State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, wrapped up a week in the national spotlight with appearances on the network affiliate Sunday talk shows.
Alana Rocha
Alana Rocha was the director of news partnerships for The Texas Tribune until June 2022. She was previously a multimedia reporter, after working in television and radio news for eight years. Alana covered politics for stations in Florida, Kansas and Texas and traveled the country reporting from the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaign trails. She was the lead reporter on several award-winning projects and launched “The Brief,” a daily audio update. A native of Tampa, Florida, Alana received bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Spanish from the University of Florida.
Posted in
Health care
Video: Protesters Credited, Cursed for Abortion Bill Defeat
As Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday called for a second special session on abortion restrictions, the drama of Tuesday night’s explosive fight in the Texas Senate continued to reverberate.
Posted in
Health care
Video: The Overnight Abortion Debate
With a packed gallery, and amid fierce debate, the Texas House took up Senate Bill 5 on Sunday — and early Monday. The bill would ban abortion after 20 weeks of gestation and impose stricter requirements on those who perform the procedure.
Posted in
Energy
Video: West Texas Town Dealing With Water Shortages
This month, the sole public water well in Barnhart went dry for nearly three days. Residents in the Permian Basin community say that the area’s thriving fracking industry is important but that a proper balance must be struck.
Posted in
Politics
Redistricting Maps Draw Amendments in House
The Texas House went off script Thursday, adopting several amendments to political redistricting maps it initially intended to adopt without changes.
Posted inState Government
Video: Perry Confuses Libya With Lebanon in Speech to Conservatives
In his prepared remarks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition 2013 conference on Saturday, Gov. Rick Perry had another “oops” moment when he mistakenly said last year’s deadly attack on the American consulate in Benghazi happened in Lebanon, not Libya.
Posted in
State Government
Perry Signs Unemployment Drug-Testing Bill
Gov. Rick Perry has signed into law Senate Bill 21, a measure that will subject Texans applying for unemployment benefits to a drug test if their responses to a screening questionnaire indicate possible drug use.
Posted in
State Government
Video: Push to Add Gun Bills to Special Session Unsuccessful
UPDATED: Some lawmakers and lobbyists had been pushing for gun-related bills to be added to the special session agenda. But Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that with time ticking away, the agenda call could not be expanded. Still, gun advocates say the importance of their legislation hasn’t withered.
Posted in
State Government
State Chooses Study Over Money to Reduce Wait Times at Texas Ports
Lawmakers and local officials from the Texas-Mexico border wanted funding to train more inspectors and speed up commerce at land ports. Instead, they got a study.
Posted in
Bidness As Usual
Video: Session of Transparency Fell Short
When it came to passing major ethics reforms that would have increased transparency for elected officials, the 83rd Legislature didn’t make much headway. Lawmakers, it seems, didn’t have the appetite for increased public disclosure.
