Storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel hold one of the world’s largest concentrations of oil, gases and chemicals. Some scientists fear a disaster waiting to happen when Houston’s perfect storm comes. Read more about this in our “Hell and High Water” project, done in collaboration with ProPublica.
Kiah Collier
Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.
Posted inEnergy, Environment, Politics, State Government
Hell and High Water: Houston’s Perfect Storm
Houston is the nation’s fourth-largest city and home to the largest refining and petrochemical complex in the United States. But many worry it’s a sitting duck when the next big hurricane comes. This multimedia project, done in partnership with ProPublica, looks at the dangers for the region.
Posted in
Public Education
Outspoken Education Board Candidate Headed to Runoff
An East Texas Republican who once claimed President Obama used to be a gay prostitute appears headed for a May 24 primary runoff in the race to represent District 9 on the State Board of Education.
Posted in
Public Education
For Student-Athletes in Texas, Birth Certificates Will Determine Gender
Beginning Aug. 1, birth certificates will be the official determinant of a high school student-athlete’s gender in Texas — a policy transgender advocates describe as exclusionary and outdated.
Posted in
Public Education
Outspoken Candidates Could Renew Rancor on Education Board
Candidates running for the State Board of Education include a Republican who once claimed President Obama used to be a prostitute and a Democrat who described herself as a “MeXicana Empowerment Specialist.”
Posted in
Energy
U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Obama’s Clean Power Plan
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a request from Texas and more than two dozen other states to block President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
Posted in
Energy
Report: Not Enough Done Since West Explosion
The Texas Legislature’s efforts to beef up state oversight and avert deadly disasters like the 2013 West fertilizer plant explosion have been “not entirely adequate,” the federal Chemical Safety Board says in its final report.
Posted inState Government
Straus: Next Budget May Not Be as Easy as the Last Couple
Also, Greg Abbott maintains the state’s hard line against Iran and a special election is on tap for next week to fill a House vacancy.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas’ Future Depends on Success of “Brown and Black Kids”
In a wide-ranging interview with The Texas Tribune, new Education Commissioner Mike Morath said he wants to better support teachers, develop a fair school accountability system and help struggling schools.
Posted in
Public Education
Patrick: School Choice A Top Priority in 2017
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Thursday vowed to pass a bigger and better tax credit scholarship program — and possibly other school choice legislation — out of the Senate in 2017 and this time get it to the Governor’s desk.
