As dry soils contract, underground pipes rupture and cities must fix thousands of water leaks, frustrating conservation efforts and highlighting the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to a warming climate.
Houston
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Higher Education
Essay: Fifth Ward, Houston, 1952 — One Girl’s Story
In this excerpt from her new memoir, “Up Home,” Ruth J. Simmons recalls moving to Houston at age 6 from rural East Texas. She would go on to serve as president of Smith College, Brown University and Prairie View A&M.
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State Government
Judge declares new Texas law that would erode cities’ power to enact local rules unconstitutional
A state law backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and business lobbying groups to stop cities and counties from passing progressive policies is scheduled to take effect Friday. A Travis County judge declared it unconstitutional.
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Public Education
First day of school comes with mixed student emotions after Texas took over Houston ISD
Thousands of Houston-area students returned to radically different campuses Monday as a new era begins in Texas’ largest school district.
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Politics
Houston will host 2028 Republican National Convention
The announcement came uncommonly early — five years before the convention to select the GOP nominee for the 2028 election cycle.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Tony Buzbee, lawyer for Ken Paxton, running for Houston City Council seat
Buzbee is currently defending Texas’ impeached attorney general. He ran for mayor in 2019, challenging incumbent Sylvester Turner while self-funding his campaign with over $10 million.
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Criminal Justice
“A place of torment”: 22 families, former inmates sue Harris County over jail conditions
A federal lawsuit accuses the sheriff’s office of violating the constitutional rights of inmates, dozens of whom have died or been injured at the jail in recent years.
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Criminal Justice
“Someone’s going to end up dead”: New evidence emerges in Travis Scott Astroworld tragedy
A new Houston police report details how the rapper perceived what was happening and what he told investigators. It also contains police interviews with concert promoters, security personnel and other key witnesses.
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Politics
Political dominoes could fall in Houston as 2 longtime Democrats campaign for mayor
State Sen. John Whitmire, first elected in 1982, and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, in office since 1995, could be vacating seats that haven’t been open for decades. The election calendar, however, may bring a tough decision for one or both.
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Health care
Confusion and stress abound for 500,000 Texans bumped from Medicaid
Continuous Medicaid coverage ended in April. Many of the roughly half-million people stripped from the rolls don’t even know they’ve lost coverage yet.
