NEWS
Fall back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday
At 2 a.m. on Nov. 5 most of the country will set their clocks back one hour saying good-bye to Daylight Saving Time, but many also thought the time change was going to become permanent after a bill was introduced in 2022.
The Sunshine Protection Act would permanently extend daylight saving time from just eight months to the full year. The bill was first introduced in January 2021 by Rep. Vern Buchanan and then re-introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio and seven other bipartisan members of Congress in March 2022. To become law it would have to be passed by the House and signed into law by President Joe Biden. The bill was “held at the desk,” which means they never voted on it according to congress.gov.
On March 1, 2023 Rubio’s bill was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. An identical bill by Buchanan was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce the same day, then went to subcommittee on March 10.
The delay in passage stems from debate on which time should be permanent. The bill makes daylight saving time permanent eliminating the need to change clocks twice a year. Those arguing again DST insist standard time is the safer option.
The Standard Time Act of 1918 was the first law to implement standard and daylight saving times at the federal level. It was seen as a way to add another hour of daylight to the evenings. There also are arguments it helps farmers and saves energy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the observance of daylight saving time as well as U.S. time zones. Arizona and Hawaii do not recognize daylight saving time.
More than 70 countries in the world observe daylight saving time, however the start and end dates may differ. Less than 40% of countries across the globe still observe daylight saving time changes, despite more than 140 countries implementing them previously according to statista.com.
With the time period still in place remember to change your clocks before going to bed Saturday night so you won’t be late on Sunday.
The second community meeting on needs for an emergency room or hospital in Bowie is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Bowie Community Center.
This is the second meeting to discuss these needs following the closure of the Faith Community Health Center emergency room on Oct. 6, just shy of a year of operation. More than 200 people attended that first meeting, where discussion centered on the creation of a taxing district to support any sort of medical facility.
Citizens in the Bowie area are encouraged to attend and take part in these discussions.
The Bowie City Council has moved its Nov. 18 meeting to 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 where three new council members will take the oath of office.
Councilors include Laura Sproles, precinct two, Brandon Walker, precinct one and Laramie Truax, precinct two. After the votes are canvassed and the oaths given, a mayor pro tem will be selected.
The new members will jump right into training as City Attorney Courtney Goodman-Morris provides an orientation and discussion of duties for council members.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will make his monthly report on the following topics: Nelson Street, which opened last Thursday, update on the sewer line replacement project, substation transformer placement and information on medical companies.
A closed executive session on the Laura McCarn vs. City of Bowie lawsuit is scheduled. The suit arose in November 2022 when the city broached selling some 25 acres it owns on Lake Amon G. Carter, originally part of the land purchased for the 500-acre Bowie Reservoir completed in 1985.
McCarn challenges the ownership of the property stating it should revert to the original owners since it was not used for the lake.
This 24.35 acre tract is located at the end of Indian Trail Road surrounded by the lake and the Silver Lakes Ranch subdivision.
One of Bowie’s major thoroughfares, Nelson Street, was reopened Thursday after one busy block has been closed since August 2021 when a section of the street failed.
Construction finally came to an end on Thursday when the street, including the Nelson and Mill intersection were reopened. Mayor Gaylynn Burris, City Manager Bert Cunningham, Councilors TJay McEwen and Stephanie Post, Engineer Mike Tibbetts and Public Works Director Stony Lowrance met at the site Thursday morning and removed the barricades. It only took a few minutes for vehicles to start arriving and drivers were excited to go through on the new roadway.
This section of Bowie has endured flooding and drainage problems for many years and in the summer of 2023 the city council finally bit the bullet and sought bids for the repair work expected to top $3 million. In August 2021 a one block section of Nelson was closed when a large sinkhole appeared on the north side of the street. Traffic had to be diverted including all the school traffic flowing from the nearby junior high and intermediate.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
Top photo – (Left) Mike Tibbetts, engineer with Hayter Engineering, talks with Bowie City Manager Bert Cunningham as they look over the massive drainage project on Nelson Street.
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