Opinion

I ENDED 2021 WITH A BANG, proving that what happens in Las Vegas—or more likely the airport there—does not necessarily stay in Las Vegas. I found out last week that I had COVID, and more importantly, it also had me.

Emergency SNAP benefits again extended The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is again extending emergency food benefits this month, with more than $307 million in emergency allocations expected to help more than 1.5 million Texas households. “As Texans ring in the new year, this additional support will help families start 2022 with food on the table for themselves and their children,” said Wayne Salter, HHSC deputy executive commissioner.

FOR THE PAST TWO DECADES or more, our first issue of the New Year has traditionally been devoted to a review of the year just past. We have found the process of preparing that news summary a useful one because it offers a different kind of perspective on the events we have covered and the reports we have written.

AT THE BEGINNING of every year for the past 73 years since this newspaper has been under the independent ownership of the Ezzell family, we have published a statement of principles which has guided us in the week-to-week conduct of The Record. We have carefully re-read this brief public statement in light of our changing times, and from the perspective of years, and find no reason to change it in any way as we prepare for the beginning of another new year. — LEB

Abbott seeks more testing sites, antibodies Texas is seeking more federally funded COVID-19 testing locations and additional federal allocations of monoclonal antibodies used to treat the virus in six counties facing increased cases because of the omicron variant: Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo, and Tarrant. “Testing sites, additional medical staff, and continued shipments of therapeutics from the federal government will help us continue to save lives and mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Gov.

A COUPLE OF WEEKS ago, on this page, we published a photo of Luz Flores’ home, not-yet completed following the installation of new windows. The work was really the culmination of a project—begun as part of the annual Go! Weekend—to help make this proud first-time homeowner’s mobile home brighter, safer, warmer and even more beautiful.

THE CANADIAN COMMUNITY Center would like to say thank you to everyone who supported us during the Panhandle Gives. We would not be able to carry out our mission “to improve the health and vitality of our community” without all the enthusiastic community support. We are so thankful to be celebrating our 40th year, and it is our honor to look forward to the next 40! Thank you, Canadian.

WITH NEW POLITICAL MAPS like these, it would have been surprising if the U.S. Department of Justice had decided not to sue the state of Texas.

A REPRINT From former Editor and Publisher Ben Ezzell’s Spur of the Moment column, first published December 3, 1987 Next Monday will be the 46th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day...December 7, 1941...the day that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared at the time would “live in infamy.” And it did, for a time. Probably the memory of Pearl Harbor lives today only in the memories of the dwindling generation of Americans who experienced it...other more memorable events have since eclipsed it in the minds of most Americans.