Losses from the drought are coming into focus. An economist from the AgriLife Extension Service has estimated that Texas farmers and ranchers have lost about $3.1 billion in crops and $2 billion in livestock. Losses are expected to climb as the drought intensifies and triple-digit temperatures linger across the state.

With no relief to the heat in sight, and with thousands of teachers and students across the state heading back to school, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state's grid operator, has made a short-term deal to activate four natural gas units owned by NRG Energy and Garland Power and Light. The units will be used on a temporary basis through October.

The U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia has granted a motion allowing Republican-backed redistricting maps to be further scrutinized for compliance with the Voting Rights Act. Sen. Wendy Davis and Rep. Marc Veasey, Democrats of Fort Worth, joined residents in their district in challenging the maps, which Democrats say disenfranchise minorities. As with other lawsuits filed against the maps, the courts will have to make their decisions quickly to give candidates time to file for next year’s elections.

The Texas parole board used to have discretion to designate a prisoner a “Special Condition X” offender — a sex offender — without any hearing on the issue, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected that procedure, agreeing with decisions from federal courts. The state won't be allowed to identify a prisoner or parolee as a Condition X offender, which carries with it special obligations and restrictions, unless the parolee has actually been convicted of a sexual offense.

Further complicating an already complicated death penalty case, a state district judge has set a November execution date for inmate Hank Skinner. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay in 2010 to allow a federal district court to decide whether Skinner should be allowed to request DNA testing on evidence that hasn’t been evaluated. State courts have not been willing to release the untested evidence, and it’s unclear whether they will now permit it or if there will be enough time for testing before the scheduled execution date.

As school districts look to creative solutions to their budget problems, officials are closely watching a referendum on a tax swap proposed by several districts in the Rio Grande Valley. If a district can get approval to allocate more of its tax rate rate to maintenance and operations, the state kicks in a higher rate. Though widespread approval of such referendums could drain future state budgets, only about a half-dozen districts have proposed such a solution.

In the ongoing red-light camera saga between American Traffic Solutions and the city of Houston, Houston Mayor Annise Parker thinks she has a solution. Voters in Houston approved a referendum in November to turn off the red light cameras, provided by ATS, but the contract between the city and the company prevented a simple solution. The mayor initially had the cameras turned back on to prevent a potential multimillion-dollar tax liability for the city, but now Parker thinks she can call on the City Council to approve an ordinance that outlaws the cameras. The matter is still in court, and the two sides are trying to negotiate a settlement.

A federal buyout program for homes in Galveston damaged by Hurricane Ike is drawing accusations of fraud. The $25 million program is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which granted the money to buy substantially damaged homes. Sixty-eight properties are under investigation, and Galveston has already been required to return $3 million while the inquiry proceeds.

This year’s Border Security Conference in El Paso included discussion of the Merida Initiative and how the $1.5 billion aid package can be used most beneficially to help Mexico. William Brownfield, assistant secretary of the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, announced that the money would be primarily focused on Mexico’s northern states, where cartel violence has been the most concentrated. Brownfield also acknowledged that U.S. law enforcement officials would travel to Mexico City or Central America to help in training local police forces.