A battered child care industry’s latest challenge? Competing for 4-year-olds.
A 2019 state law requiring schools to offer full-day pre-K is capturing child care’s most profitable customer base: 3- and 4-year-olds. Full Story
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![Tim Kaminski, director of operations for Gingerbread Kids Academy and Gingerbread After School Programs, smiles as he interacts with students preparing crafts for a fall celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Richmond, TX.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ economy could take a hit if Houston dockworkers’ strike persists
Workers who load and unload shipping containers from cargo ships are at an impasse in labor contract negotiations. Full Story
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![Refinery complexes along the Houston Ship Channel on Sept. 7, 2016.]()
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Texas lawmakers, farmers and ranchers sound alarm over languishing farm bill
Millions of Texans would lose food subsidies and farm insurance if Congress doesn’t act before the end of the year. Full Story
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![Johnson’s Backyard Garden, a large organic farm east of Austin, seen on Feb. 22, 2021. The farm experienced a near-total crop loss after a massive winter storm devastated Texas.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Watch Houston-area lawmakers discuss the 2025 legislative session’s key issues
Members of the Legislature’s Houston delegation will discuss some of the key issues of the 2025 legislative session. Full Story
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Affected by Texas’ high home prices and rents? We want to talk to you
The Texas Tribune is writing about the state’s housing affordability crisis. Help us tell the story. Full Story
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![A residential neighborhood seen Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Midland.]()
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Texas would need about $81.5 billion a year to end property taxes, officials say
Texas Republicans have been trying to reduce the state’s high property taxes for years, but some acknowledge eliminating them would be too expensive. Full Story
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![An Aerial image of a suburban neighborhood in San Marcos on October 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Tribune welcomes a new group of fellows this fall
Tribune fellowships offer students the opportunity to launch their careers with real-world experience. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on June 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Olivia Anderson for The Texas Tribune -
In regulating AI, Texas lawmakers face balancing act between its benefits and harms
A Senate committee discussed the potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence — and overregulating it. Full Story
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![The Capitol Dome overlooks the city on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at the Texas Capitol Building in Austin.]()
Credit: Olivia Anderson/The Texas Tribune -
Texas must build hundreds of thousands of homes to lower housing costs, says state comptroller
Texas needs hundreds of thousands more homes than it has, per one estimate. That shortage has driven up home prices and rents. Full Story
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![A San Antonio neighborhood on Saturday, May 25, 2024.]()
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Squeezed by inflation and politics, a Texas food bank gets creative to keep people fed
To help raise money, the Lubbock-area food bank recruited a Michelin-recognized chef. Full Story
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![Orchard manager William Russell picks Jona Gold apples in their orchard. The South Plains Food Bank has been growing limited crops in their small orchard and garden.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
The oil industry is booming. This West Texas small business worries it’s been left behind.
Before the pandemic, Ben Bilbrey worked with some of the largest oil companies. Now he’s waiting for the phone to ring. Full Story
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![Benny Ford drives back to Benro Pump and Supply after picking up a downhole pumping unit from a well site Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, near Goldsmith.]()
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How Lubbock artists pushed back after the city ended funding for its popular art walk
The City Council did approve $5,000 for security, about one-fifth of the money it withheld over last month. Full Story
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![First Friday Art Trail attendees write what they love about the montly event on a wall outside of the LHUCA gallery during
First Friday Art Trail in Lubbock on Aug. 2,2024.]()
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Donald Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill” probably won’t change much — least of all in Texas
Texas is producing so much natural gas right now companies are losing money. Full Story
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![A series of four drilling rigs operate in a row outside of Tarzan Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Martin County.]()
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Federal court orders regulators to fix process, reconsider gas export projects in South Texas
This week’s ruling was the latest twist since cities and groups in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley sued to block the projects. Full Story
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![Construction crews work at the 750-acre site of the proposed Rio Grande LNG facility Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 in Brownsville.]()
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More Texans join unions although national membership is down
The growth in union membership came from the technology and nonprofit sectors, as well as coffee shops. Full Story
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![Soleil Baker, a supervisor at the Bartonville Starbucks, in front of the building on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Baker has been at this location for about two years, but has worked for Starbucks for around three years total.]()
Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune -
Nine out of 10 Texans say housing costs too much, poll finds
Some Texas lawmakers have signaled an appetite to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis when they convene next year. Full Story
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![Downtown San Antonio on May 25, 2025.]()
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Chevron to move its headquarters from California to Texas
The oil giant said it will relocate to Houston. It’s the latest company seeking a laxer, more business-friendly regulatory environment in Texas. Full Story
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![A Chevron oil exploration drilling site near Midland, Texas, on Aug. 22, 2019.]()
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Weak infrastructure, distrust make communication during natural disasters hard on rural Texas
When disaster strikes, Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy takes command of her county’s emergency communication channels, including a text service and Facebook page. Full Story
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![Floodwater accumulates in a residential area following significant rainstorms in Coldspring, on Saturday, May 4, 2024.]()
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Meta to pay Texas $1.4 billion for using facial recognition technology without users’ permission
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Facebook parent company in 2022, claiming it had used personal biometric data without permission. Full Story
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![A man stands in front of a sign of Meta, the new name for the company formerly known as Facebook, at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Oct. 28, 2021.]()
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Insurance rates could climb for some Texas coastal homeowners, businesses
Homeowners typically pay $2,300 a year for a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policy. The rate increase would bump premiums by 10%. Full Story
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![Fallen tree branches obscure a house on Friday, July 12, 2024 in Houston's Fifth Ward. Power had only just returned to the area that day, after Hurricane Beryl caused multi-day long outages.]()
Credit: Olivia Anderson/The Texas Tribune