Eagle Ford housing is being addressed by yet another creative solution. Local developer David Monnich is using shipping containers to construct three story apartments in South Texas.

The demand for housing has simply outstripped supply.  Modular homes can be deployed very quickly and we’ve seen several modular developments across the region. Mr. Monnich’s development is different in that he is constructing modular apartments using common shipping containers.

editorial - Published: October 04, 2012

Pivate water wells should be tested annually.  The Texas Well Owner Network, with support by the Frio and La Salle  County offices the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, the Texas Water Resources Institute and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, is providing a water well screening day for area residents on November 2, 2012 at the Frio County AgriLife Extension Office 400 S Pecan Street, Pearsall. Samples must be turned in by 5 p.m. on or before  November 1, 2012. Samples from private water wells will be screened for common contaminants including fecal coliform bacteria, nitrates, and high salinity. The cost is $10 per sample.

What happens to a sleepy, Texas town when technological advances in oil extraction transform it into the epicenter of an oil boom?  To find out, I sat down with freelance writer Alex Hannaford to discuss his most recent Observer article, "A 'Black Gold' Rush in Cotulla." Find out what lengths Pizza Hut will go to in order to serve a hungry army of oil workers. Hear why Cotulla's roughest natives won't head to local watering holes after dark anymore.

A Black Rush in Cotulla
by Alex Hannaford. "Observer"

Ralph Ayala pulls up to the Brush Country Museum, parks his truck, and hops out, leaving the engine running. It’s 100 degrees outside and he doesn’t want to come back to a baking vehicle.

Just inside the museum’s entrance, a black-and-white photograph of an old ranch house hangs on the wall. In front of the house stands Joseph Cotulla, a small, serious man with gray hair and goatee—the founder and namesake of this little Texas town 70 miles north of the Mexican border. In the next room is a photograph of Lyndon Baines Johnson who once taught at the local high school. “He taught my great-grandfather,” Ralph tells me. “He paddled him, too. He paddled a lot of kids.” 

Infrastructure Networks, a Houston, Texas-based provider of broadband wireless networks to Critical Infrastructure Industries, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a long-term de facto lease agreement for broadband spectrum which covers large portions of the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.

The Eagle Ford Shale play trends across Texas, with the most active regions extending from the Texas-Mexico border far into Southeast Texas. The entire play is typically considered to extend into East Texas, roughly 50 miles wide and 400 miles long, with a thickness of between 250 and 400 feet at a depth of 4,000 to 12,000 feet. By the close of the first quarter of 2012, there had been some 3,649 well permits issued in the play, with 954 oil wells and 578 gas wells on schedule. Over the past few years, hundreds of companies – including the largest players in the energy industry – have poured thousands of personnel and hundreds of millions of dollars into the region. However, reliable communications have been a challenge in the often extremely remote area. This exclusive spectrum agreement will allow Infrastructure Networks to provide dedicated wireless broadband services over licensed spectrum into these currently under-served fields.  "The impact of the Eagle Ford Shale over the last few years and going forward really can not be overstated,” says Infrastructure Networks CEO Stan Hughey.

”With so many companies invested in the huge amount of equipment and personnel on the ground in South Texas, reliable telecommunications has become a valuable commodity in its own right. We are excited to begin building a much-needed secure broadband wireless network to serve this critical segment of energy infrastructure,” Hughey continued.