Smith County’s top elected official said the downtown square’s holiday decorations policy seeks to avoid a “hodgepodge.”
December 2023
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Demographics
Texas’ statewide poverty rate declines, but several rural counties see increase in poor residents
An influx of highly educated people from other states helped shift the state’s economic fortune. But in many parts of Texas, residents are struggling as jobs dry up.
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Texas Legislature 2023
We ranked Texas House members along the ideological spectrum based on their 2023 votes
Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on their votes cast during the 2023 regular session and four special sessions.
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Health care
Nearly 1.7 million Texans lose Medicaid as state nears end of “unwinding”
Texas has booted the most people from Medicaid of any state in the country. A majority of those removed lost their health insurance coverage because of procedural reasons.
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Politics
Congress greenlights psychedelic treatment bill for active duty service members suffering from PTSD
The measure would allow superv ised clinical studies with active duty members. Psychedelic treatments for PTSD have found conservative supporters in the state for years.
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Politics
Ken Paxton’s impeachment cost Texas taxpayers more than $4 million
The bulk of the costs came from bills from Rusty Hardin’s law firm, according to records released this week.
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Race in East Texas
Year after year, most Texas police departments report zero hate crimes. Here’s why.
A Texas Tribune analysis of hate crime data found that 82% of Texas law enforcement agencies that report to the FBI tracked no hate crimes last year. However, one suburban North Texas police agency is creating a new model of collecting hate crime data.
Sponsor Post
The looming school finance crisis
State and local officials will need to stay focused in working together this interim to both increase baseline funding and strategically invest in evidence-based programming in the next regular session.
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Health care
Most Texas border counties lack adequate medical facilities and staff. Local leaders are trying to fix that.
More than 90% of Texas’ 32 border counties don’t have enough primary care services, sites or providers to meet local medical needs, according to federal data.
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Health care
Stigma and language barriers complicate treating Hispanics with Alzheimer’s disease
Border counties in Texas have some of the highest Alzheimer’s diagnosis rates in the nation, with rates ranging from 13% to 18% of people aged 65 and over.
