Census: Texas Has 3 Of 5 Fast-Growing Cities

Map of Texas highlighting Ector County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HOUSTON — Oil equals boom — especially in population right now. And Texas, in the midst of a significant energy rush, is seeing its towns and cities burst at the seams.

Three of the nation’s five fastest-growing cities — and seven of the top 15 — are in the Lone Star State, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, part of a trend across the West largely fueled by an oil boom. Most of the cities are West of the Mississippi.

Now these cities need to have enough roads, schools, water and infrastructure to keep up — the growing pains of a surging population. And while it is viewed as opportunity, city planners are frazzled.

Odessa, Texas, smack-dab in the middle of the oil-rich Permian Basin, is No. 11 on the Census Bureau list. People are flooding the oil fields, booming thanks to new hydraulic fracturing technologies that allow drillers access to once out-of-reach resources.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/05/22/4188694/census-texas-tops-fast-growing.html?sp=/99/116/128/#storylink=cpy

Company Promises To Reimburse Pottstown Clerk Who Got Robbed

POTTSTOWN, PA — The employee of the Citgo Gas Station who had money deducted from his paycheck after the establishment was robbed twice in one week could get his money back.

Jana Barnett, the lawyer representing Penn Oil Co., and Kathy Heck, the operations manager of the company, said Thursday that a special check was issued Wednesday for the employee. Heck said it was mailed Wednesday to the employee’s attorney, Adam Sager of Pottstown.

“No other money will be taken” from his paycheck, Heck said.

The employee was allegedly beaten during a robbery on Jan. 17. This was the second time the gas station had been robbed in a five-day period.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20140130/company-promises-to-reimburse-pottstown-clerk-who-got-robbed

Gas Prices Falling This Holiday Season

Falling gas prices have brought a little bit of holiday cheer at the gas pump where many in the region had grumbled while the price of unleaded hovered around the $4 mark.

The average price of unleaded regular has dropped to $3.75 a gallon in the Buffalo area, down from $3.89 a month ago, according to GasBuddy.com, which tracks gas price trends across the country.  Nationally, the average price was down to $3.27 a gallon as of Saturday.

The downward trend can be attributed to two things, according to Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/business/sns-mct-gas-prices-falling-this-holiday-season-20121216,0,1755611.story

U.S. Drivers Spend Record Amount On Gasoline In 2011

Image via Wikipedia

American drivers this week broke a record that will bring them no joy.

They collectively spent more than $448 billion on gasoline since the beginning of the year, according to the Oil Price Information Service, putting the previous record for gas expenditures — set in 2008 — in the rearview mirror with weeks of driving still to go.

It’s also a huge jump over last year, when U.S. drivers spent more than $100 billion less on gas.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/la-fi-oil-riches-20111210,0,6220055.story