The Dallas-based trucking company, Stevens Transport, said they do not discriminate against women and the complaint is based on a “misunderstanding.”
Pooja Salhotra
Pooja Salhotra joined the Tribune in 2022 as its first-ever East Texas reporter based in Lufkin, where she covered a vast region that borders three states and stretches north to Texarkana and south to Beaumont. In late 2023, she relocated to Austin as a general assignment reporter to cover issues ranging from breaking news to developments in state agencies. Pooja was born and raised in the Houston area and graduated from Yale University. She also holds a master’s in fine arts from NYU’s journalism school.
Posted in
Politics
With 22 portable classrooms on one campus, a growing Texas school district is asking voters for $2 billion
Conroe is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state. It and other districts say they need voters to OK bonds to keep up with the influx of students.
Posted in
Politics
Texan Sidney Powell, Trump co-defendant, pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case
Under the plea agreement, the lawyer will serve six years’ probation, pay a $6,000 fine plus $2,700 to the secretary of state’s office and testify truthfully at co-defendants’ trials.
Posted in
Economy
A shift in how we build commercial buildings could be a boon for East Texas
Globally, mass timber construction projects are expected to reach more than 24,000 by 2034. So far, at least 134 mass timber projects are in progress or completed in Texas. The first such project was a six-story office building in downtown San Antonio.
Posted in
New Texas Laws 2023
Texas needs water workers. Will high school students answer the call?
Nearly two-thirds of the state’s water and wastewater agencies say they need more workers.
Posted in
Health care
COVID-19 funding halted rural hospital closures across Texas, until now
La Grange residents worked for months to try to save the 65-bed hospital and asked the city to step in with a loan, but it wasn’t enough.
Posted in
Economy
Looking for an economic rebound, an East Texas town looks to the arts — and is rebuffed by the state
A town of 34,000 people, Lufkin sits deep in the Piney Woods, a region dotted with rural towns. Local civic leaders hope a long list of efforts can revitialize the city’s downtown and reboot its economy.
Posted in
Race in East Texas
In the shadow of James Byrd’s murder, city leaders can’t agree how to move this East Texas town forward
Jasper’s second Black mayor wants to help residents pay their bills while a younger city council wants to invest in the city’s culture. Residents call their heated arguments at city council meetings “foolishness” and “embarrassing.”
Posted in
The 2023 Texas Tribune Festival
Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones urges Texans to get organized, learn from history
In an interview for The Texas Tribune Festival, the journalist urged Texans to organize in response to the state’s book bans and restrictions on public school lessons.
Posted in
Public Education
An East Texas principal was arrested after paddling a student, renewing debate over corporal punishment
Texas is one of 17 states that still permits hitting, spanking and paddling in schools. Republican lawmakers stood by the practice earlier this year in part because they say it was permitted in the Bible.
