Even some religious groups are opposed to Texas legislation that would bar government officials from closing places of worship in any situation — even during a pandemic.
Neelam Bohra
Neelam Bohra was a 2023-24 disability reporting fellow. Through a partnership with the National Center on Disability and Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and The New York Times, she covered accessibility issues affecting Texans. Neelam previously reported on labor policy for Politico, national culture for CNN Digital, and covered abortion, COVID-19 and the 2021 winter storm as a past fellow for The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Courts
Texas Supreme Court voids orders that jailed Dallas salon owner for disregarding COVID-19 precautions
Dallas County issued Shelley Luther a temporary restraining order to close her business. But the Texas Supreme Court said the order was too vague.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
First day of STAAR testing canceled for thousands of students experiencing technical issues across Texas
Texas officials mandated that students take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness in person this year at monitored test sites, although millions of students are still learning remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Parents sue Katy ISD for keeping mask mandate after Gov. Greg Abbott lifted statewide requirement
The lawsuit claims district policies are unconstitutional and violate Abbott’s recent executive order.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Empty chairs tell the story of pandemic’s toll at Texas kidney dialysis centers
Early on, coronavirus transmission exploded at dialysis clinics, especially in the Rio Grande Valley. It has subsided some since, but many patients have no choice but to show up at clinics for the life-sustaining treatments.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Almost 70% of ERCOT customers lost power during winter storm, study finds
Texans in ERCOT’s service area who lost electricity were without power for an average of 42 hours, according to the study. They had been told to prepare for short-term, rolling outages.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Hundreds of Texas prisoners are getting vaccinated — months after many became eligible
Almost 2,000 vaccine doses have gone to qualifying prisoners as of Thursday, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Posted in
Demographics
Language barriers, technology hurdles and limited transportation hurt Asian American Texans’ access to vaccines
As more people become eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, some of the most vulnerable Asian American communities struggle to access it at all.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
After Texas’ power grid failure, some in Lubbock worry about the city’s plans to join ERCOT
The city of Lubbock made plans to join ERCOT in 2015. After last month’s winter storm, some feel anxious about the move.
Posted in
Higher Education
UT-Austin report links “The Eyes of Texas” to minstrel shows but not Robert E. Lee, says song is “not overtly racist”
In recent months, the song has divided the university community. Over the summer, students protested and petitioned the university to rid the campus of the song, which has ties to minstrel shows.
