Analysis: COVID-19’s almost incomprehensible toll in Texas
We’ve lost a lot of Texans already and will surely lose more to the coronavirus. Doesn’t it seem like there should at least be a moment of silence? Full Story
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![Val Verde Memorial Gardens in Donna. July 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas bars and distilleries rip Gov. Greg Abbott for leaving them out of "unacceptable" reopening plan
While restaurants are allowed to expand to 75% capacity, those in the bar industry worry prolonged shutdowns could lead to 30% of its businesses closing within six months. Full Story
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![Party Time Bar outside of Temple is closed during the coronavirus pandemic.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas courts must start telling tenants how a federal eviction moratorium can keep them housed
The Texas Supreme Court ordered that eviction citations will have to inform renters about the moratorium requirements and include the form needed to apply for protection. Full Story
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![The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
August unemployment rate in Texas drops to 6.8%, lowest level since coronavirus shutdowns
The U.S. Labor Department on Friday announced Texas' unemployment rate for August fell to 6.8%. That is still far above pre-pandemic levels, underscoring a summer of steady joblessness for many Texans. Full Story
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![A movie theatre in downtown Pearsall remains closed due to COVID-19 on Sept. 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas reopenings tied more to COVID-19 severity than to spread
Leaving behind their focus on the spread of the coronavirus, Texas leaders now say hospitalizations will guide their decisions on how to regulate social distancing at businesses and cultural centers. Full Story
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![Fans begin to arrive at the stadium before kickoff for the first home football game of the season at the University of Texas at Austin on Sept. 12, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Six months into the pandemic, out-of-work Texans are still struggling to navigate unemployment system
As 1.8 million Texans continue to claim unemployment, many complain they still can't reach the Texas Workforce Commission and are quickly losing trust in Congress to agree to a second stimulus agreement. Full Story
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![Volunteers load boxes of food into a car during a drive-thru food distribution hosted by the Central Texas Food Bank at the Travis County Expo Center on June 30, 2020 in Austin.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Unemployed Texans will no longer receive an extra $300 in weekly payments
The Federal Emergency Management Agency notified state officials Wednesday that the payments for out-of-work Texans have ended, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, which handles unemployment claims. Full Story
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![Volunteers from the Central Texas Food Bank distribute disaster relief food boxes at the Waco ISD stadium on April 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: With schools opening, Texas enters a critical two weeks of the pandemic
Texas is poised right now as it was in late April: COVID-19 numbers are moving in the right direction, and reopenings — schools this time — are underway. Everyone's hoping for a different result this time. Full Story
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![Tubing in New Braunfels on July 4, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Millions of Texans could be shielded from evictions under new Trump administration order
A previous federal order, which only protected renters in federally backed housing, expired in July. Full Story
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![A protester holds up a "stop evictions" sign outside the Harris County Courthouse in Houston on Aug. 21, 2020.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texans spent less going out to eat and drink, but more on home improvement as coronavirus cases peaked this summer
The state collected 5.6% less in sales tax revenue last month than in August 2019. The expiration of some federal relief aid could mean more decreases in coming months. Full Story
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![Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the Biennial Revenue Estimate for the 2020-21 biennium at the state Capitol on Jan. 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas mayors warn pandemic's effects on city budgets will linger for years
The temporary closure of businesses and high levels of unemployment due to the pandemic have caused sales tax revenues — which make up a significant portion of cities' budgets — to plummet. Full Story
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![Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks with the media after arriving at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019.]()
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“In survival mode”: How some evacuees are still dealing with the dual challenge of a hurricane and a recession
Many Southeast Texans were already struggling through a pandemic and its parallel recession. Then came Hurricane Laura and officials' evacuation orders. Full Story
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![Susan Collier and Donald Bass Jr. in what they described as their outdoor dining room.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
This loan company was founded to help Latino immigrants. It has sued thousands of low-income Latinos during the pandemic.
A monthslong investigation revealed that Oportun Inc. routinely uses lawsuits to intimidate a vulnerable population into keeping up with high-interest loan payments — even amid COVID-19. Full Story
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![Analleli Solis.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Oportun Inc. has filed nearly 10,000 lawsuits this year against lower-income Texans. This is how we found out.
Justice of the peace courts, where a majority of debt claims are filed in Texas, aren’t required to report case-level information. Here’s how ProPublica and Texas Tribune reporters got around it to reveal one company’s aggressive tactics. Full Story
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![Oportun, located at 3909 North Interstate 35 in Austin.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Nearly 600,000 Texans will lose access to a program that prevented electricity shut-offs during the pandemic on Oct. 1
Once the program ends, customers could be on the hook for partial back payments. Full Story
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![Electrical power lines near the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
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Still recovering from Harvey, Texans in Beaumont and Port Arthur are now preparing for a new hurricane during the pandemic
Groups that have been fixing homes and providing assistance to victims of the 2017 hurricane are now getting ready to face a new disaster, with the added challenge of COVID-19. Full Story
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![Port Arthur residents board buses to evacuate the area before Hurricane Laura strikes the Gulf Coast near Texas and Louisiana.]()
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In Texas, the lowest-income workers don’t qualify for additional unemployment aid
Nearly 350,000 Texans don't qualify for the extra payment because they either earned too little from the work they lost or didn't indicate on paperwork that they lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Full Story
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![Cars line up for a drive-thru food distribution hosted by the Central Texas Food Bank at the Travis County Expo Center on June 30, 2020 in Austin.]()
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Analysis: Those aren’t just COVID-19 numbers. They’re Texans.
There are 347,700 Texans losing federal supplements to unemployment insurance. And 716,000 students getting laptops and tablets for virtual school. And 11,395 COVID-19 deaths. Each statistic has a human face. Full Story
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![Elizabeth McNiel, the owner of Ironwood Saloon and an ASL teacher, and her husband Ryan in their empty bar in Sabinal, the only one in town. They shut it down because of COVID-19 mandates. Aug. 13, 2020.]()
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As eviction cases resume in parts of Houston, low-income Texans fear losing a place to live
Since Gov. Greg Abbott declared a public health disaster in March, almost one-third of Harris County's evictions have been filed in the justice of the peace precinct covering the southwestern portion of the county. Full Story
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![Demonstrators rally against evictions outside the Harris County Courthouse in Houston on Aug. 21, 2020.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Nearly 350,000 unemployed Texans don't qualify for extra $300 weekly benefit
Texans receiving less than $100 in weekly unemployment benefits do not qualify for the extra $300 weekly payments the Trump administration is distributing to Texas and other states. Full Story
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![Threadgill’s restaurant is closing permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS