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Joshua Fechter is the Dallas-based urban affairs reporter for The Texas Tribune, covering policy — including housing affordability, housing and property taxes, evictions, policing and transportation — and politics in Texas' major metropolitan areas. Before joining the Tribune in August 2021, Joshua covered City Hall for the San Antonio Express-News. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
Supporters of Proposition A argued that boosting the ranks of the police force was necessary to combat the city’s growing homicide rate, a trend seen in cities nationwide. Opponents and city leaders warned it would lead to fewer firefighters, medics and librarians. Full Story
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If voters approve the measure next year, it will raise the state’s homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes, netting the average homeowner about $176 in savings. Full Story
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A November vote on whether Austin should hire hundreds of new police officers is shaping up as a test of Austinites’ appetite for police reform. Full Story
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Republican lawmakers have faced pressure to provide some form of property tax relief this year. Critics of a new proposal say it’s politically timed. Full Story
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The halt comes after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded his ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates — which previously applied to cities, counties and school districts — to private employers. Full Story
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Months after Austin voters reinstated the city’s public camping ban, authorities are clearing many of the largest encampments. Their former residents are going “anywhere it’s safe and out of sight, out of mind,” one man said. Full Story
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Tax relief for property owners joins a packed to-do list for Texas lawmakers — which includes redistricting, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and a spending plan for $16 billion in federal stimulus dollars. Full Story
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The Texas fight over mask mandates is confusing. We’re here to help. Full Story
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued nine more school districts over their masking rules. One says it doesn’t mandate them. Another says it doesn’t enforce mask-wearing at Paxton’s request. Full Story
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“I think we fared well,” said one official in Matagorda County, where Nicholas made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Tuesday morning. Full Story
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