As Texas faces growing water challenges, the donation to the Texas Water Trust — a little-known conservation tool created nearly 30 years ago — was the first in two decades.
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.
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State Government
Governor blasts Corpus Christi leaders over looming water shortage, threatens a state takeover
Residents and businesses’ demand for water could soon exceed supply. Gov. Greg Abbott said the state could step in if solutions aren’t found.
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2026 Texas Elections
John Cornyn, Ken Paxton advance to runoff to be Republican nominee for U.S. Senate
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt came in third, missing the runoff which is May 26.
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Panhandle Wildfires
Xcel will replace high-risk power poles after attorney general sues over 2024 wildfires
A damaged Xcel pole owned sparked the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
