Texas day care gets reprieve after drilling plan is rejected

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ and MARTHA IRVINE
Associated Press

Parents who send their children to a day care center in Arlington, Texas, will be able to breathe easier after the city refused to let a major energy company drill more gas wells a few hundred feet from the center’s playground. The Arlington City Council voted 5-4 on Tuesday night to reject the request by Total Energies to drill additional gas wells, reversing a preliminary decision by the council in November to allow the wells to go forward. Tuesday’s vote marked a setback for Total and a surprise victory for community members who wanted to halt the drilling because they feared it could harm the children’s and neighboring residents’ health.