Texas made it easy for rent-to-own companies to press criminal charges against people who fell behind on their payments for household goods. A new law, passed after a Texas Tribune and NerdWallet investigation, gives broad new protections to their customers.
Jay Root
Jay Root is an award-winning journalist who reported for the Tribune from 2011 to 2020. He covered the dramatic collapse of Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign and went on to write an ebook about it called “Oops! A Diary from the 2012 Campaign Trail.” Root also broke the story that put the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, on the path toward criminal indictment, co-wrote an exposé that brought an end to privately funded prosecutions in Travis County, and authored a series of watchdog articles that prompted a wave of firings and resignations at two major state agencies.
In 2017, Root co-directed “Beyond The Wall,” a film exploring border politics in the age of Trump, which won a national Edward R. Murrow award for best news documentary. Root’s latest film, “Border Hustle,” was released in early 2019 and reveals how desperate migrants have become cash cows on both sides of the border.
Previously, for a dozen years, Root was Austin bureau chief of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he chronicled the rise of then-Gov. George W. Bush, wrote about cartel violence in Mexico and covered Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. During a three-year stint at the Associated Press, Root was twice named AP Staff Reporter of the Year for his watchdog reporting, including a story that sparked felony charges against a sitting state representative.
Posted in
Politics
Advocates say lawmakers largely exempted themselves from Texas’ public records law, prompting calls for a veto
Critics say a bill awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature would mark an expansion of lawmakers’ ability to wall off their records from public scrutiny.
Posted inState Government
Beto O’Rourke touts his immigration credentials. But these El Pasoans say he doomed their historic migrant neighborhood.
As an El Paso City Council member, O’Rourke favored a redevelopment plan that called for an arena in Duranguito. Now, remaining residents want his help to stop the wrecking ball from destroying their historic barrio.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Officers at scene of Beto O’Rourke’s 1998 DWI crash say they believe he tried to flee
Until now, O’Rourke, who denies trying to flee the wreck, was the only person present at the scene of the collision to speak out publicly about what happened that night. “I believe we have contradicting stories here,” says the officer who arrested him.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Why two former Beto O’Rourke staffers now say they’re with Bernie Sanders
Their journey reveals a major fault line for O’Rourke as he transitions from a statewide campaign in which occasional votes with the Republicans can be an asset to a new national playing field where some see those moves as political apostasy.
Posted in
Politics
Amid presidential campaign, Beto O’Rourke flips positions on a 2016 offshore drilling vote
“He wouldn’t cast that same vote today with all that he knows and all that he has heard from people,” said a spokesman for the former Texas congressman.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Beto O’Rourke signed this pledge on oil money. Did he break it?
O’Rourke was criticized for signing the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge,” only to take big bucks from individuals who work in the industry. Now critics say he talks a good game on climate change but needs to put his money where his mouth is.
Posted in
Higher Education
After new admissions scandal, former Regent Wallace Hall says University of Texas’ rules are a “joke”
Hall led a heated battle to reform the school’s admissions procedures, which led to reforms in 2015. But after a UT tennis coach was accused of taking a bribe to help a student gain admission, Hall says more needs to be done.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
UT-Austin fires tennis coach and launches internal inquiry in wake of national bribery scandal
University President Greg Fenves announced the firing in an email and said, “The integrity of UT admissions is essential to our mission as a research university and to the students and families we serve.”
Posted in
Immigration
Juan Sanchez stepping down as CEO of Southwest Key Programs
In the wake of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy that separated thousands of migrant children from their parents — in turn swelling the number of kids in Southwest Key’s shelters — Sanchez came under fire for a series of controversies.
