Led by co-pastors Joe and Dawn Weaks, Connection Christian Church, a 118-year-old congregation in Odessa, has transformed while keeping true to its legacy of helping the community.
Stories by Texas Tribune fellows
The Texas Tribune welcomes a group of student fellows into our newsroom each spring, summer and fall. Here is a sampling of their work. Learn more about the fellowship program here.
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2024 Texas Elections
GOP bid to remove polling sites from Tarrant County college campuses fails
County Judge Tim O’Hare said he proposed the cuts to save costs. Critics accused Republican leaders of suppressing the vote of young people who back Democrats.
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2024 Texas Elections
Odessa’s mayor ran to help the West Texas city “repent.” Now he wants a second term.
Under Javier Joven’s leadership, his critics say, the Odessa City Council has lost focus on municipal issues like roads and water infrastructure.
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Criminal Justice
Dallas juvenile detention center isolated kids and falsified documents, state investigation says
A Texas Juvenile Justice Department report says Dallas County officers kept kids in their sleeping quarters for days at a time and faked school attendance logs.
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The 2024 Texas Tribune Festival
Liz Cheney says Dick Cheney will vote for Kamala Harris, and she will support Democrat Colin Allred in Texas Senate race
Liz Cheney endorsed Allred at The Texas Tribune Festival Friday.
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Graphics and data reporting
Texas schools are hiring more teachers without traditional training. They hope the state will pay to prepare them.
Schools are hiring instructors with different types of backgrounds to deal with critical staff shortages.
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2024 Texas Elections
How Texans with disabilities can vote in the November election
All Texas voters with disabilities have the right to accessible voting options, whether in person or by mail.
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State Government
Paxton takes Dallas to court over gun ban at State Fair
With the State Fair opening in less than a month, the Attorney General is asking a Dallas County judge to overturn the ban on guns.
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Graphics and data reporting
Texas takes its first steps to protect its mountain lions
While many other states limit hunting of the apex predator, Texas is only now introducing rules to ban canned hunts and require regular checking of traps.
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2024 Texas Elections
Election experts cautious as Abbott touts voter roll purge
Federal and state law already required voter roll maintenance. Experts warn the governor’s framing of this routine process could be used to undermine trust in elections.