the existing bus system. Working with all 13 Service Area cities, employers, community leaders, and transit riders, DART has developed a new bus system that is designed to ensure passengers have safe and easy access to employment, education and entertainment areas across the DART service area.

Greater Frequency
Core Frequent Network service will provide bus frequency matching or better than light rail service – 15-minute peak and 20-minute midday. Light rail service will also return to pre-pandemic levels, providing 15-minute peak service and more frequent evening service.

Expanded Coverage
With the implementation of the DARTzoom Bus Network Redesign service changes, 74% of DART service area residents will have access to transit services within walking distance. This is an increase of 6% above the current bus network design. New DART GoLink on-demand service zones help achieve the added coverage.

More Direct Routes
By making the new bus routes more direct, focusing on major transit corridors and reducing the number of bus stops, DART bus service will be faster, ensuring passengers get to their destinations quicker and improving connections.

Longer Hours of Service
With a focus on transit riders working non-traditional hours, all local DART bus routes will provide service 7 days a week between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and midnight at a minimum. The 22 core frequent bus routes will operate between 4:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.

Improved Access to Jobs
The DARTzoom Bus Network Redesign will increase the number of jobs that an average resident of the DART service area can reach in one hour by 34% compared to the existing bus network.

New GoLink Zones
An essential part of the new DART bus network is the expansion of GoLink, DART’s on-demand, curb-to-curb microtransit service solution that operates in zones across the DART service area. GoLink offers direct-request demand-responsive service with connections to other DART routes as well as curb-to-curb service anywhere within a specified zone.

With the start of the new bus service schedule in 2022, 13 new GoLink zones will be added, bringing the total to 30. To ensure riders have the opportunity to experience GoLink for themselves before the bus service changes go into effect, all 30 zones will be active beginning December 6, 2021.

Source: dart.org