East Texas economist cites One Big Beautiful Bill as reason for decrease in SNAP enrollment

Dean Alexander Orlov, 33, of Lufkin, appeared before 159th District Judge Todd Kassaw Tuesday at the Angelina County Courthouse.

Kristy Dyess is costume shopping at East Texas Goodwill stores. She said Halloween is different for her this year in terms of spending, as she is spending time instead of cash. “Looking for something Halloween to wear to work for Halloween,” Dyess said.

The Lufkin City Council is revisiting a plan to rebuild the city’s gateway welcome signs, which have been gone since 2024. The council set aside $215,000 in the 2024 budget for the signs, but the project stalled.

The City of Longview is looking into ways to make it easier, and less expensive, for contractors to build homes in Longview. And Longview is looking at some zoning changes that are working in Dallas. There is only so much land in a city, and if that land is filled with buildings, well, that’s it for expansion. Unless, as Longview’s Development Services Director Michael Shirley points out, the rules are changed.

The trial of a Tyler man arrested as a juvenile and accused in the killing and robbery of a Bedford man found in a burning car in Rusk County has been delayed until at least 2027. D’allen Todd Austin, 18, appeared before 475th District Judge Taylor Heaton for a pretrial hearing in his capital murder case. He is also charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, assaulting a public servant and unlawful carry of a weapon. Austin is one of three East Texans charged in the death of Kameron Montre Anderson, 20, of Bedford, who was found dead in a burning car in Rusk County.