Texas Progressive Alliance Round Up With Facts About Spindletop Oil Gusher

Below is the weekly Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The Texas Progressive Alliance is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas.

Above is a picture of the “Lucas Gusher” at Spindletop near Beaumont. The picture is from 1901. This was the first oil found in Texas. 

Here is what it says about this discovery in the excellent Handbook of Texas Online.

From the handbook—

“The Spindletop oilfield, discovered on a salt dome formation south of Beaumont in eastern Jefferson County on January 10, 1901, marked the birth of the modern petroleum industry….On January 10 mud began bubbling from the hole. The startled roughnecks fled as six tons of four-inch drilling pipe came shooting up out of the ground. After several minutes of quiet, mud, then gas, then oil spurted out. The Lucas geyser, found at a depth of 1,139 feet, blew a stream of oil over 100 feet high until it was capped nine days later and flowed an estimated 100,000 barrels a day. Lucas and the Hamills finally controlled the geyser on January 19, when a huge pool of oil surrounded it, and throngs of oilmen, speculators, and onlookers had transformed the city of Beaumont.”

Here is some history of the oil industry in Texas from the Texas Almanac.

From the Almanac–

“When oil came gushing into Texas early in the 20th century, the changes were even more profound. Petroleum began to displace agriculture as the principal engine driving the economy of the state, and Texans’ lives were even more drastically affected than they had been by railroads….The impact of oil on Texas and Texans is often analyzed in terms of corporate development, personal and corporate wealth, and the overall economy of the state and politics. Oil also dramatically affected the lives of those who owned the land from which oil was produced, or who were directly involved in oil exploration, extraction and processing. The discoveries of oil fields led to the founding and flourishing of numerous Texas towns, to the establishment of companies that have become multinational conglomerates, and to the amassing of vast personal fortunes.”

Here is the web home of the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum.  You can visit this museum near Beaumont and relive the early days of Texas oil. 

The round up—

Off the Kuff takes closer look at that story about Texas turnout in last year’s election.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson adds some context to what’s being said in Texas about unemployment insurance, the stimulus, and Gov. Perry.

This week at McBlogger, Krispy Kreme takes a moment to tell of her personal experiences with folks desperately in need of adequate health care.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston thinks Clear Lake Hospital has a heart of cold.

Many Texas Kids May Lose Health Insurance Because Of Hurricane Ike

This is from the Houston Chronicle—

“At least 36,000 children living in the areas affected by Hurricane Ike may fall off the rolls of government health insurance programs because they have not re-enrolled for the coming year. Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, said more than half of the 72,000 children statewide who did not re-enroll in Medicaid are from the Houston and Beaumont areas — both hit by Hurricane Ike. “We expect to see some swings in enrollment, but this was bigger than normal,” Goodman said. “Seeing a higher percentage from one area also raised warning signs that we need to stop and take a look at this.” Children will have coverage through the end of the year as agency workers call families to find out why they did not submit applications. “In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and a worsening economy, it is critical that safety net programs are operating as efficiently as possible so that struggling families can get the help that they need,” said Barbara Best of the Houston-based Children’s Defense Fund Texas office. Medicaid coverage applies to children whose families are at federal poverty levels, meaning a family of three would earn no more than $17,600. CHIP coverage is available for a similar family earning up to twice that amount. Goodman said many families did not return application renewal forms that were mailed to their homes. The agency is trying to determine if mail and other disruptions caused by the hurricane prevented families from completing paperwork.”

This was all foreseeable. It could have been a priority to address.  It’s just that nobody bothered.

Now when it comes to job cuts at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston–Well, folks are all over that making sure it gets done. 

Where is the coordinated response of our elected officials— at least the Democrats—to these problems? Where are the doctors who worked hard for so-called tort reform in Texas, but are now silent when people need help?

(Update–This issue has been addressed for the time being. We’ll see how this is dealt with over the longer haul. Why is it such an adventure to make sure kids have health insurance in this state? Or adults for that matter.)