Texas needs water workers. Will high school students answer the call?
Nearly two-thirds of the state’s water and wastewater agencies say they need more workers. Full Story
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![Consolidated Water Supply Corporation employees patch a broken pipe on April 19, 2023 in Crockett.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
How Texas lawmakers are trying to deter illegal immigration and secure the border
Two Texas House members and an immigration lawyer sat down with Matthew Watkins, the Tribune’s managing editor of news and politics, to discuss the current state of Texas’ border and immigration bills that lawmakers are weighing during the special session. Full Story
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In trying to close its coal power plant, Austin encounters obstacles to going green
The city approved a plan in 2020 to shut the Fayette Power Project plant with the aim of eliminating carbon emissions. But political, economic and technological forces have gotten in the way. Full Story
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![The Fayette Power Project plant is a coal-fired power plant located near La Grange, in Fayette County. Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Looking for an economic rebound, an East Texas town looks to the arts — and is rebuffed by the state
A town of 34,000 people, Lufkin sits deep in the Piney Woods, a region dotted with rural towns. Local civic leaders hope a long list of efforts can revitialize the city’s downtown and reboot its economy. Full Story
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![A flag flies as cars drive downtown in Lufkin, Texas, U.S., on Friday, January 27, 2023. Public school officials in rural areas like Lufkin face budget challenges because of proposed school choice legislation, which provides taxpayer-funded alternatives to sending a child to a local public school.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
As Texans struggle with housing costs, cities look for new ways to spur more home construction
In cities dominated by single-family neighborhoods, local leaders across Texas want a broader variety of housing to combat the affordability crisis. Full Story
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![Homes under construction in the Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Printing a place to live: In Central Texas, homes are being built with emerging 3D technology
Using robotic 3D printers that can build the concrete walls of a house, a pair of Texas startups say the technology could help alleviate two crises: the housing shortage and climate change. Full Story
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![Rows of 3D-printed homes sit in various states of construction in the Wolf Ranch neighborhood of Georgetown, Texas on Oct. 4, 2023. The Lennar Wolf Ranch development is the largest collection of 3D-printed homes worldwide.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Texas will have an $18.6 billion surplus and avoid a recession, comptroller projects
The updated comptroller’s report raises the amount of revenue available to the state over the 2024-25 cycle to $194.6 billion. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the biennial revenue estimate with audience members at Texas Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune -
A generation of Texas farmers are retiring. It’s not clear who will replace them.
After 70 years on the farm, Jimmy Drake retired from the cotton business. With no family stepping up to take over the farm, he turned to a young neighbor. Full Story
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![From left, Tanner Heffington talks to Jimmy Drake next to Drake’s truck outside of their shop. Drake passed on his farm and equipment to long time neighbor Heffington last year making this the first time in 71 years that a member of the Drake family didn’t harvest the land.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ unemployment rate is among the nation’s worst — but experts say it signals a growing economy
The state has yet to return to its pre-pandemic unemployment rate of about 3.5%, even as it leads the country in new jobs created. However, state economic experts say the unemployment rate is an indicator of Texas’s rapidly growing population and labor force. Full Story
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![A "now hiring" sign is seen in the window of Toro Ramen and Poke Barn April 10, 2020 in San Marcos.]()
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Texas drought has deepened amid this year’s brutal heat
After a long summer of extreme heat, Texas has been battered by a lingering drought that’s damaging crops, drying up water supplies and causing wildfires. Full Story
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![A late summer thunderstorm forms over the remnants of the 2021 cotton crop on Aug. 29, 2022, in Terry County.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Congress averts government shutdown with last-minute scramble
Lawmakers avoided closing the government for now, but funding for Ukraine — and Kevin McCarthy’s speakership — face further hurdles. Full Story
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![House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California, speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in September.]()
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4 Texas Republicans join ultraconservatives to sink GOP attempt to keep federal government open
The funding bill was a long shot, but far-right U.S. representatives said it didn’t go far enough in promoting their priorities, including border security and defunding investigations into Donald Trump. Full Story
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![A general view of the U.S. Capitol, September 25, 2023 in Washington D.C..]()
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The 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in photos
Here’s a look back at the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival through the eyes of Tribune photographers. Full Story
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![Evan Smith meets backstage with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, before the start of the closing keynote at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, TX on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Dallas selected as one of three national hubs for new medical innovation federal agency
The city joins Cambridge, Mass. and the Washington, D.C. area as epicenters of the new agency. A Biden administration initiative, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health will work toward medical breakthroughs in treating diseases like cancer, Alzheimer and diabetes. Full Story
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![An aerial view of Dallas.]()
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Texans in U.S. House describe GOP in chaos ahead of likely government shutdown
Texas Democrats decry Republican infighting that has halted attempts to approve annual spending bills and avoid a federal government shutdown. Full Story
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![Sewell Chan (not shown), editor-in-chief for The Texas Tribune, speaks with U.S.representatives Tony Gonzales (left), R-San Antonio, and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Austin will try again to tame its housing affordability crisis with zoning reforms. Can it do it this time?
The city’s decades-long battle to overhaul local rules to allow more, denser housing to be built may be reaching a turning point. Full Story
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![Protesters hold signs and gather at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in support of affordable housing on Aug. 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ economic “miracle” at stake in 2023 election, lawmaker says
The Texas Tribune hosted a multi-panel discussion in Lufkin on the Nov. 7 election and what’s at stake for Texas and Texans. Full Story
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Texas job growth likely to slow in late 2023, Dallas Fed economist says
The state will likely see the two years of post-pandemic growth start to decelerate, according to Roberto Coronado, senior vice president and senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Coronado also cited lowering inflation rates as a top priority for the Dallas Fed. Full Story
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Odessa — known for oil and football — hopes a new multisport complex will draw tourists, renew pride
Leaders in the Permian Basin have been averse to major investment projects because of the boom and bust cycle of the oil business. They hope this project helps shift that thinking. Full Story
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![A rendering of the Odessa Sports Center.]()
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Meet the newest class of Tribune fellows
Fellows play key roles in the most important work of the Tribune, helping with The Texas Tribune Festival and covering the biennial legislative sessions, education and the environment, among other important topics. Full Story
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Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune