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Alexa Ura reported for The Texas Tribune from 2013 to 2023. She covered the complex dynamics of race, ethnicity, wealth, poverty and power and how they are shaping the future of Texas and Texans, in the long and short term. Alexa started at the Tribune as a reporting intern before graduating from the University of Texas at Austin and joining the staff full time. Originally from Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border, she is a native Spanish speaker and is based in Austin.
Two Austin women made history Thursday when they became the first gay couple to legally wed in the state. But after the Texas Supreme Court intervened, attorneys for the state and for the couple disagreed on whether the marriage is valid. Full Story
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The state agency responsible for supervising, monitoring and providing treatment to sexually violent predators is out of space to house sex offenders, agency officials told state lawmakers on Wednesday. Full Story
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Saying it will unleash "legal chaos," Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday asked the Texas Supreme Court to block a Travis County probate judge's ruling that the state’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. Full Story
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Citing recent court decisions legalizing gay marriage in Alabama, plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage are asking a federal appeals court to clear the way for marriages in the state. Full Story
They acknowledge they're pushing a boulder up a hill in the conservative Texas Legislature. But three House Democrats remain laser-focused on repealing the 24-hour waiting period for abortion imposed by the state’s 2011 sonogram law. Full Story
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Emblems of Jack Stick’s days as the state health agency's deputy inspector general remain: roughly 300 high-dollar badges he designed and ordered for his investigators at a cost to taxpayers of $36,000. Full Story
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After a few failed legislative attempts, Republican lawmakers are once again working to make drug testing mandatory for some Texans who receive state welfare benefits. Full Story
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A day after state Rep. Molly White, R-Belton, came under fire for instructing staff to ask Muslim visitors to her office to pledge their allegiance to the U.S., Gov. Greg Abbott called for civil discussions "so that everyone has the opportunity to weigh in on their beliefs." Full Story
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UPDATED: A Muslim group at the Capitol has asked Speaker Joe Straus whether state Rep. Molly White violated ethics rules by instructing her staff to ask Muslim visitors to her office to declare their allegiance to the U.S. Full Story
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Four years after a legislative effort to keep Planned Parenthood from receiving state dollars for health care for low-income women, the Texas Senate is back at it — this time over funding for breast and cervical cancer screenings. Full Story
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