From the Editors Desk For many years I have been toying with the idea of writing a book titled “Politicians Make Strange Dinner Guests.” I guess I’ll never get around to it. But if enough readers tell me they find this interesting, I might do a series, remembering some of the Texas politicians of the past.

Capital Highlights Texas once again has topped the list for new and expanded corporate facilities added in a year, according to Site Selection Magazine. With 1,028 new projects in 2022, the state had more than the next two states combined – Illinois and Ohio.

Myfivecents On March 2, we celebrate Texas Independence Day! On that day in 1836, a delegate from each of the 59 existing settlements in Texas signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. This document officially declared Texas’ independence from Mexico and created the Republic of Texas.

In last week’s column I named several people in Silsbee who are good people, but pointed out that none of them are perfect. I forgot to name myself.

Gov. Greg Abbott has created a statewide task force after several “street takeovers” recently took place in Austin in which motorists obstructed intersections, shot off fireworks and drove recklessly.

by Dan Eakin I have never in my life been so torn between two places and two peoples. Last month, something happened that I had been dreaming of for a long time.

Gov. Greg Abbot has issued a disaster declaration for Texas counties affected by the early February ice storm and is seeking a federal declaration as well for areas in Southeast Texas affected by rare January tornadoes. The ice storm caused considerable damage to property and power outages in the affected areas. The declaration for ice-storm damaged counties includes Denton, Hays, Henderson, Milam, Smith, Travis and Williamson counties.

Residents in Central and Northeast Texas are still cleaning up after a winter storm last week snapped power lines and tree limbs, causing widespread power outages, canceled flights and damage to homes and vehicles.

by Dan Eakin Ordinarily, I hope I can say with all honestly, I don’t like talking about myself. But, as the new editor of The Bee, I feel like I need to introduce myself to the fine people of Silsbee, Hardin County and surrounding area.

A group of House Democrats is proposing a $15,000 raise for the state’s teachers and a 25% raise for other state employees by using some of the state’s record budget surplus. State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, announced the bill last week and was joined by Democratic legislators and teachers, the Austin American- Statesman reported.