Columns & Opinions

The chief of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas told state lawmakers recently that the state’s power demand could nearly double in just six years. The reasons: population growth, new requests for grid connections, and a rise in requests from data centers and other heavy users.

Many historical figures make an impact in multiple fields. For Dr. Roland Vela, an intense curiosity about the world as well as a drive to serve others became the defining characteristics of his life. He spent a decades-long career making important discoveries in science and helping to make his community a better place for all.

Before the Texas Revolution and the annexation debates of the 1830s and 1840s, portions of Texas were briefly considered part of the United States, all stemming from the Louisiana Purchase. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States doubled in size overnight. America had pushed far to the West into the wide expanses of the High Plains and to the frontiers of Texas. The French government was very evasive in what they considered to be the extent of the Louisiana Territory. The question of whether the United States owned any portion of Texas was ultimately put in the hands of one of America’s top diplomats, John Quincy Adams.