Early Voting Ends Friday

Early voting for the March 1 primary ends Friday. Initial reports indicate turnout has been low, as is traditional in midterm primary elections, with less than a fourth of registered voters going to the polls most years.

Voters will pick nominees for Texas’ governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner, comptroller and railroad commissioner, as well as legislative and county races.

Texas Secretary of State John. B. Scott’s office provides a website that allows voters to see who is on the ballots in all races at votetexas. gov. Texas law allows registered voters to participate in either party primary, but not both. In addition, a voter in the Republican primary cannot participate in any runoffs in Democratic races, and vice-versa. However, in the November general election, voters are free to choose candidates from both parties.

Wildfire Activity Increases West of I-35

Blustery winds and freeze-dried vegetation are increasing the number of wildfires reported west of Interstate 35 and into South Texas, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

“Wildfire activity has increased across the state and is driven by underlying drought and above-normal grass production from last year’s growing season,” said Wes Moorehead, Texas A&M Forest Service fire chief. “We have increased the number of personnel, equipment and aircraft in state to assist with response as we’re concerned about large areas of the state.”

Since Feb. 14, local and state firefighters have responded to 91 wildfires that burned 7,312 acres.

Nine out of 10 wildfires in the state are caused by humans, according to TFS, which has fully staffed task forces and fire-suppression equipment staged in Victoria, Kingsville, Childress, Amarillo, Lubbock, San Angelo, Burkburnett, Fredericksburg, Smithville, McGregor, San Angelo and Mineral Wells.

Number of Imprisoned Texans Stays Steady

After a drop last year when some inmates were released due to COVID-19 concerns, the state’s prison population has stayed steady, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. As of January, 118,733 adults were in Texas prisons, up about 1,000 from a year ago.

The state’s total operating capacity is 129,681 beds, according to TDCJ.