Senate Bill 15’s supporters say police shouldn’t be publicly maligned for unproven allegations. Critics say the bill disincentivizes agencies from properly investigating complaints.
Hayden Betts
Hayden Betts was a 2025 Austin-based summer reporting fellow. He has reported on the criminal legal system for The Appeal and The American Prospect and recently covered health, housing, and politics in the South Bronx for the Mott Haven Herald. Hayden was a master's student in local accountability reporting at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. He previously earned a bachelor’s degree in the history of science from Harvard University. He grew up in Pasadena, California.
Posted in
Redistricting Texas 2025
Denying quorum has been a Texas political strategy since 1870
While the Democrats could technically derail the GOP’s redistricting map, such efforts have been largely symbolic and had limited success blocking past legislation, experts say.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
“Nobody came”: Hill Country flooding survivors recount anguish, neglect during emotional hearing
Residents told state lawmakers about what they’ve lost and the hardships they’re experiencing almost a month after the July 4 disaster devastated the region.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
Plans for flood warning system floundered before Hill Country floods, witnesses tell legislative flood committee
Lawmakers serving on special committees investigating deadly floods blasted a river authority for failing to build a flood warning system on the Guadalupe River.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Most Texas prisoners don’t have AC access and it’s unclear when they will get it
Despite receiving substantial state funding to air-condition prisons in the last few years, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stayed mum on when it will install cooling across the system.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
Kerr County search and rescue operations paused again on Monday due to rain
Although a new round of floods elsewhere prompted emergency rescues Sunday, no injuries or deaths were reported.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
Can sirens help save lives in the next flood? Yes, but there’s more to it.
While sirens can help in areas with shaky cell service, experts say officials also need to consider alert fatigue and provide education on what to do in an emergency.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
God and the Guadalupe long reigned over Texas Hill Country. Now grief permeates.
Religion and the river are constant Kerr County touchstones. As residents lean on their faith, they grapple with their relationship to the water.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
Did fiscal conservatism block plans for a new flood warning system in Kerr County?
In the last nine years, federal funding for a system has been denied to the county as it contends with a tax base hostile to government overspending.
Posted in
Hill Country floods
Search for flood victims slowed by mountains of debris as thousands descend on Kerr County to assist
Crews are using construction equipment to clear vehicles, trees and homes in a race to locate more than 170 people still missing since Friday’s devastating flood.