The Texas Tribune is writing about the state’s housing affordability crisis. Help us tell the story.
Joshua Fechter
Joshua Fechter is the Dallas-based urban affairs reporter for The Texas Tribune, covering policy — including housing affordability, housing and property taxes, evictions, policing and transportation — and politics in Texas' major metropolitan areas. Before joining the Tribune in August 2021, Joshua covered City Hall for the San Antonio Express-News. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
Posted in
Economy
Texas would need about $81.5 billion a year to end property taxes, officials say
Texas Republicans have been trying to reduce the state’s high property taxes for years, but some acknowledge eliminating them would be too expensive.
Posted in
Texas’ housing crisis
Texas must build hundreds of thousands of homes to lower housing costs, says state comptroller
Texas needs hundreds of thousands more homes than it has, per one estimate. That shortage has driven up home prices and rents.
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Politics
Texas Rangers find no evidence of efforts to sway 2022 election results in Harris County
One county employee was charged in the probe, however, after investigators said he failed to make sure polling locations had enough ballots.
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Economy
Nine out of 10 Texans say housing costs too much, poll finds
Some Texas lawmakers have signaled an appetite to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis when they convene next year.
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Hurricane Beryl
Insurance rates could climb for some Texas coastal homeowners, businesses
Homeowners typically pay $2,300 a year for a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policy. The rate increase would bump premiums by 10%.
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Economy
Texas is once more flirting with expanding passenger rail
The state’s booming population, congestion problems and billions of federal dollars on the table have officials eyeing ways to boost passenger rail.
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Economy
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ban on homeless encampments. Here’s what it means for Texas.
The ruling comes amid a nationwide surge in homelessness as high rents put pressure on low-income households and pandemic-era protections expire.
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Politics
Kinky Friedman, provocative satirist and one-time gubernatorial candidate, dies at 79
Friedman launched a boisterous campaign for governor in 2006, decades after forming the band Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys.
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Politics
Lina Hidalgo receives ethics fine after endorsing a primary candidate at a Harris County press conference
The $500 fine from the Texas Ethics Commission comes after the agency found the Harris County judge broke state campaign laws barring use of government resources for political purposes.
