Women in Deep East Texas drive over an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. But if closing the unit was hard, reopening it is proving nearly impossible.
East Texas
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Politics
“It takes time to get stuff done”: New Texas congressman promises results, not rhetoric
Nathaniel Moran, the former Smith County judge, has promised to be a staunch conservative who will pass legislation. That worries some of his constituents.
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Health care
Texans are dying on state highways every day — especially in rural “dead zones”
Fatal crashes in rural areas accounted for 51% of Texas’ 4,489 traffic fatalities in 2021, even though only about 10% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, according to data from the state’s department of transportation.
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Economy
A boil-water notice in Houston made national news. In rural Texas, it’s a way of life.
Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources.
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Operation Lone Star
A growing number of Texas rural counties are declaring local immigration “disasters”
The latest county to make a disaster declaration is an eight-hour drive away from the Texas-Mexico border, but local officials there say they’re under “invasion.”
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Economy
An East Texas town must boil its water on Thanksgiving as officials seek a solution to aging infrastructure
Zavalla lost all water for several days. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has sent pallets of bottled water and a team to help.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Texas votes: Abortion, border security and marijuana energize voters on Election Day
Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting.
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Public Education
A national bus driver shortage is upending Texas’ beloved Friday night high school football games
School leaders are offering more money and paid training for potential bus drivers. Some routes still go unserved.
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Demographics
Inside a bus, East Texans get the health care they can’t afford or find anywhere else
Access to health care is limited in rural Texas. The mobile clinic operated by Beaumont-based TAN Healthcare aims to close that gap.
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Environment
Texas’ heat index could reach 125 degrees over the next 30 years, study finds
“If it’s gonna rise by that much, I don’t think we’re prepared,” one South Texas mayor said of temperature increases.