In January, The Texas Tribune launched a series investigating how Texas leaders have publicly battled sex trafficking for more than a decade but devoted hardly any resources to helping victims. Read our coverage here.
2017
The 5 Best Texas Tribune Events of 2017
From DeRay to Dawnna, here are Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith’s favorite conversations of the year.
Analyses in the rearview mirror: School finance and property taxes
The end of the year is when property owners have to pay their taxes — an increasingly large bill in Texas that’s a key part of the state’s rickety school finance system. Here’s a sampling of columns tracking that debate in 2017.
How renting furniture in Texas can land you in jail
Reread this investigation by the Tribune and NerdWallet into the rent-to-own industry, which has a special tool in Texas law that lets it file criminal charges when customers don’t pay their debts — while other businesses have to use civil remedies.
The top Texas tales of 2017 (podcast)
On the final TribCast of 2017, Emily talks to Alexa, Neena, Jay and Edgar about some of the Trib’s biggest stories of the year: the bathroom bill, Hurricane Harvey, the TABC scandal and our series on child sex trafficking.
What Texas learned in the wake of Hurricane Harvey
Two Tribune reporters who covered Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath discuss the historic storm’s financial impact, recovery efforts and what citizens and state officials have learned in the wake of the devastating storm.
In Harvey’s Wake: The Tribune’s complete coverage of Texas’ monster hurricane
Even before Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast, Tribune reporters were there to cover the storm for our audience, and in the months since we’ve produced hundreds of stories, videos and visuals. You can find them here.
The Taking: How the federal government abused its power to seize property for a border fence
Revisit our joint investigation with ProPublica that revealed how the federal government’s rushed, haphazard use of eminent domain led to unequal payments for border residents whose land was seized for a border fence.
How Texas allows industrial facilities to spew unauthorized air pollution — with few consequences
Revisit our investigation of how thousands of “rogue releases” — when industrial polluters spew noxious chemicals into the air during malfunctions and other unplanned incidents, exceeding permit limits — occur in Texas each year.
In Texas’ urban areas, leaders wrestled property taxes and pension woes
As city officials sought help overhauling pension funds and fought off lawmakers’ attempts to legislate local matters, urban Texans continued having trouble finding affordable places to live.

