The latest East Texas news from The Texas Tribune.
Women in Deep East Texas drive over an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. But if closing the unit was hard, reopening it is proving nearly impossible. Full Story
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Nathaniel Moran, the former Smith County judge, has promised to be a staunch conservative who will pass legislation. That worries some of his constituents. Full Story
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Fatal crashes in rural areas accounted for 51% of Texas’ 4,489 traffic fatalities in 2021, even though only about 10% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, according to data from the state’s department of transportation. Full Story
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Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources. Full Story
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The latest county to make a disaster declaration is an eight-hour drive away from the Texas-Mexico border, but local officials there say they’re under “invasion.” Full Story
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Zavalla lost all water for several days. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has sent pallets of bottled water and a team to help. Full Story
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Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting. Full Story
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School leaders are offering more money and paid training for potential bus drivers. Some routes still go unserved. Full Story
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Access to health care is limited in rural Texas. The mobile clinic operated by Beaumont-based TAN Healthcare aims to close that gap. Full Story
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“If it’s gonna rise by that much, I don’t think we’re prepared,” one South Texas mayor said of temperature increases. Full Story
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The Board of Regents backed Gordon last year despite a vote of no confidence from faculty. Six months later, the board reversed course. It said Sunday that it was in everyone’s “best interest” to part ways and appointed an interim president. Full Story
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Paxton’s attack ads suggest that he sees Gohmert as a bigger threat than the other two Republicans in the race — Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former state Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. Full Story
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White, chairman of the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee, has served in the lower chamber since 2011. Full Story
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The outcome could prompt a lawsuit over what opponents say is an unconstitutional ban on abortion. The vote comes less than a year after Planned Parenthood opened a clinic in the West Texas city. Full Story
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Republicans believe rural Texas will play a crucial role in delivering Texas for President Donald Trump on Tuesday as polls continue to show a close race in the state. Full Story
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Native American tribe members say mistrust of the government and a history of erasure of indigenous people contribute to a lack of voter participation. Full Story
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Don Darby's crop bloomed perfectly this year. But with many churches closed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, most will never leave his greenhouses. Full Story
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The lawsuit takes aim at towns that have declared themselves "sanctuary cities for the unborn." Full Story
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Waskom declared itself a "sanctuary city for the unborn." City leaders acknowledged that the decision will likely lead to a lawsuit. Full Story
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The bill, which goes into effect Sept. 1, prevents cities and neighborhood associations from prohibiting or regulating children who sell nonalcoholic drinks on private property. Full Story
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