Gov. Greg Abbott is well aware that some lawmakers, particularly in his own party, are interested in reining in his authority. However, it remains to be seen how much power Abbott is willing to relinquish.
Cassandra Pollock
Cassandra Pollock was a state politics reporter for the Tribune. She joined the Tribune full-time in June 2017 after a fellowship during the 85th Texas Legislature. Pollock spent her first two years at the Trib as an engagement reporter, which meant her name likely landed in your inbox every weekday morning with “The Brief,” a newsletter on all things Texas politics and public policy. Pollock is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism. Pollock left The Texas Tribune in 2021.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas judge rules federal eviction moratorium unconstitutional. Lawyers and advocates disagree on what that means for tenants.
The judge opted against issuing an injunction that would block the federal ban on evictions, instead signaling that he expected the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to withdraw its moratorium.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott says power is almost fully restored statewide and grocery stores will soon be restocked
Abbott said power should be fully restored across the state Sunday night or Monday.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Texas officials block electricity providers from sending bills, disconnecting utilities for nonpayment
Texans are reporting receiving exorbitant electric bills despite not having power during the storm. One Texan, according to The New York Times, received a $16,752 electric bill.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
“What happened is completely unacceptable”: Gov. Greg Abbott calls for winterization of Texas energy system
Abbott also blasted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas for its handling of the recent winter storm.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Texas’ power grid is stabilizing, but more than 300,000 remain without electricity
Many people in the state still do not have power, and millions have had their water service disrupted.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t know when suffering Texans will have water or power again
Abbott said he hasn’t been told which parts of Texas should expect power to return. Nearly 12 million Texans are also living under boil-water notices — and that number is expected to increase.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Texas’ grid operator wants to bring relief by making power outages consistently shorter — but might not be able to Wednesday
ERCOT’s CEO and president told reporters Wednesday he’s optimistic that the state’s grid will start to see some of the power it has lost return as temperatures warm up.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott, other top Texas officials call for resignations and investigations at electrical grid operator
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
When will Texans get their power back? Officials don’t know.
ERCOT says while it’s working to restore power to residents — many of whom had been without it for multiple hours or longer as temperatures remained well below freezing — it was also aiming to avoid a complete shutdown of the grid, which is used by roughly 90% of the state.