The ERCOT Board of Directors announced during a meeting in Austin on Tuesday that Pablo Vegas will be the council’s new CEO. Vegas currently serves as the Executive Vice President at NiSource Utilities in Columbus, Ohio. He also previously served in leadership positions with American Electric Power, including as President and Chief Operating Officer for AEP Texas, ERCOT said in a news release on Tuesday. “I’m excited to return to Texas both personally and professionally. Texas is the fastest growing electric grid in the nation with peak demand larger than any other state, and leads the nation in advancing reliable resources,” said Vegas. “Texas leaders have faced the challenges in the ongoing energy transition head-on and are committed to driving improvements in the energy economy for the benefit of generations to come. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead an exceptional organization of people and make a positive impact on millions of Texans.” As the new ERCOT CEO, Vegas will make an annual salary of $990,000 with opportunity for bonuses based on performance, according his employment agreement. Approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas came immediately following the ERCOT Board of Director’s vote to hire Vegas as CEO as is…

A Texas man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for attacking an Asian family in 2020 because he thought they were Chinese and therefore responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to federal court records Jose Gomez III, 21, of Midland, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to three counts of committing a hate crime. When pleading guilty in March, Gomez admitted that he used a knife to slash Bawi Cung and his 6 and 2-year-old sons inside Sam’s Club in Midland because he believed they were Chinese and spreading the coronavirus. Bawi Cung is from the southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. The March 2020 attack occurred as Asians faced verbal harassment and physical assaults across the United States after the virus began spreading nationwide. Gomez did not know the family when he followed them inside the store, federal authorities said in a statement. He followed them for several minutes because he perceived them to be a “threat” because they were “from the country who started spreading that disease around,” according to the statement. Gomez then purchased a serrated steak knife and slashed the three before a Sam’s Club employee intervened, stopping the attack as Gomez yelled “Get out…

The principal of the Texas elementary school where a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers says the principal was placed on administrative leave Monday, her attorney said. Robb Elementary School Principal Mandy Gutierrez was placed on paid administrative leave by Uvalde school Superintendent Hal Harrell, said attorney Ricardo Cedillo of San Antonio in a terse statement to The Associated Press. Cedillo did not provide any further information on the reason for the move or any other comment. A message to a spokeswoman for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District was not immediately returned. A legislative committee blamed Gutierrez and an assistant for knowing a lock to the classroom where the killings happened on May 24 wasn’t working and not having it repaired. Also Monday, the district school board approved a three-week postponement of the start of the district school year until Sept. 6 so district officials can replace Robb Elementary’s classrooms and other educational resources. Courtesy of Texas News – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth …