SPRINGFIELD, Virginia, April 8 -- The Agriculture Department's Agricultural Marketing Service has issued a rule (7 CFR Part 986), published in the Federal Register on April 8, entitled: "Pecans Grown in the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas; Changes to Reporting Requirements". The rule was issued by Bruce Summers, Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Servi  more

WASHINGTON, April 8 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service issued the following news: Cotton growers in Texas face unpredictable rainfall, limited water for irrigation and fluctuating prices for the Upland cotton they produce. With such problems becoming more pronounced each year, they might want to consider new options such as Pima cotton production, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Upland cotton is used in a wide variety of products   more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas, April 6 -- The U.S. Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center issued the following news: Cancelled conferences, travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic aren't getting in the way of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center's global mission. Reducing or limiting installation support as the center adjusts to a new normal was never an option, said Col. Seth Frank, deputy director of the AFIMSC In  more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas, April 8 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news: Cancelled conferences, travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic aren't getting in the way of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center's global mission. Reducing or limiting installation support as the center adjusts to a new normal was never an option, said Col. Seth Frank, deputy director of the AFIMSC Installation Support Directorate. When th  more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 10 -- The U.S. Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center issued the following news: With military medical professionals around the world tackling COVID-19 head on, teams from other mission areas continue stepping forward to do what they can to stop the spread of the deadly virus. The Air Force Installation Contracting Center's 763rd Specialized Contracting Squadron is one example of mission-focused agility in support of the greater fight, recently d  more

DALLAS, Texas, April 11 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Southwest Regional Information Office issued the following report on the consumer price index in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington for March 2020: Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged for the two months ending in March 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Acting Regional Commissioner Susan Mendez noted   more

DALLAS, Texas, April 9 -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Southwest Regional Information Office issued the following report on the employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for February 2020: Total nonfarm employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area stood at 3,847,500 in February 2020, up 126,000 over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. From February 2019 to February 2020, local nonfarm employment rose 3.4 percent co  more

WASHINGTON, April 7 -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health announced that it expects to award up to two cooperative agreements for operations support for national biocontainment laboratories at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and Boston University of Massachusetts. The estimated total program funding available was cited as $23 million with a ceiling of $11.5 million. Eligible Applicants: Public and State controlled institutions of  more

GALVESTON, Texas, April 11 -- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following news release: The Galveston District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a second multi-million dollar contract for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project on April 8. Callan Marine, LTD, of Galveston, Texas, will receive $97.9 million, including the base contract and seven options, to dredge Lower Bay Reach as part of Corps efforts to deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Five more options  more

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, April 7 -- The U.S. Air Force Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (16th Air Force) issued the following news: When telework first expanded to support the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately ten thousand users accessed available systems worldwide. As social distancing increased telework requirements, more than one hundred thousand teleworkers accessed the network. This huge increase led to slow and spotty connectivity, and unreliable virtual private network access for so  more

WASHINGTON, April 6 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news release: At the request of FEMA, the Department of Defense will expand its medical support to include COVID-19 positive patients at the Javits Federal Medical Station (FMS) in New York City, the Morial FMS in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Kay Bailey Hutchinson FMS in Dallas, Texas. These three DoD-supported locations will now provide support to COVID-19 positive patients in convalescent care, as well as low-acuit  more

WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release: This temporary suspension eases the financial burden on disaster survivors in California, Florida, North Carolina and Texas due to the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The suspension applies to rent only; rent collection is expected to resume July 1. Following a Major Disaster declaration, if a disaster survivor's home has been damaged or destroye  more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, April 9 -- The U.S. Army Special Operations Command issued the following news: As Texas stands up its first expeditionary medical facility at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson in Dallas, contracting professionals from nearby Fort Hood are providing some of the essential services necessary for it to become fully operational. "Mission and Installation Contracting Command Soldiers continue to take on critical roles in providing operational contract support   more

GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, April 9 -- The U.S. Air Force (17th Training Wing) issued the following news: In a recent email to the men and women of the 17th Medical Group, also known as the Cobra Medics, I wrote, "We are being called upon to do what medics do best - provide for the health and safety of our patients." As the world changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in ways we could never have imagined just a few months ago, one thing that will remain consistent is the dedicati  more

GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, April 7 -- The U.S. Air Force (17th Training Wing) issued the following news: The essence of partnership is a relationship; a relationship is risk. In the current pandemic, we've seen communities, workforces, teams, families, and neighbors come together building relationships. But how do we continue to venture into an unknown in which the stakes are higher than ever before, the threat to military and civilians is real, and the "enemy" of COVID-19 is not well   more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, April 10 -- The U.S. Army Special Operations Command issued the following news: Contracting professionals from the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Field Directorate Office Fort Sam Houston, Texas, has awarded a contract for a special non-traditional supplier research project that supports the Army's response for a robust pipeline of equipment and supplies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The research project uses machine learn  more

FRITCH, Texas, April 8 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's Lake Meredith National Recreation Area issued the following news release on April 7: Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, in response to national state and local heath guidelines, is announcing additional modifications to operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As of April 7, 2020, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area will offer very limited services out  more

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 7 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service issued the following news release: The National Park Service is announcing additional modifications to operations at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park from Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12 to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). These changes follow operations modifications made on March 23. To ensure visitor safety during   more

TEMPLE, Texas, April 7 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service Texas office issued the following news release April 6: The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Association of Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, and Texas Wildlife Association are joining other state agencies and organizations in a statewide campaign to highlight the importance of voluntary land stewardship in Texas. Soil   more

WASHINGTON, April 8 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following event notification (No. 54623) involving Texas Department of State Health Services, Houston: AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - UNDERDOSE OF PATIENT MEDICAL EVENT The following was received from the State of Texas via email: "On March 27, 2020, the licensee reported that at the completion of a procedure during which 26 milliCuries of Yttrium-90 Sirspheres were administered to a patient, the assay of the tubing, vial, catheter  more

WASHINGTON, April 10 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the following event notification (No. 54626) involving Texas Department of State Health Services, Taylor: AGREEMENT STATE REPORT - LOST STATIC CONTROL DEVICE The following was received from the State of Texas via email: "On March 31, 2020, the Texas Department of State Health Services (Agency) received a letter that had been originally sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, received March 3, 2020, which was forwa  more

SACRAMENTO, California, April 11 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release: Small nonfarm businesses in the following counties are now eligible to apply for low interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by drought that occurred in the following primary counties in Texas, announced Director Tanya N. Garfield of SBA's Disaster Field   more

WASHINGTON, April 9 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission's Accounting and Auditing Enforcement issued the following order (No. AAER-4121) involving Jeffrey D. Cordes: The Securities and Exchange Commission charged three former executives of Ironclad Performance Wear Corp. with fraud for allegedly inflating the company's revenues through a series of manipulative and deceptive accounting gimmicks. Ironclad's former CEO and CFO have agreed to settle the Commission's claims. The SEC's complai  more

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, April 10 -- The U.S. Air Force (82nd Training Wing) issued the following news: Help is coming in the near future to diagnose and combat COVID-19 quicker as Sheppard AFB is one of five bases in Air Education and Training Command selected to receive new test kits. In addition to Sheppard, Lackland AFB, Texas; Luke AFB, Arizona; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; and Keesler AFB, Mississippi; will also receive the BioFire UEA test kits, which will knock down the turnaround   more

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, April 9 -- The U.S. Air Force (82nd Training Wing) issued the following news: With most cities across the country issuing stay-at-home orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people can only sit at home and wait it out. But others take matters into their own hands to try and make a difference. Whether it's paper towels, hand sanitizer, bottled water, face shields and masks, hand soap or the now infamous toilet paper, shortages on some common items has   more

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 9 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, John F. Bash, issued the following news release on April 8: In San Antonio, 39-year-old Christopher Charles Perez is charged with allegedly perpetrating a COVID-19-related hoax, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash and FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division. A federal criminal complaint unsealed today charges Perez with one count of violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1038  more

HOUSTON, Texas, April 10 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Ryan K. Patrick, issued the following news release: Federal authorities are cautioning taxpayers that criminals could steal economic impact payments through various means of deception, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick along with Acting Special Agent in Charge Rodrick Benton of IRS - Criminal Investigation (CI). Everyone receiving a COVID-19 related economic impact payment from the government is at risk. "  more

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas, April 10 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news: To prioritize safety and continue providing ready Airmen to fuel tomorrow's Air Force, basic military training is moving to a 7.5-week training pipeline. There's no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges that require adaptability. The 7.5-week training program is one of many measures implemented at BMT to limit the spread of COVID-19. More than 1,400 trainees will become Airme  more

GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, April 6 -- The U.S. Air Force issued the following news: The 312th Training Squadron's Special Instruments Training course instructors have begun using their skills to 3D print prototypes to supply the medical facilities in the area with N95 face masks and face shields. A neurosurgeon in Billings, Montana, worked with a dental company to create reusable plastic N95 masks using 3D printers. In an effort to help protect those caring for sick individuals around t  more

WASHINGTON, April 11 -- The U.S. Court of Federal Claims issued the following reported opinion and order (Case No. 17-668L): GEORGE ANDERSON et al., Plaintiffs, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. RCFC 56; Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment on Liability; Fifth Amendment Taking Claim; Rails-to-Trails; Texas Law; Deed Interpretation; Fee Simple Versus Easement; Defeasible Fee; Unavailability or Lack of Conveyance Instrument; Intervening * Parcels; Intervening Road J. Robert Sears, St. Louis, MO, f  more

GALVESTON, Texas, April 10 -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following news release: The Galveston District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a second multi-million dollar contract for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project on April 8. Callan Marine, LTD, of Galveston, Texas, will receive $97.9 million, including the base contract and seven options, to dredge Lower Bay Reach as part of Corps efforts to deepen and widen the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Five more opt  more

WASHINGTON, April 11 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has suspended the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) license of Bucks Fresh Produce LLC, McAllen, Texas, for failing to make its records available for review. The firm violated the PACA by refusing to allow inspection of its records as part of an ongoing investigation under the PACA. As a result of this action, the   more

WASHINGTON, April 11 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that C-Max Produce LLC satisfied a $6,518 reparation order issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) involving an unpaid produce transaction. The McAllen, Texas, company can continue operating in the produce industry upon applying for and being issued a PACA license. Jose A. Malpica was listed as  more

VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma, April 11 -- The U.S. Air Force Vance Air Force Base (71st Flying Training Wing) issued the following news: In challenging times such as these, taking a look back at the outstanding Air Force leaders who began their flying careers at Vance Air Force Base can help provide not only a sense of stability, but also hope. One such leader is Lt. Gen. Charles J. Cunningham Jr. Born in 1932, Cunningham began his Air Force career in the aviation cadet program in June 1954,  more