Texans will face another election after approving property tax cuts
Voters in Texas’ 50 largest counties will now elect new three members of their respective property appraisal district boards. Full Story
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![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Homelessness in Texas on the rise amid high housing costs, federal estimates show
Homelessness rose last year across nearly every demographic group, but strides were made to connect people with new housing. Full Story
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![The sun sets over the tops of tents at a homeless encampment on state-owned land in Austin on Jan. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas regulators limit oil and gas disposal wells in bid to reduce earthquakes in West Texas
Injecting saltwater back into the ground “is likely contributing to recent seismic activity,” the Railroad Commission of Texas has said. Full Story
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![A produced water tank sits as part of a tank battery at an injection well site Monday, Jan. 31, 2022 outside of Odessa. The injection facility is located less than two miles from a new suburban development north of Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Has a big village of tiny homes eased homelessness in Austin?
One of the nation’s largest experiments to address chronic homelessness is taking shape outside the city limits. Full Story
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![Residents playing bingo at Community First! Village, which aspires to be a model of permanent affordable housing for people who are chronically homeless.]()
Credit: Eli Durst for The New York Times -
How Texas polluters classify big facilities as smaller ones to avoid stricter environmental rules and public input
Industrial developers describe large facilities as “minor” polluters to avoid federal permitting requirements, and environmental lawyers say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lets it happen. Full Story
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![The GAF roofing shingles factory in West Dallas on Dec. 13. The factory reclassified itself as minor and averted public participation requirements in 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber/Inside Climate News -
This town wants to be named the quinceañera capital of Texas
Diboll’s growing Hispanic population has inspired a new economy of party planners and DJs to produce quinceañeras. City leaders are taking notice. Full Story
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![Guest stand and applaud as Sienna Raley, flanked by her parents Maria and Troy, begins the Grand Entrance at her Quincenera Saturday, December 16, 2023, in Didoll, Texas.]()
Credit: Joel Andrews for The Texas Tribune -
Texans receiving federal food assistance caught in crosshairs of congressional funding fight
More than 225,000 Texans could get turned away from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children next year unless Congress allocates more money for the program, advocates and the White House warns. But partisan divisions are obscuring the path forward on government funding. Full Story
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![Items at District Market Green Grocer in Houston on May 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Vouchers, border security, abortion: The issues you heard about in 2023 will continue to be hotly debated in 2024
After nearly a year’s worth of legislative sessions, several issues are poised to dominate Texas politics this year. Here’s a look at how things ended on several fronts last year — and where they’re headed next. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Diversity offices on college campuses will soon be illegal in Texas, as 30 new laws go into effect
Other new laws make changes to the tax code, criminal justice and health care systems. Full Story
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![Students head to class on the second day of the semester at San Jacinto College's North Campus in Houston on Aug. 26, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texans grapple with numerous challenges, yet many are actively seeking solutions
Across the state, people are looking for ways to make Texas a better place to live as they tackle hunger, rural “brain drain,” health care obstacles and other impediments. Full Story
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![Volunteers prepare fresh vegetables donated by the Dewey Prairie Garden for distribution at the Lord’s Pantry of Leon County in Buffalo, Texas, on June 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Once a laborer, this immigrant now owns his farm. He and his daughter are among few Hispanic farmers in Texas.
According to the most recent census, Texas has fewer than 26,000 Hispanic farmers compared to 236,000 white farmers. Full Story
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![From left, Amaldo Serrato and his daughter, Yuleida Serrato look over a failed dry-land cotton field that they had to plow under because it was too dry. The Serrato family own and run their multigenerational family farm in and around Floydada. Amado Serrato, his wife and father came to the United States, where they and their American born kids have created a successful agricultural business.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Shuttered for decades, a downtown theater in a rural Texas town is getting new life and new mission
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. Full Story
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![Workers remove a plywood covering on the front of the Wallace Theater in Levelland on Dec. 5th, 2023. The historic theater, which has been vacant since the 1980s, is now under restoration and is expected to reopen by Dec. 2024.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Yuchih Choy loads boxes of food into a pickup. West Texas Food Bank employees and volunteers load donated food into customer's cars during their weekly pick up outside of the food bank in Odessa, TX. Oct. 5, 2022.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
I’m a Texas homeowner. When will I see my tax cut?
Tax policy is messy. Here are a few tips to help you understand what the recent voter-approved tax cuts mean for your mortgage. Full Story
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![Homes along central Longview's Centenary Drive on Friday Dec. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Tim Dunn, the powerhouse GOP donor, to sell his West Texas oil company for $12 billion
Tim Dunn has used his wealth to establish a network of organizations that push his ultraconservative views across Texas. The deal comes amid a time of consolidation in the Permian Basin. Full Story
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![Tim Dunn, CEO of CrownQuest Operating and chairman of Empower Texans, speaks during The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 24, 2016.]()
Credit: Brett Buchanan for The Texas Tribune -
Austin will now allow more homes to be built on single-family lots
City officials hope that allowing up to three units per lot will increase supply and slow the explosive increase in housing costs. The measure was approved by Austin City Council in a 9-2 vote late Thursday night. Full Story
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![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
As offices sit empty and housing costs soar, some Texas developers are converting workspaces into apartments
Not every downtown high-rise is a good fit for an office-to-housing conversion, but some officials and developers see benefits in turning unused space into new residential units. Full Story
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![The Santander Tower in downtown Dallas, on Nov. 07, 2023. Texas metros have a glut of vacant offices space driven by the rise of remote work, overbuilding and other factors during the pandemic. One option companies are doing to combat the changes, is to convert office space into residential housing.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
In this East Texas town, a 45-foot tall oil pump is a holiday symbol and connection to the past
Rudolph the Red-Nose Pumping Unit has long been a holiday tradition in Lufkin. The machinery, now used worldwide to extract oil from the ground, was invented by a local businessman. Full Story
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![The Huntington High School High Steppers drill team stands at attention at the Rudolph the Red Nosed Pumping Unit lighting ceremony in downtown Lufkin on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Joel Andrews for The Texas Tribune -
Texas will have to cut methane emissions from oil fields under new federal climate rule
The Biden Administration announced a crackdown on methane emissions, a major driver of climate change. Major oil and gas companies also signed on to a voluntary net-zero commitment. Full Story
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![A gas flare in the Eagle Ford oil patch south of San Antonio, TX.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas workers need access to training and child care to sustain economic growth, experts say
The state’s economy is strong — but unemployment and poverty rates hint at the need to support workers, panelists at a Texas Tribune event said. Full Story
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