Six years after Hurricane Harvey, the city of Houston still hasn’t allocated $200 million in relief funds
Both the state and the city of Houston say they want to work together to help pay down the remaining funds. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3d52f5a781597d5076c576740f677600/Harvey%20Apartments%20MS%20TT%2001.jpg)
Pooja Salhotra
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/Pooja_Salhotra_038.jpeg)
Pooja Salhotra joined the Tribune in 2022 as its first-ever East Texas reporter based in Lufkin, where she covered a vast region that borders three states and stretches north to Texarkana and south to Beaumont. In late 2023, she relocated to Austin as a general assignment reporter to cover issues ranging from breaking news to developments in state agencies. Pooja was born and raised in the Houston area and graduated from Yale University. She also holds a master’s in fine arts from NYU’s journalism school.
Past Contributions
-
![Workers sort through piles of flooded belongings at an apartment complex near Greens Bayou in the Greenspoint area of Houston on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, days after Tropical Storm Harvey dissipated.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Black Democratic trailblazer, dies at 89
Johnson, the first Black woman elected to any seat in Dallas and the first Black Dallasite to serve in Congress, was a towering figure in Texas politics. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/65b402dba732c6ace4676be02ef1f62c/01%20Eddie%20Bernice%20Johnson%20LS%20TT.jpg)
![Rep. Ernie Bernice Johnson, D-TX 30th District, has been a Congresswoman since 1993. Photographed at her office in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2019.]()
Credit: Lexey Swall/GRAIN -
Far-right activist blasts Speaker Phelan for being "pro-Muslim" in political mailer
The card insinuates that Phelan wants to wish his constituents a happy Ramadan instead of a merry Christmas. Muslim Texans say it’s Islamophobic and some Republicans say it doesn't reflect Christian values. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/195b02880859dda410398190c8565206/Cary%20Cheshire%20TT%2002.jpg)
![Cary Cheshire outside of the offices of Pale Horse Strategies in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023. Cheshire is the executive director of Texans For Strong Borders and a longtime employee of Defend Texas Liberty-linked groups.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for the Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9aa092b721c0434610f08db56c36c907/West%20Texas%20Food%20Bank%20MR%20TT%2014.jpg)
![Yuchih Choy loads boxes of food into a pickup. West Texas Food Bank employees and volunteers load donated food into customer's cars during their weekly pick up outside of the food bank in Odessa, TX. Oct. 5, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/cfccf874eecaf409aae0b9d5834bedf4/1126%20Hate%20Crimes%20Bertha%2002.jpg)
![Bertha Germany at her home in Texarkana, Texas on Friday November 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Lawrence Jenkins for The Texas Tribune -
State abandons effort to take back Fairfield Lake State Park land
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stop pursuing eminent domain to take over the former park property south of Dallas. A private developer plans to turn it into a luxury subdivision. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/963c8fbeaa664953f33a93c6257416cb/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2060.jpg)
![A sign reads that the state park is closed at the entrance of Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Seeking lower electricity rates, residents in two East Texas towns hope the state will intervene
Livingston and Jasper residents hope a lawsuit will force their municipality-operated utility company to offer lower rates and create more transparency in setting rates. They’re among the 5 million Texans living outside the state’s deregulated market and cannot choose their energy provider. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dbe958495ccf2cad44fe029109c737b6/Whinstone%20Bitcoin%20Mine%20MGO%20TT%2016.jpg)
![Power lines outside of Whinstone's Rockdale facility on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Texans fill downtown Austin streets to demand ceasefire in Gaza
Thousands of Texans rallied in front of the state Capitol Sunday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 10,000 people. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e33b6fb9915da8104bb75290a55c3969/Palestinian%20Protest%20JS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather on the grounds of the state Capitol in Austin to protest the Israel-Gaza war on Nov. 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
How a small East Texas school district replaced its gas-guzzling buses with an all-electric fleet
The Martinsville Independent School District used a federal grant to replace four buses, which started transporting students last month. The principal believes he will save enough money on gas to hire a new teacher. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bc4ca1316b15ca4abe83235a9720b1a6/AISD%20School%20Busses%20AG%20TT%2007.jpg)
![School busses are parked at the Austin Independent School District bus center on July 10, 2020 in Sunset Valley.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools asked voters for $18 billion in new debt to fix its campuses. They largely said yes.
The voter approval rate for school maintenance and construction costs dipped in 2021 after lawmakers required school boards to call them “tax increases.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a14eff44aabfd3162d453c25c293ce9e/1108%20Election%20Day%20Odessa%20EL%20TT%2024.jpg)
![School bond supporters celebrate after one of Ector County Independent School District’s three bond propositions were passed during an election night watch party Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune