At Wally’s Party Factory, a 32-store chain based in the North Texas town of Ennis, balloons no longer contain 100 percent helium — the total is down to 60 percent — and an additive is pumped in to help certain types float better.

Photo by David Bowser/Texas Tribune“We’re doing a lot more to conserve the helium than we did in the past,” said Jonathan Erwin, the chain’s vice president and general counsel.

Such adjustments are one of the lighter indicators of a worldwide helium shortage. Experts say the scarcity could have significant implications for the space, high-tech and medical industries, where helium’s uses include M.R.I.’s. In a worst-case scenario, which is unlikely, the world could run out of helium in a century, said Chip Groat, a geology professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

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Amarillo's Traffic Commission recommended that the City Commission extend the traffic ordinance that governs cell phone use in school zones to the entire city. The move came at the commission's meeting Wednesday afternoon and flew in the face of testimony from the public at two previous hearings. Click here for the current city ordinance as it relates to school zones.