CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS A 26-page report from the Texas Comptroller concludes that the state needs 306,000 additional homes, a shortage that has sent housing costs soaring, The Texas Tribune reported. Homebuilding hasn’t kept up with the booming economy as millions of new residents have moved here over the past decade, leaving more than half of the state’s homeowners and renters struggling to find and keep affordable housing.

Volume 1 of local history states that Freewill Baptist Church of North Zulch was organized in August of 1907 on George McGill’s front porch. The 7 original members included George and Emma McGill, Tom and Sarah Keefer, Plummer and Lizzie Taylor, and Brother Tom Search.

The dog-day heat wave has sent power demands to new records, the Austin American- Statesman reported. With much of the state enduring an excessive heat warning, power demand peaked at 85,559 megawatts last week, breaking a record set last August.

As Texans endure the dog days of summer, experts say deaths related to heat in Texas and nationwide are likely undercounted, the Texas Standard reported. With climate change causing warmer days and nights, last year was the hottest on record in Texas.

The current Museum exhibit on local churches is shaping up well. Today’s Musings somewhat fits.

Texas public schools received more than $19 billion in pandemic relief funds over the last four years, but that pipeline of cash will largely end on Sept. 30, The Texas Tribune reported.

Madison County Museum is coordinating an exhibit on local churches. Musings has shared histories of several so far, with more below and still more to come.

Madison County Historical Commission’s website is worth a look, for visitors as well as folks who enjoy local history. Located at www.madisonchc. com, it is now operational. It offers easy access to Madison County maps dating from 1858 through 1972 as well as to information about historical markers, local cemeteries, slave narratives, and more, plus current facts about local eateries, hotels, attractions, shopping, and yearly events! We plan to add much more.

A federal investigation into five state facilities concluded children in custody face excessive force, sexual abuse and a lack of vital services, The Dallas Morning News reported. At a news conference last week, Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s civil rights division, said children held in those facilities are not receiving the treatment and rehabilitation they are supposed to get.