Rural Texas towns like Levelland on the South Plains are increasingly turning to the arts to help revitalize their downtowns and provide more attractions for families.
2023
Posted in
Politics
Texas’ debate over school chaplains escalates school board culture wars
A new law lets schools use safety funds to pay for unlicensed chaplains working in mental health roles. Supporters say it helps address student mental health while critics blast it as a Christian nationalist attempt to convert children to a specific form of faith.
Posted in
Energy
Texas Supreme Court declines to revive billionaire’s defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke
Kelcy Warren, a Dallas pipeline billionaire, sued O’Rourke in early 2022, saying the Democrat defamed him with critical comments about his company’s windfall profits after the Texas energy-grid collapse in February 2021.
Posted in
Demographics
An East Texas city goes secular for the holidays, rejecting a menorah in downtown holiday display
Smith County’s top elected official said the downtown square’s holiday decorations policy seeks to avoid a “hodgepodge.”
Posted in
Demographics
Texas’ statewide poverty rate declines, but several rural counties see increase in poor residents
An influx of highly educated people from other states helped shift the state’s economic fortune. But in many parts of Texas, residents are struggling as jobs dry up.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
We ranked Texas House members along the ideological spectrum based on their 2023 votes
Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on their votes cast during the 2023 regular session and four special sessions.
Posted in
Health care
Nearly 1.7 million Texans lose Medicaid as state nears end of “unwinding”
Texas has booted the most people from Medicaid of any state in the country. A majority of those removed lost their health insurance coverage because of procedural reasons.
Posted in
Politics
Congress greenlights psychedelic treatment bill for active duty service members suffering from PTSD
The measure would allow superv ised clinical studies with active duty members. Psychedelic treatments for PTSD have found conservative supporters in the state for years.
Posted in
Politics
Ken Paxton’s impeachment cost Texas taxpayers more than $4 million
The bulk of the costs came from bills from Rusty Hardin’s law firm, according to records released this week.
Posted in
Race in East Texas
Year after year, most Texas police departments report zero hate crimes. Here’s why.
A Texas Tribune analysis of hate crime data found that 82% of Texas law enforcement agencies that report to the FBI tracked no hate crimes last year. However, one suburban North Texas police agency is creating a new model of collecting hate crime data.