Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says local governments can't stop or delay evictions
The nonbinding opinion comes as housing experts and advocates fear that the COVID-19 recession will prompt a surge in evictions across the state. Full Story
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Juan Pablo Garnham reports on urban affairs for The Texas Tribune, focusing on the main challenges of the state’s largest metro areas — Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso and Dallas-Fort Worth, where he is based. He previously worked as senior producer for the podcast In The Thick, editor of CityLab Latino and city hall reporter for El Diario in New York. He has also taught at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. He is from Santiago, Chile, and the Texas flag constantly reminds him of his home country.
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![An apartment complex in Tomball.]()
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Houston announces $15 million to assist tenants, but passes on mandatory eviction grace period for people behind on rent
The city's first program, launched in May, received overwhelming demand and ran out of funds in 90 minutes. Full Story
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![Latino workers gather for a car protest to demand economic, rental and health relief outside of Houston City Hall on Tues....]()
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Hanna brings flooding, power outages to southern Texas Gulf Coast
A section of the Texas coast already reeling from thousands of coronavirus cases will continue to feel the effects of the storm, which was the first hurricane of the season. Full Story
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![Tides rise at Bob Hall Pier in Corpus Christi as Hurricane Hanna approaches land on Saturday.]()
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Undocumented immigrants behind on their rent are self-evicting across Texas
Without money to pay rent, facing pressures from landlords and afraid of courts, people without legal immigration status have limited options. Full Story
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![MarÌa, an undocumented immigrant, had to leave her apartment in Houston in mid-March.]()
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Facing budget shortfalls, nearly 100 Texas mayors plead with Congress for coronavirus relief funding
City leaders are asking for more spending flexibility to address the financial shortfalls caused by the pandemic. Full Story
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![State Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, holds a press conference at the Capitol to announce his anti-corruption bill on Mar. 4,...]()
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As Fort Worth voters preserve more than $85 million for police, activists vow to lobby City Hall for spending changes
Tuesday's election comes after nationwide calls to defund police departments have gained traction in Texas as Americans demand reforms in how law enforcement officers do their jobs. Full Story
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![Fort Worth Police vehicle.]()
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Ted Cruz said his Nike boycott was exerting free speech, but says people boycotting Goya Foods are silencing speech
The Texas Republican is criticizing calls for a boycott because the Hispanic food company's CEO praised President Donald Trump. Full Story
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![Chris Hayes interviews U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz at The Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.]()
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Texas reverses course, says it won't collect overpaid unemployment benefits in instances when it was the state's mistake
A Texas Workforce Commission spokesperson said he was previously unaware that a judicial order bars the state from recovering funds when the overpayment is the agency's fault. Full Story
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![Mour Cafe in Austin closed its dining operations following an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott which limits social gath...]()
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Number of Texans filing unemployment claims increased for second week in a row as 117,244 sought benefits
The claims — an increase of 21.4% compared with the week before — come as coronavirus infections in the state continue surging and after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered bars to close and limited restaurant operations. Full Story
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![Workers begin boarding up bars on W. 6th St. in Austin after Gov. Greg Abbott closed bars in Texas for the second time in ...]()
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Texas wants $32 million in unemployment benefits back after finding 46,000 people were overpaid
The Texas Workforce Commission said that incorrect filings and fraud can lead to overpayments, but the money must be paid back even if it was the state's mistake. Full Story
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![Workers boarded up bars on Sixth Street in Austin after Gov. Greg Abbott closed bars in Texas for the second time in three...]()
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Officials in Texas' big cities say their public testing sites are being strained. Austin has begun to limit who can be tested.
Austin won't give tests to people who are asymptomatic. Dallas and Houston officials said their facilities reached capacity in the middle of the day. Full Story
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![A healthcare worker tests a patient for COVID-19 at the Community Care testing site at the Hancock Center in Austin. June ...]()
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Texas city and county leaders ask Gov. Greg Abbott for authority to implement local stay-at-home orders
At the beginning of the pandemic, local officials across the state implemented stay-at-home orders for their regions. But now, with cases across Texas' metros surging, those leaders say Abbott has stripped them of the authority to reinstate the same measures. Full Story
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![Kroger pharmacists explain and collect self-swab COVID-19 tests at a testing site in the Fifth Ward in Houston on June 27,...]()
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As evictions resume in Texas, unemployed renters have few options
While cities and legal aid agencies are setting up resources for tenants, many judges explained that they won't be able to consider loss of employment in eviction cases. Full Story
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![An East Austin neighborhood.]()
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For these Texas organizers and officials, defunding the police means remedying effects of racism
Some Texas cities are eyeing cuts to police department budgets to fund social services like housing assistance, mental health services and job training. Full Story
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![A protester holds a sign towards a line of Dallas police at a march and rally for George Floyd in Dallas on May 29, 2020.]()
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Grappling with budget shortfalls, Texas cities prepare for hard choices
Federal aid through the CARES act is helping, but it likely won't be enough to fill the holes in cities' budgets caused by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
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![Aerial View of Downtown Dallas.]()
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Houston officials increase police budget as Dallas and Austin officials consider decreases in wake of police brutality protests
Some of Texas' biggest cities appear headed in different directions with police budgets during nationwide calls to cut law enforcement funding. Full Story
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![Dallas police officers during a march against the death of George Floyd on May 29, 2020.]()
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With three generations under one roof, pandemic risks multiply
The Golinelli family is among many Texas households navigating working in a pandemic while trying to keep high-risk older relatives safe from the coronavirus. Full Story
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![Alex Golinelli Sr. works as an electrician during the day. His wife, Claudia Golinelli, brings him a change of clothes whe...]()
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Living in hotels, students lose ground while dealing with cramped rooms and eviction fears
Long-stay hotels are often the last resort for struggling families, even more so during the coronavirus pandemic. Many children are receiving little education with schools closed, and school districts have simply lost track of thousands of students. Full Story
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![From left: Paetun Beavers, 11, her mother Tie Hernandez, Andre Cameron and their son Kingstun Beavers, 9, outside their ro...]()
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Renters prepare for tough choices as eviction proceedings resume in Texas
Unemployment has disproportionately affected renters since the crisis began. Advocates fear displacement and an increase in homelessness. Full Story
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![An old apartment complex within view of the ship channel refineries on the north side of Pasadena.]()
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More than 700 new cases of coronavirus reported after testing at meatpacking plants in Amarillo region
Gov. Greg Abbott says the cases were detected by targeted testing at meatpacking plants. Full Story
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![Dumas, Texas on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune