Current Articles for November 14, 2024

The Legislative Reference Library produces a weekly list of current journal articles for members of the legislative community. Each week, librarians select and abstract articles of interest to the legislature from the latest issues of over 300 journals, newsletters, state documents, and trade publications. Electronic copies of the Current Articles list are distributed to legislative offices each Thursday.

The Legislative Reference Library is located on the second floor of the State Capitol building in Room 2N.3. For more information, please call the Library at 512-463-1252.

• Long shot. By Robert Langreth and Lizette Chapman. Bloomberg Businessweek, November 2024, pp. 80-85.
  Highlights the work of researchers at the University of Houston and Ovax, Inc. to develop a vaccine to combat the effects of fentanyl.
  See: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-10-16/fentanyl-vaccine-could-help-solve-opioid-drug-dea ...
  
• TxDOT land buy for I-45 project totals nearly $1B. By Kyle R. Cotton. Houston Business Journal, October 25-31, 2024, p. 4.
  Discusses the fate of businesses along the route of the $13 billion North Houston Highway Improvement Project. Notes that many of these businesses will face buyout or eminent domain for the overhaul, and that the Texas Department of Transportation has spent nearly $900 million on right-of-way acquisitions.
  See: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2024/10/21/txdot-nhhip-highway-project-buyout-eminent-domai ...
  
• When the ice melts. By Elizabeth Kolbert. New Yorker, October 14, 2024, pp. 26-32, 33-37.
  Reports from the Greenland ice sheet on how climate change is affecting it, and by extension, may affect the rest of the world. Describes the activities of the National Science Foundation at Summit, the ice sheet's research station, and their predictions for the future of climate science.
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=180098423&site=ehost-live
  See: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/10/14/when-the-arctic-melts
  
• FCC's newest Open Internet Order, part two: What happens next. By Stephen Goodman. Public Utilities Fortnightly, October 2024, pp. 84-86, 88.
  Discusses the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) recent Open Internet Order, focusing on issues the FCC indicated "it may address in subsequent or ongoing separate rulemaking proceedings."
  Related information at: https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-restores-net-neutrality-0
  See: https://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2024/10/fccs-newest-open-internet-order-part-2
  
• The regulator's dilemma, part three: Powering VPPs with regulatory innovation. By Neil Veilleux, et al. Public Utilities Fortnightly, October 2024, pp. 74-78, 80, 82.
  Considers the following market and regulatory barriers currently preventing faster deployment of virtual power plants (VPPs): regulatory planning, financial incentives for utilities, mechanisms to stack benefits for VPPs, and interoperability standards.
  See: https://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2024/10/regulators-dilemma-part-3
  
• How did border politics get so toxic? By Fiona Harrigan. Reason, November 2024, pp. 30-35 .
  Considers the history of border policies. Attributes the current state of politics about the U.S.-Mexico border to outdated and inadequate policies, changing migration patterns, and increasing executive authority.
  See: https://reason.com/2024/10/12/how-did-border-politics-get-so-toxic/
  See: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=179594956&site=ehost-live
  
• A field's dilemmas: Misinformation research has exploded. But scientists are still grappling with fundamental challenges. By Kai Kupferschmidt. Science, November 1, 2024, pp. 478-482.
  Considers the increase of research on how and why misinformation spreads. Outlines the five biggest challenges faced by misinformation researchers.
  See: https://www.science.org/content/article/five-biggest-challenges-facing-misinformation-researchers
  
• The case for proactive bar sanctions to combat the next Big Lie. By Sam Libby. Texas Law Review, May 2024, pp. 1331-1363.
  Notes that ethics demands that lawyers not promote false statements of fact or law while representing their clients and that lawyers who do so are subject to disciplinary action. Posits that the 2020 presidential election tested this system when attorneys for President-elect Donald Trump claimed to the public and in court that the election results were fraudulent. Argues for a more proactive approach to lawyer regulation, in which existing ethical rules allow bar authorities to act more swiftly to begin investigation as soon as lawyers knowingly misrepresent facts to the public or the court.
  See: https://texaslawreview.org/the-case-for-proactive-bar-sanctions-to-combat-the-next-big-lie/
  
• The verdict is in: Legal industry key to Texas office markets. By Daniel Oney. Tierra Grande, Fall 2024, pp. 6-10.
  Examines the economic impact of the Texas legal services sector and law firms, including employment statistics, office space, and leasing trends. Includes a chart of evolving law firm workplace and workspace models.
  See: https://issuu.com/recenter/docs/tg_31-4
  See: https://trerc.tamu.edu/article/the-verdict-is-in-legal-industry-key-to-texas-office-markets/