A damaged Xcel pole owned sparked the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history.
Alejandra Martinez
Alejandra Martinez is a Fort Worth-based environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial complex and how the state's air monitoring system has failed Latino communities. Her work on climate change includes exploring the health effects of extreme heat and how extended droughts affect water resources. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, Alejandra was an accountability reporter at KERA, where she began as a Report for America Corps Member and then covered Dallas City Hall. She also has worked as an associate producer at WLRN in South Florida. A Houston native, Alejandra studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
Posted in
Public Education
Attorney General Paxton launches investigations into three Texas school districts over students protesting ICE
Paxton said his office is examining claims that administrators and faculty helped organize the demonstrations.
Posted in
State Government
Texas county rejects a moratorium on data center development amid AI boom
The 3-2 vote from Hood County commissioners Tuesday came after they received a letter from a state senator saying they did not have the power to issue a moratorium.
Posted in
Environment
Attorney general sues Bastrop factory after residents complain about noxious odors
The state’s environmental regulator has issued multiple environmental violations and the lawsuit states the company has failed to fix the problems.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Texas land commissioner primary: Who is running and what you need to know
The General Land Office oversees investments that earn billions of dollars for public education, manages state lands, operates the Alamo and distributes benefits to Texas veterans. Here’s a look at who’s running in the 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries and where they stand.
Posted in
State Government
Federal officials close discrimination case over Texas’ distribution of Hurricane Harvey aid
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has ended a yearslong investigation into how the General Land Office handled $1 billion in disaster aid.
Posted in
State Government
Texas officials say the power grid will hold through winter storm, but local outages are likely
State and local officials say they’re better prepared than they were five years ago when Winter Storm Uri blanketed the state, killing hundreds and leaving scores without power and water.
Posted in
Environment
The EPA is easing pollution rules under Trump. Here’s how it’s affecting Texas.
As President Trump marks one year back in office, his EPA has proposed rolling back key air and climate protections, which experts say has already begun to strain Texas’s air quality and public health.
Posted in
Environment
After killing planned desalination plant, Corpus Christi tries to drill its way out of a water crisis
After an industrial building boom on Corpus Christi Bay, the city is drilling wells to meet water demand, and rural Nueces County residents say their own wells are being impacted.
Posted in
State Government
From school vouchers to flood warning systems, these are the Texas developments to watch in 2026
Several court hearings and policies affecting education, health and more will roll out in the new year.