Taxpayers have paid more than $1.5 billion to private companies operating shelters accused of serious lapses in care, including neglect and abuse.
Edgar Walters
Edgar Walters worked at the Tribune from 2013 to 2020, most recently covering health and human services. Before that, he had a political reporting fellowship with the Berliner Zeitung, a daily newspaper in Berlin. He is a graduate of the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked as an editor for The Daily Texan. When not in the newsroom or at the Capitol, he could be found on the volleyball court, standing 6 feet, 7 inches tall.
Posted in
State Government
Following Santa Fe school shooting, Dan Patrick says Texas should cut incentive funding for “violent” films and video games
The lieutenant governor said he would withdraw his support for a Texas film and video game incentives program if it funded depictions of violence, blaming school shootings on a “culture where we’ve devalued life.”
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
After DWI arrest, René Oliveira is one of two Texas House incumbents voted out
The veteran state representative and freshman state Rep. Scott Cosper were the only two incumbents in runoffs Tuesday night; both lost.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
Identity politics, changing demographics take center stage in Sheryl Cole and Chito Vela’s race in Austin
The Democratic runoff to replace outgoing state Rep. Dawnna Dukes is a battle over an East Austin district that’s been held by an African-American for 43 years but is now largely Hispanic.
Posted in
Blocked Out
“It’s our form of apartheid”: How Galveston stalled public housing reconstruction in the 10 years after Ike
Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston in 2008 and touched off a fierce battle over whether to rebuild the city’s destroyed public housing. A decade later, less than half of it has been replaced. The prolonged saga offers a cautionary tale for Texas as it launches the long-term recovery process after Hurricane Harvey.
Posted in
Health care
Three fired at Texas health commission after another contracting error
Problems arose with the scoring tool used to decide which company should win a contract to administer the Children’s Health Insurance Program in rural parts of the state.
Posted in
Economy
Texas government risks credit rating downgrade, Comptroller Glenn Hegar says
Without an infusion of new money to cover mounting liabilities, Hegar warned, credit agencies are likely to downgrade Texas’ credit rating, which would make it more expensive for the state to borrow money — and perhaps damage the state’s business climate.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
In Texas House primaries, two of the three incumbents challenged by Gov. Greg Abbott survive
Of the three Republican incumbents targeted by Gov. Greg Abbott in this year’s primaries, two won victories Tuesday night. Several other open-seat races are headed to runoffs May 22.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
Texas Rep. Dawnna Dukes and three other Democrats lose their state House seats
State Reps. Dawnna Dukes, Tomas Uresti, Roberto Alonzo and Diana Arévalo all lost their seats Tuesday night.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
In final campaign stretch, many in Travis County ask: Where is Texas Rep. Dawnna Dukes?
After the embattled Austin Democrat overcame criminal charges late last year, many observers thought she was poised for a comeback. Then the Dawnna Dukes campaign virtually disappeared.
