Starting next month, our investigative reporter Morgan Smith will produce deep-dive enterprise journalism on poverty and inequity for the Trib and Folo Media, a new San Antonio-based nonprofit newsroom focused on issues of inequality.
2017
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
Analysis: What recent election results in Texas state House districts tell us about 2018
Competitiveness is the biggest difference between Texas House elections and those for Texas seats in Congress or in the state Senate. A dozen or so seats in the Texas House are still within the grasp of either of the major political parties.
Posted in
In Harvey's Wake
Harvey victims say FEMA hotel program plagued by confusion
Two Texans displaced by Harvey who say they were kicked off the hotel assistance program are confused by FEMA’s explanation — or lack of one.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas Education Agency ends controversial no-bid special education contract
After pushback from special education advocates, the Texas Education Agency is terminating a no-bid contract with a company to analyze thousands of personal records of students with disabilities — and reviewing agency contract processes.
Posted in
Transportation
Some Texans dodge bullet train, others are square in its path
Federal officials identified the likely route a planned Dallas-Houston bullet train will take through rural counties as it connects the state’s two largest urban areas.
Posted in
Higher Education
UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven will resign in May
University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven is resigning in May, he told regents Friday.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
A Texas House candidate mocked a sheriff on social media. Did he violate the law?
Bo French says the “Thief Bill Waybourn” Facebook page he created to mock Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn was merely satire. Three law enforcement groups are calling it a “scandalous crime.”
Posted inState Government
Texas to receive $135M to keep Children’s Health Insurance Program alive through February
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday saying the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is giving the state $135 million to continue the program through February.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
Republican Party of Texas sues to keep U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold off 2018 ballot
The Texas GOP is suing the Texas secretary of state to keep embattled U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold off the 2018 primary ballot — one day after he announced he will not seek re-election in 2018.
Posted in
The Taking
The border fence looms over these Texans. Should the government pay them?
Scores of Texas landowners who have lived in the shadow of the border fence for years were never compensated for any damage to their property values.