The forecast track would take it toward a coastal region of small fishing towns and beach resorts between Tuxpan and Veracruz, likely Friday night or early Saturday, then over a mountain range toward the heart of the country and the greater Mexico City region. It was centered about 265 miles (425 kilometers) east of Tuxpan and was heading west at 16 mph (26 kph). National Hurricane Center said Grace’s winds were back up to 70 mph (110 kph) early Friday and were expected to soon regain hurricane force. The storm lost punch as it zipped across the Yucatan Peninsula, but it emerged late Thursday over the relatively warm Gulf of Mexico and was gaining energy. (AP) Hurricane Grace-temporarily knocked back to tropical storm force-headed Friday for a second landfall in Mexico, this time taking aim at the mainland’s Gulf coast after crashing through the country’s main tourist strip. Grace heads for a second hurricane hit on Mexican coast It’s not just big cities like Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio that are seeing an influx of people-bedroom communities are growing by leaps and bounds as well-places like New Braunfels, located in the Texas Hill Country, Conroe, 40 miles north of Houston, and McKinney, just 30 minutes up U.S. And the number of mega-wealthy individuals who’ve moved to Texas are too numerous to mention. Now, the corporation is moving its headquarters from San Jose to Houston. Hewlett Packard’s cofounders were two of the original grandfathers of Silicon Valley, who started their company in a Palo Alto garage in 1939. Recently, the global real estate services firm CBRE and multinational financial services behemoth Charles Schwab moved their headquarters from California to the Dallas area. Both Google and Facebook have satellite offices in Austin, and the file hosting services company Dropbox will be leaving San Francisco for Austin. Tech giant Oracle moved its headquarters to Austin in late 2020 Tesla is building its new Gigafactory there, and Apple will have its second-largest campus there as well. There are 237 corporate relocation and expansion projects in the works in Texas just since the pandemic hit. Texas has always been a business-friendly environment, which has certainly not been lost on tech and financial companies headquartered in strictly-regulated and high-priced states like California and New York. There’s also the great weather, food, schools, and medical facilities, the abundant resources and year-round recreation and outdoor activities, artistic and cultural events, fairs, festivals, music venues, and the diverse and friendly people-you know, just to name a few. (AP, CNBC, Forbes) Texas has long been a popular destination for newcomers, thanks to cheaper land and housing, more job opportunities, lower taxes, and fewer regulations. By July, only $3 billion of the first tranche of $25 billion had been distributed. And the $47 billion in federal rental assistance that was supposed to make landlords whole has been slow to materialize. Many believe some tenants could have paid rent, if not for the moratorium. Landlords, big and small, are most angry about the moratoriums, which they consider illegal. A majority of single-family rental home owners have been impacted, according to a survey from the National Rental Home Council, and 50% say they have tenants who have missed rent during the pandemic. Most evictions for unpaid rent have been halted since the early days of the pandemic and there are now more than 15 million people living in households that owe as much as $20 billion in back rent, according to the Aspen Institute. The latest moratorium “was the final gut punch,” said the 39-year-old, adding that he now plans to sell the apartments. David, the father of a 2 1/2-year-old who is expecting another child, fears the $2,000 he’s owed in back rent will quickly climb to thousands more. Then, just when he thought the worst was over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a new moratorium, lasting until Oct. But then the pandemic hit and federal and state authorities imposed moratoriums on evictions.
(AP) When Ryan David bought three rental properties back in 2017, he expected the $1,000-a-month he was pocketing after expenses would be regular sources of income well into his retirement years. Landlords look for an exit amid federal eviction moratorium