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News For September, 2020

Texas will allow visitations at nursing homes, other long-term care facilities with active COVID-19 cases

By Shawn Mulcahy Sept. 17, 2020

Visitors previously were allowed only into long-term care facilities where there were no active cases of the virus among residents and no confirmed cases among staff members in the past two weeks. Full Story

Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune
State releases numbers showing low Texas public school infection rates, but the data is limited

By Aliyya Swaby and Emma Platoff Sept. 17, 2020

The state's first effort to publicly report coronavirus data from schools shows low statewide infection rates. Breakdowns by school districts should be reported next week. Full Story

Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott loosens coronavirus restrictions for restaurants and other businesses in most regions of Texas

By Patrick Svitek Updated: Sept. 17, 2020

Restaurants, retail stores and office buildings will now be able to operate at 75% capacity, Abbott said. Three regions — the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Victoria — were excluded from the loosening of restrictions, however. Full Story

Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune
Six months into the pandemic, out-of-work Texans are still struggling to navigate unemployment system

By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Kelsey Carolan Sept. 17, 2020

As 1.8 million Texans continue to claim unemployment, many complain they still can't reach the Texas Workforce Commission and are quickly losing trust in Congress to agree to a second stimulus agreement. Full Story

Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune
Watch former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates discuss presidents, power and more at The Texas Tribune Festival

By Texas Tribune Events Staff Updated: Sept. 17, 2020

Gates also talked about how the pandemic is reshaping alliances. Full Story

Credit: Daniel Kramer for The Texas Tribune
Democratic allies fighting to flip Texas House join forces for $1.1 million digital ad campaign

By Patrick Svitek Sept. 17, 2020

The campaign will benefit 11 candidates in some of the most pivotal races to take control of the lower chamber. Full Story

Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
Faceless avatars and microphone malfunctions: A Houston teacher wonders if his students are learning

By Aliyya Swaby Sept. 17, 2020

Spend a day with Westfield High School teacher Cris Hernandez, and you'll see the frustrations and uncertainties of virtual teaching. More than four weeks into the school year, he still can't tell if he's connecting with his students. Full Story

Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune
How years of underfunding public health left Texas ill prepared for the pandemic

By Edgar Walters Sept. 17, 2020

Budget cuts meant skimpier caches of protective equipment, and Texas' chronic shortage of public health workers has made the response more difficult, experts said. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
New voter registrations plummeted during the pandemic in Texas, where you can’t register online

By Alex Samuels Sept. 17, 2020

Groups on both sides of the aisle say it's harder to register voters when you can't go door to door and big public events are canceled. Registration was down 24% in the first seven months of this year, compared with the same period in 2016. Full Story

Credit: B. Kay Richter for The Texas Tribune
TribCast: Texas again changes how it reports coronavirus data, and voting issues make their way through the courts

By Matthew Watkins and Michael Rey de Leon Sept. 16, 2020

In this week's TribCast, Matthew speaks with Ross, Emma and Shannon about another change in how Texas reports its coronavirus data and the legal fights related to voting that have reached the state Supreme Court. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
Balancing higher health risks and spotty internet, reopening college in the Rio Grande Valley is a challenge

By Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Sept. 16, 2020

At UT-Rio Grande Valley, administrators spent a tense summer preparing for the fall semester while local coronavirus rates spiked, the area spiraled into further economic depression and debate raged across the nation about how to safely send college students back to school. Full Story

Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune
Share of positive COVID-19 cases as Texas reopened was higher than originally reported, new state calculations show

By Shawn Mulcahy Sept. 16, 2020

Public health experts say discrepancies in key metrics, such as the positivity rate, made it difficult for officials to make informed policy decisions. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
Texas court tosses death sentence in police killing due to intellectual disability

By Jolie McCullough Sept. 16, 2020

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals resentenced Juan Lizcano to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is at least the sixth death row inmate whose sentence was reduced after the U.S. Supreme Court slammed Texas' methods for determining intellectual disability. Full Story

Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott used pandemic as cover to ban abortions in Texas, former Planned Parenthood head says

By Stacy Fernández Sept. 16, 2020

Cecile Richards, a Texas native, made the comment in an interview during The Texas Tribune Festival that aired Wednesday. Limits on abortion access earlier this year spurred legal battles. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune
Watch John Cornyn and MJ Hegar debate the pandemic, police reform and voting

By Alana Rocha, Todd Wiseman and Justin Dehn Sept. 16, 2020

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a three-term Republican incumbent, and Democratic challenger MJ Hegar, answered the same set of questions for our "Split Decision" virtual debate series. Full Story
Analysis: It’s hard to make good pandemic policy if the Texas data is fuzzy

By Ross Ramsey Sept. 16, 2020

The state's public health experts are changing their calculation of one of the governor's go-to measures of the spread of coronavirus. It's an improvement, but the new version has some bugs of its own. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
Texas Supreme Court rules 3 Green Party candidates should be added back to November ballot

By Patrick Svitek and Alexa Ura Updated: Sept. 15, 2020

Democrats successfully sued last month to remove from the ballot the Green Party nominees for U.S. Senate, Railroad Commission and the 21st Congressional District. Full Story

Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
Texas Supreme Court again blocks Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to all voters

By Alexa Ura Sept. 15, 2020

The Supreme Court granted the Texas attorney general’s request to temporarily halt the county’s mailing of applications while the case is appealed. A separate order blocking the effort was set to end this week. Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
ICE deported a key witness in investigation of sexual assault and harassment at El Paso detention center

By Lomi Kriel, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Sept. 15, 2020

Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department inspectors general are investigating allegations that ICE guards assaulted detainees in camera blind spots. Full Story

Credit: Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS
John Cornyn, MJ Hegar set for first debate, though Hegar wants two more

By Patrick Svitek Sept. 15, 2020

Cornyn previously said he's open to debating Hegar more than once, and his campaign said Tuesday it looks "forward to considering other opportunities." Full Story

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. and Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune