Latest Contributions

• Why 18-year-olds can buy AR-15s in Texas but not handguns

  by Kiah Collier and Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica May 26, 2022

  This week’s massacre in Uvalde highlights disparities in how federal laws regulate rifles and handguns. The shooter bought two rifles days after his 18th birthday. Full Story 

• EPA rejects Texas’ more lenient standard for highly toxic air pollutant

  by Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Maya Miller, ProPublica Jan. 28, 2022

  In the wake of an investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune into the widely used chemical ethylene oxide, the EPA has moved to reject a less protective standard crafted by Texas regulators and backed by the chemical industry. Full Story 

• A Laredo plant that sterilizes medical equipment spews cancer-causing pollution on schoolchildren

  by Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Maya Miller, ProPublica Dec. 27, 2021

  Nobody told Yaneli Ortiz’s family that the factory they lived near emitted ethylene oxide. Not when the EPA found it causes cancer. Not when she was diagnosed with leukemia. And not when Texas moved to allow polluters to emit more of the chemical. Full Story 

• A Texas lender sued thousands of low-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now the feds are investigating.

  by Kiah Collier and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica March 8, 2021

  Oportun Inc., a small-dollar loan company, disclosed to investors that it is the subject of a probe by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau following reporting by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. Full Story 

• “Power companies get exactly what they want”: How Texas repeatedly failed to protect its power grid against extreme weather

  by Jeremy Schwartz, Kiah Collier and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Feb. 22, 2021

  Texas regulators and lawmakers knew about the grid’s vulnerabilities for years, but time and again they furthered the interests of large electricity providers. Full Story 

• A lender sued thousands of lower-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now it wants to be a national bank.

  by Kiah Collier and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Jan. 8, 2021

  Oportun, which lends in only a dozen states, applied for a bank charter late last year. Consumer and Latino civil rights groups are pushing back, citing the findings of a joint investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Full Story 

• This loan company was founded to help Latino immigrants. It has sued thousands of low-income Latinos during the pandemic.

  by Kiah Collier, Ren Larson and Perla Trevizo, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Aug. 31, 2020

  A monthslong investigation revealed that Oportun Inc. routinely uses lawsuits to intimidate a vulnerable population into keeping up with high-interest loan payments — even amid COVID-19. Full Story 

• Oportun Inc. has filed nearly 10,000 lawsuits this year against lower-income Texans. This is how we found out.

  by Ren Larson and Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Aug. 31, 2020

  Justice of the peace courts, where a majority of debt claims are filed in Texas, aren’t required to report case-level information. Here’s how ProPublica and Texas Tribune reporters got around it to reveal one company’s aggressive tactics. Full Story 

• This Silicon Valley-based lender sued thousands of Texans during the pandemic. It stopped when we started asking questions.

  by Kiah Collier and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica July 28, 2020

  The company didn’t say exactly how many pending lawsuits it would drop in Texas and elsewhere, but it confirmed that “several thousand cases” would be impacted. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott is limiting enforcement of COVID-19 orders, but many cities already took a lax approach

  by Sally Beauvais, Lexi Churchill, Kiah Collier, Vianna Davila and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica May 14, 2020

  Texas cities and counties have dramatically different interpretations of the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders. Complaint data from a dozen cities shows that disparate approaches to enforcement, particularly among businesses, have been incredibly common. Full Story