95,000 Texas children are waiting for state help to pay for day care
Adding more funding to scholarships is just one way experts say state lawmakers could address Texas’ child care crisis. Full Story
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Jess Huff joined the Tribune in 2023 and is based in Lufkin, Texas. She grew up in Utah and has also lived in Arizona and the Netherlands. Her latest adventure brought her to East Texas where she worked for The Lufkin Daily News, leading the publication to numerous awards for investigative reporting in the region. Jess attended Northern Arizona University on a debate scholarship and fell in love with the journalism program after a course on alternative storytelling devices. Her work has been published in the Arizona Daily Sun, The Associated Press, The Lufkin Daily News, Capital & Main and a number of local outlets across Texas.
Latest Contributions
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![Clarissa Alday spends her morning reading to children at Katherine Sage Temple Early Learning Center, on Tuesday February 25, 2025, in Diboll.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
“We’re in competition”: An East Texas school district faces hard choices as education options grow
The Lufkin school district says it must do a better job of promoting itself amid growing competition from charter schools and homeschooling. Full Story
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![Students get onto a bus following classes at Lufkin High School in Lufkin on Jan. 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.]()
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Domestic violence is up in Texas. Survivors and supporters hope lawmakers will take action.
Reported domestic violence incidents have risen 26% since 2019. Full Story
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![The East Texas Crisis Center, on Wednesday January 8, 2025, in Tyler.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to set a high bar for local tax increases
Local officials, school advocates and tax policy experts said such a proposal could have dire impacts on basic services. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender-affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.]()
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An East Texas town debates where to place EV charging stations as Trump threatens subsidies
Some residents see the charging stations as an economic boom to the town, while others find it an assault on the oil and gas industry in Texas. Full Story
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![Traffic makes its way throught the intersection of Loop 281 and Gilmer Road in Longview on Friday January 24, 2025.]()
Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune -
Housing, transportation solutions debated at Texas Tribune event on future of cities
Despite its history as a “frontier state,” Texans largely live in metropolitan areas that are seeing exponential growth. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court dismisses State Bar lawsuit against assistant attorney general
The state bar sought to take away the law license of Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster over a Texas lawsuit challenging 2020 presidential election results. Full Story
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![First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster speaks during a press conference in the William Clements Building in Austin on June 9, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Advocates say there aren’t enough of them in Texas long-term care facilities
Officials hope state lawmakers will boost the budget of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman office, an independent state agency, which can often be an elderly Texan’s only lifeline to the outside world. Full Story
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![An empty room at the Amistad Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on April 1, 2021.]()
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What does the Texas House speaker do and why are Republicans fighting?
Texas Republicans are poised to pick the statehouse lower chamber’s next leader this weekend. Full Story
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![Speaker of the House Dade Phelan presides over the opening day of the special session at the Texas Capitol on July 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Weak infrastructure, distrust make communication during natural disasters hard on rural Texas
When disaster strikes, Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy takes command of her county’s emergency communication channels, including a text service and Facebook page. Full Story
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![Floodwater accumulates in a residential area following significant rainstorms in Coldspring, on Saturday, May 4, 2024.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune