Following in the footsteps of Harris County and the city of Dallas, the state announced Thursday it is suing Volkswagen in connection with the German automaker’s admitted use of software that allowed its vehicles to circumvent emissions limits.
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 in
Public Education
Education Board Members Dismiss Textbook Kerfuffle
Some State Board of Education members are dismissing a backlash against a textbook that describes African slaves as immigrant “workers,” with one Republican saying the ordeal would “make for a great Jerry Seinfeld episode: something out of nothing.”
Posted in
Public Education
State Ups Passing Standards on Public School Exams
It will get harder for Texas public school students to pass standardized tests this year, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams announced Tuesday, but the state will ease into the tougher passing standards more slowly than originally planned.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas’ Controversial Social Studies Textbooks Under Fire Again
The publisher of one of Texas’ controversial social studies textbooks has agreed to change a caption that describes African slaves as immigrant “workers” after a Houston-area mom’s social media complaints went viral over the weekend.
Posted inState Government
Battleground Texas Reboots With Help From Friends
Also, the State Board of Education starts looking for alternatives to the current GED exam and state Sen. Sylvia Garcia asks for an interim study on school bus safety.
Posted in
Public Education
Experts: Expect Early 2016 School Finance Ruling
Citing past rulings and politics, experts and insiders are predicting the Texas Supreme Court will rule in the latest school finance appeal early next year, with some predicting a summertime special legislative session.
Posted in
Energy
Water Board Moves to Resolve Reservoir Conflict
Disagreeing with Dallas-Fort Worth-area water officials, the Texas Water Development Board decided on Wednesday that a years-long conflict over a yet-to-be-built reservoir in the region’s 50-year water plan is serious enough that it should be resolved.
Posted in
Energy
New Law May Not Thwart Hays Water Project
A bill that passed late in the legislative session gave some residents and officials hope that they can kill a controversial water-pumping project in western Hays County. But there’s no guarantee that Houston-based Electro Purification won’t ultimately be able to proceed with its plan.
Posted in
Public Education
State Urges Texas Supreme Court to Drop School Finance Lawsuit
“Money isn’t pixie dust” when it comes to improving public schools, lawyers for the state of Texas told the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, arguing an appeal in what has been described as the most far-reaching school finance case in state history.
Posted in
Energy
Amid Hurricane Debate, Another Storm Surge Option Surfaces
A Rice University-based group is proposing an entirely new plan for protecting Houston, its ship channel and its residents from a massive storm surge during the next big hurricane. But consensus remains elusive.
