Ric Brack
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ricbrack.bsky.social
Ric Brack
@ricbrack.bsky.social
Business Editor, San Antonio Express-News.
Previously: The Associated Press, Nielsen Business Media, The Des Moines Register, Lawrence Journal-World, etc
expressnews.com/business/
RIP, Flaco.
Conjunto legend Flaco Jimenez dies at 86

www.expressnews.com/entertainmen...
Conjunto legend Flaco Jimenez dies at 86
The San Antonio native took his Hohner three-row button accordion to the stages of the world.
www.expressnews.com
August 1, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Reposted by Ric Brack
GOLDMAN hikes its odds of US recession to 35% — from a prior 20%.

The move reflects “the sharp recent deterioration in household and business confidence, and statements from White House officials indicating greater willingness to tolerate near-term economic weakness in pursuit of their policies.”
March 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
Loose lips sink ships, which is why the Pentagon slaps a classification on almost everything. I was an intelligence soldier and a war correspondent, I've never seen an unclassified attack plan. Hegseth should face charges. www.houstonchronicle.com/business/col... @houstonchronicle.com #txlege
Tomlinson: I’d have gone to jail for those Signal texts
All war plans are classified before the attack, people are punished for leaking them beforehand.
www.houstonchronicle.com
March 28, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
The FBI is investigating threats against the SpaceX facility outside Brownsville after a report that several individuals had threatened to blow up a Starship rocket. bit.ly/4fLYjjs
January 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
Texas' residential solar industry is such a mess, the industry itself is pleading for state intervention. @saradinatale.bsky.social brings her 4-part series on solar sector scams and dysfunction to a ringing conclusion.
www.expressnews.com/business/art...
Texas residential solar firms look to state to clean up their industry
Unscrupulous operators have put a hurt on the industry's image. Solar companies and trade groups are asking the Legislature to step in and set standards.
www.expressnews.com
December 22, 2024 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
The Texas grid operator’s meteorologist said the state could face a sudden winter freeze this season that would put the electric grid at significant risk of emergency conditions and forced power outages. bit.ly/41jeIIF
December 4, 2024 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
Just a reminder that without San Antonio's CPS Energy, Texas can’t keep the lights on, despite the claims that the state fixed the grid."
ERCOT: CPS Energy's Braunig unit must stay online to keep Texans' lights on
The $34 million project, to be paid for by utility customers across Texas, is necessary to reduce the impact of a glitchy transmission circuit in San Antonio.
www.expressnews.com
December 4, 2024 at 9:24 PM
As a post-Uri solar boom rolled across Texas, hidden loan fees pushed the cost of residential systems through the roof. Here's the latest ln @saradinatale.bsky.social's series on the impacts of the largely unregulated industry.

www.expressnews.com/news/article...
Hidden lending fee inflated the cost of rooftop solar systems across Texas
Companies offering quick-approval online loans for rooftop solar systems didn't disclose a lending fee of 30% or more, an Express-News investigation found.
www.expressnews.com
December 8, 2024 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
After years of delay on a multi-million dollar project to repair and upgrade San Antonio’s iconic Tower of the Americas, city officials expect construction to start early next year.⁠ bit.ly/4g1Ov69
December 7, 2024 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
After 17 American white pelicans were spotted with “oiled” feathers in West Texas, state regulators are investigating where they could've been exposed to oilfield waste in the Permian Basin.
Oil and Gas Waste ‘Oiled’ the Feathers of White Pelicans in Texas’ Permian Basin - Inside Climate News
State regulators are investigating the incident after the stained birds were sighted on Lake Balmorhea. Advocates call for Texas to do more to protect birds in the oilfields.
insideclimatenews.org
December 7, 2024 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by Ric Brack
The oil business is a “constant crisis interrupted by brief periods of intense success,” as Jon Hamm’s character says in the show.⁠

But just how much of it is fact versus fiction?⁠ bit.ly/4eVeP0k
December 3, 2024 at 8:54 PM
ERCOT says Texas ‘in a pattern’ for a deep freeze that could boost likelihood of winter grid outages. This is after the ERCOT grid was 'fixed' in the wake deadly statewide blackouts in 2021.

www.expressnews.com/business/art...
ERCOT says Texas ‘in a pattern’ for deep freeze boosting possibility of outages
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to have Uri,” the grid operator’s meteorologist says, “but we’re in a pattern that supports something like a Uri.”
www.expressnews.com
December 4, 2024 at 12:35 AM
ICYMI, here's the first part of @saradinatale.bsky.social's series unveiling how Texas' solar energy boom victimized thousands of homeowners. Part 3 coming this week...
www.expressnews.com/news/article...
How Texas' solar energy boom victimized thousands of homeowners
Door-to-door sales agents said rooftop solar systems would bring big savings, energy independence and higher home values. For many, those promises proved empty.
www.expressnews.com
December 4, 2024 at 12:27 AM
Some Democrats are angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder for them to take on Trump. Maybe they should have given that possibility some thought before pushing him overboard at the 11th hour.
apnews.com/article/joe-...
Some Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning his son Hunter
Already reeling from their November defeat at the polls, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden's pardoning of his son for a federal felony conviction — after the party spent years slamm...
apnews.com
December 3, 2024 at 4:36 AM
Reposted by Ric Brack
ERCOT thinks that one megawatt will power 250 homes during peak winter demand. That is nowhere near accurate. A home using resistance heat at 14 degrees will use 10-20kw. ERCOT still doesn't understand winter demand. Read more here:
www.douglewin.com/p/ercot-stil...
ERCOT Still Doesn’t Understand Winter Demand
A preview of the ERCOT Board meeting tomorrow, including a presentation from ERCOT’s CEO which includes dangerously inaccurate and misleading information
www.douglewin.com
December 2, 2024 at 11:10 PM
In other news: Who's got a hankerin' for a big jug of McRib sauce? You go for it and report back. www.expressnews.com/food/article...
McRib fans can now buy a half-gallon jug of the iconic McDonald’s sauce
The McDonald’s McRib is back for a limited time, and fans can now purchase its classic barbecue sauce online.
www.expressnews.com
December 3, 2024 at 2:22 AM
"Even if a stockholder vote could have a ratifying effect, it could not do so here due to multiple, material misstatements in the proxy statement," the judge said in reaffirming her earlier ruling. Elon Musk's fight for his big payday continues.
www.expressnews.com/business/art...
Elon Musk's massive Tesla pay plan again rejected by Delaware judge
The judge reaffirmed her earlier ruling even after the Texas EV maker's shareholders supported reinstating it in a June vote.
www.expressnews.com
December 3, 2024 at 2:18 AM
You probably saw videos showing the last SpaceX Starship taking off from South Texas Starbase. Here's what happened after it splashed down. www.expressnews.com/business/art...
Videos show demise of SpaceX Starship, booster
SpaceX’s rocket booster exploded after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. It was still floating when the upper-level Starship landed in the Indian Ocean.
www.expressnews.com
December 3, 2024 at 2:09 AM