POINT COMFORT — On Thursday afternoon, Seadrift environmental activist Diane Wilson rummaged in the mud along the banks of Cox Creek in Point Comfort and dug up a handful of dirt sprinkled with small plastic pellets.

Local advocates asked a key federal official Friday to conduct another study of the planned $1-billion expansion of the Matagorda ship channel after a review by researchers at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi found the Army Corps of Engineers underestimated the project’s potential environmental impact.

ROCKPORT — As the sun set behind him, Capt. James Parbst stood with a handful of others at the St. Charles Bay boat launch Thursday evening, waiting for their customers to arrive. Friends for years, they passed the time inspecting each other’s boats, bemoaning the lack of some supplies on st…

If you’ve frequented popular fish cleaning stations in Calhoun County in recent weeks, there is a good chance you were approached by friendly researchers asking to sample your catch.

As a boy, Bard Letsinger spent afternoons sitting on his grandfather’s back porch in northern Louisiana, watching hummingbirds flutter about.

PORT O’CONNOR — Whitney Curry and her husband, Bryan, pulled up to the docks with a twisted 10-foot metal boat railing wedged along the side of their boat. Affixed to the railing was a charred beer keg that had been converted into a pit smoker.

PORT LAVACA — Most days after trawling the bays and channels around Port Lavaca and his hometown of Seadrift, Jose Martinez brings in about 200 to 300 pounds of shrimp, which the longtime fisherman said is barely enough to make a living.

Formosa Plastics Corp. has agreed to pay $2.85 million for violating the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

POINT COMFORT — About 10 fishermen attended the Calhoun Port Authority’s public meeting on Wednesday morning to demonstrate their opposition to the planned dredging of the Matagorda Ship Channel.

Capt. David Adrian, presiding officer at Matagorda Bay Pilots, spoke on the expansion of the Matagorda Ship Channel at the weekly Victoria partnership meeting, organized by the Victoria Economic Development Corporation.

REFUGIO — It took 1,438 days after Hurricane Harvey destroyed Refugio’s fire station to build a new one. Fire Chief Ronnie Williams was counting.

In the last opportunity for the public to comment on Max Midstream Texas’ application for an air permit, many attendees questioned the regulatory agency about the permitting process at a Tuesday hearing.

At the back of the Texas Zoo, Spirit and Carmen spend much of their day hiding from guests and zoo staff.

Victoria County Commissioners unanimously approved a partial tax abatement for Zinc Resources at Monday’s meeting, despite some residents’ concerns.

The recreational season for one of the Gulf’s most valuable and most regulated fish is coming to a close in federal waters off the Texas coast.

Anglers visiting the charming seaside town of Fulton took in the last of daylight on a recent afternoon as they cast their lines off the newly reopened Fulton Fishing Pier.

Nearly two years after a gas well blowout forced residents to evacuate their homes in rural DeWitt County, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has proposed fining the well owner $97,500 for air pollution.

PLACEDO — Last Thursday, Tanya Enriquez watched as a week’s worth of rain turned her yard into a small pond. Along with a half dozen neighbors, Enriquez lives in small valley sandwiched between the railroad tracks behind her and U.S. 87 in front. It doesn’t take much rain to fill her yard wi…

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved fines at its Wednesday meeting for environmental violations at local facilities, including an oil and gas operation in Lavaca County and two wastewater treatment plants in Victoria County.

PORT O’CONNOR — As 16 kids in kayaks clustered together in the shallows, RJ Shelly pointed toward a sandpiper wandering the shores of Boggy Bayou.

POINT COMFORT — The Calhoun Port Authority entered into a binding agreement with Max Midstream Texas on Wednesday for funding of the Matagorda Ship Channel expansion project.

EDNA — Friday marked the third time this year Terrilyn Turner and her husband woke up to 3-4 inches of water in their home.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will hold a virtual public meeting in August on an air permit Max Midstream Texas is seeking for expansion of its Seahawk terminal at the Calhoun Port Authority.

A $110,000 grant was recently awarded to researchers for an independent review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plans to widen and deepen the Matagorda Ship Channel — a project that has triggered environmental and economic concerns among many local residents.

Cuero didn’t run out of water during the freeze in February, but it came close.

SEADRIFT — A heavy rain event in May turned Jim Nephew’s property on the west side of town into a retention pond.

Victoria County Commissioners Court will hold a public hearing on Aug. 2 to address Zinc Resources’ request for a tax abatement on the company’s proposed hazardous waste management facility at the Port of Victoria.

The Victoria County Commissioners Court will receive Zinc Resources’ application for a tax abatement on their proposed Port of Victoria hazardous waste facility Monday.

PORT LAVACA — Twenty-five students from throughout the Crossroads stood on the deck of the Texas Floating Classroom Friday afternoon and scanned Matagorda Bay.

Alligators who call the Crossroads home have enjoyed the copious amounts of rain that fell across the region in the last month.

Victoria County Commissioners Court voted Monday to establish a 700-acre area at the Port of Victoria as a reinvestment zone, allowing for possible future tax abatements in the area, despite concerns raised by several residents.

PORT LAVACA — The sun beat down on the harbor next to Miller’s Seafood on a recent afternoon as Curtis Miller watched a crew fill an oyster lugger to the brim with his oyster shells.

The Calhoun Port Authority opened three bids Wednesday for the pre-dredging sampling and analysis required to widen and deepen the Matagorda Ship Channel.