If you study a poll and then look at what the Texas Legislature is doing, you’ll see a lot of harmony between lawmakers and their voters. But not always. You might also wonder where the representatives in Austin get some of their ideas.
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Posted in
Energy
Explosions from unregulated pipelines can kill in Texas while energy companies go unpunished
People can die when small rural pipelines called “gathering lines” explode. But after decades of talk among industry representatives and regulators, the death of a little girl in Texas serves as a reminder that there are still no rules.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
TribCast: Is the “Kumbaya” phase of the legislative session over?
On this week’s TribCast, Aman talks to Evan, Aliyya and Alexa about the teacher pay and school finance proposals circulating in the Texas Lege, the latest finger-pointing over the voter citizenship review and the pushback Beto O’Rourke might face in a Democratic presidential field.
Posted in
TribCast
TribCast: UT/TT Pollster Edition
On this week’s special pollster edition of the TribCast, Ross talks to Josh Blank, Jim Henson and Daron Shaw from the University of Texas about the findings of the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
Posted in
Politics
Former U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall dies
The longtime congressman was one of the last conservative Democrats to switch to the Republican Party.
Posted inState Government
Presidential campaign would test Beto O’Rourke’s elusive political identity
Republicans spent last year insisting O’Rourke was too liberal for Texas. Democrats have since scrutinized him from the left, an examination that will only intensify if he jumps into the presidential race.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Point of Order: High hopes for higher ed
In the latest episode of our podcast about the 86th Legislature, Evan Smith talks to Renu Khator, the chancellor of the University of Houston System, about access, affordability, excellence, graduation rates and the importance of educating a diverse student population.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas lawmaker whose bill allowed medical cannabis oil wants to expand its use in 2019
State Rep. Stephanie Klick’s bill would give Texans with multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and spasticity access to medical cannabis oil.
Posted in
Families Divided
How one migrant family got caught between smugglers, the cartel and Trump’s zero-tolerance policy
Carlos left Honduras with 6-year-old Heyli and a dream of lifting his family out of poverty, only to be caught in the web of a billion-dollar smuggling industry, then separated from his daughter for months. “Right now, the money’s in the people,” one smuggler says.
Posted in
Families Divided
Border Hustle: Smugglers, cartels and the U.S. detention industry are making billions off of desperate migrants
Follow two Honduran migrants as their journey to the U.S. for a better life leads them into a giant border hustle where coyotes, cartels and corporations make big bucks off desperate people.
