Here comes the haboob: Texas High Plains getting walloped by dust storms
High Plains residents are used to wind and dust, but an ongoing drought and recent tropical-storm-level winds have brought some epic dust storms. Full Story
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![A motorist approaches the intersection of W. Farm Road 835 and S. Farm Road 835. High winds kicked up a dust storm that blanketed parts of West Texas on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Black and Hispanic Texans say they don’t trust the quality of their water
A survey was commissioned by the nonprofit organization Texas Water Trade and included responses from households in both rural border communities and in urban areas across Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Full Story
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![A portable water tank at a colonia at Las Pampas, on Oct. 21, 2014.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
A Texas park on leased land near Dallas must close because the state’s landlord is selling the property to a developer
After investing $72 million in improvements at Fairfield Lake State Park over three decades, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is out. The state has 120 days to vacate the property. Full Story
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![Fairfield Lake State Park view from a lakeside campsite, on May 8, 2021, in Fairfield.]()
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Austin’s city manager fired over botched winter storm response
Spencer Cronk, who headed the city since 2018, fell out of favor with council members after communication failures that mirrored problems from the 2021 winter storm. Full Story
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![Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk sits in a special called city council meeting at Austin City Hall on Feb. 15, 2023.]()
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In an age of repeated crises, these Texans are creating mutual aid networks to help neighbors in need
Community organizations and individuals helped many Texans weather this month’s ice storm. Extreme weather heightens demand for their help — but it can also stress their resources. Full Story
![Linda Jackson, Corey Roberson and Sasha Rose, an organizer with Austin Mutual Aid, all fold clothing at the Washatopia laundromat in Austin on Feb. 7, 2023. “We provided the blankets, but [the help] shouldn’t stop there. What we’re trying to do is fill in the gaps,” said Rose, explaining just giving people blankets without support for caring for their things just creates another problem.](https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/3H29ZO2K-Qo8K2AwH1K5LmBofcQ=/850x570/smart/filters:quality(75)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8397b87ac07d6866f6cd66060d204d6f/0207%20Mutual%20Aid%20Laundry%20EL%2012%20REEDIT.jpg)
![Linda Jackson, Corey Roberson and Sasha Rose, an organizer with Austin Mutual Aid, all fold clothing at the Washatopia laundromat in Austin on Feb. 7, 2023. “We provided the blankets, but [the help] shouldn’t stop there. What we’re trying to do is fill in the gaps,” said Rose, explaining just giving people blankets without support for caring for their things just creates another problem.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Austin shelters weren’t prepared for outages despite lessons from 2021 winter storm, advocates say
Activists who work with unhoused people noted improvements in the city’s planning and coordination, but said shelters were difficult to reach for some and couldn’t accommodate families with children. Full Story
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![Tents sit along the I-35 frontage road on Feb. 16, 2021 in Austin. A winter storm has caused icy roads and left millions of Texans without water or electricity.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
A new winter storm and old problems raise questions about Austin leaders’ response to crises
As newly elected Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and a City Council with an array of fresh faces review their first major crisis, the city’s top officials once again find themselves trying to figure out why the city botched its response to a significant weather event. Full Story
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![Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks with the press to discuss the city's response to mass power outages after a ice storm, at the Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center in Austin on Feb. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ teacher pension fund divested from investment firms accused of “boycotting” oil and gas industry
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas was following a new state law targeting investment firms that seek to invest in companies that don’t worsen climate change. Full Story
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Austin city manager’s job could be on the line after winter storm response
Austin City Council members will evaluate Spencer Cronk’s employment during their Thursday meeting. Cronk was hired in 2017. Full Story
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![Austin City Mangaer Spencer Cronk gives the opening remarks during the Swearing in Ceremony for police chief Joseph Chacon at the LifeAustin Muller Church in Austin on Oct. 29, 2021. Chacon will be Austin's 10th police chief.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
In South Texas, opponents say planned natural gas export facility’s carbon capture promises are “greenwashing”
A company planning to build a massive liquefied natural gas export facility near Brownsville says carbon capture technology will reduce its pollution, but some locals say it’s a “Band-Aid on a bullet hole.” Full Story
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![NextDecade claims a gas export terminal near Port Isabel will be the ‘greenest in the world’, but opponents say its carbon capture plans will negate only a tiny fraction of its climate impact.]()
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Austin makes progress restoring power, but tens of thousands still without
The city originally said it would restore all power by 6 p.m. Friday. But more than 57,000 customers are still without electricity Saturday night. Full Story
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![Icicles hang from telephone poles and power lines after an ice storm in North Austin on Feb. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Chainsaws and dry socks: Austinites step up for neighbors during ice storm
Friends in North Austin removed downed trees from neighbors’ roofs, while closer to the city core, volunteers rushed to meet the immediate needs of people without homes — those most severely impacted by the freezing temperatures. Full Story
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![Eric Calder and his son Thomas, 14, help move large tree limbs from a neighbors backyard after an ice storm, in northwest Austin on Feb. 2, 2023. Calder and his son were part of a neighborhood effort to clean up their neighbor's yards.]()
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Texas cities debate costly infrastructure investments in age of extreme weather
Experts say local governments should prioritize extreme weather preparedness. Cost can be a deterring factor. Full Story
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![Holly Phillips, an employee at 7-Eleven, finally waits for a bus to get home after she was stuck in the store for two nights as the roads iced over and other employees were not able to come in to take over her shift as winter weather moved through Dallas on Feb. 2, 2023.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
For many Central Texans, latest bout of cold weather and outages reopens old wounds
Severe weather this week is confronting Texans with old problems and stirring up memories of previous crises. Experts say this can be a detriment to mental health. Full Story
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![A man attempts to scrape the ice from his truck windshield after a winter storm in north Austin on Feb. 1, 2023.]()
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In Central Texas, an urban tree canopy bends to the ice
The Hill Country loves its trees. But improper pruning and a drought earlier in the year may have contributed to the huge number of downed branches this week that frequently took power lines with them. Full Story
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![Joe Rendon, a worker with Medxcel, cuts off a broken tree limb near the Ascension Seton Medical Center after an ice storm caused power outages across Austin on Feb. 2, 2023. Rendon and his crew had spent the day cleaning out other hospitals and said that there was enough damage from fallen trees for over two weeks of work.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ tech capital again fumbles digital communication amid a power crisis
As tens of thousands of households and businesses face a third day in the dark, Austin leaders say they will improve emergency communications. But residents and critics have little patience for bungled warnings. Full Story
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![A fallen tree blocks most of Barton Skyway in South Austin, Texas, U.S., during a winter storm on Feb. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Critics say state tax break helps petrochemical companies and hurts public schools
In December, legislators killed a controversial tax abatement program known as Chapter 313, but its effects will last decades. Full Story
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![Corpus Christi Ship Channel on April 17, 2022.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune -
Environmental advocates push feds to investigate Texas’ enforcement of water quality
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to investigate allegations that the state is failing to enforce the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s system of issuing permits has made it too easy for industries to contaminate rivers, lakes and estuaries. Full Story
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![Downstream from Inland Environmental & Remediation, Inc., contaminated water empties from Skull creek into the Colorado River south of Columbus, Texas, on April 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Company that wants to build oilfield dump in East Texas gave $53,750 in campaign donations to regulators
McBride Operating LLC and its owner, Joseph McBride, contributed to the political campaigns of the three commissioners on the Texas Railroad Commission now considering his request. Full Story
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![Two wells of the Paxton Water Supply Corporation sit about 1,000 yards away from the proposed dumpsite on Jan. 18, 2023.]()
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Austin doesn’t know when it’ll fully restore power as hundreds of thousands of Texans remain in the cold
Close to 325,000 electricity customers statewide lacked power Thursday evening. Austin’s main power provider said it can no longer promise full restoration by 6 p.m. Friday. Full Story
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![Crews from Pedernales Electric Company work to repair downed power lines in Buda on Feb. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
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