School districts face millions in extra costs as Texas program that backs bond debt hits its limit
Without the state’s safety net, districts with pending bond projects must now decide whether to pay more in interest or halt construction. Full Story
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![Students sit in Norman Gomez's third grade class at Linder Elementary School in Austin on Jan. 14, 2022. Students and staff wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.]()
Credit: Miranda Lipton for The Texas Tribune -
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 -
How Texas activists turned drag events into fodder for outrage
The Tribune analyzed more than two dozen anti-drag protests. Opponents frequently characterized the drag events as catering to children, even when businesses advertised them as adults-only or provided warnings about the potential for explicit material. Full Story
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![Kassandra Boehmer responds to anti-drag protesters on the crosswalk with her 7-year-old son Kaufman.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott starts state task force on street takeovers
During a recent street racing incident, Austin residents faced long 911 wait times. City officials say they need to increase staffing for 911 call takers, but state license and background check requirements make it difficult to fill positions. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during the Texas Rally for Life event at the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 28, 2023. Montinique Monroe for the Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Speaker Dade Phelan endorses Medicaid expansion for new mothers, repeal of “tampon tax” in first batch of 2023 priorities
The leader of the state House also threw his support behind bills to crack down on how companies handle private data and to protect children from “addictive algorithms” by digital companies. Full Story
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![Dade Phelan begins his second term as Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 88th legislature on Jan 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas higher education leaders say equitable access is key for graduation goals
During a Texas Tribune event on higher education, panelists also spoke about using the state’s historic surplus to improve the affordability of universities and keep rising costs down. Full Story
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Texas superintendent resigns after student finds his gun in school bathroom
The incident comes as lawmakers debate how to make schools safer after the Uvalde massacre and favor measures like arming more educators. Full Story
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![A M&P Shield handgun, small enough to be ideal for conceal carry, in Austin on April 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Photo Illustration by Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate revives effort to make illegal voting a felony
Lawmakers lowered the penalty to a misdemeanor in 2021, but then almost immediately began discussing raising it back. Full Story
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![Voters check in to vote at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston, Tuesday Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says most gun crimes involve illegally owned weapons. That’s not true in mass shootings.
Most of the state’s 19 mass shootings over the past six decades were carried out by men who legally possessed firearms, an investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a presser at Uvalde High School on May 27, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas will revamp economic development program after property tax incentive expires
Abbott told business leaders in Arlington on Wednesday that Texas is already suffering from the end of the tax-break program, recently losing a “massive” computer chip factory to New York. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a Site Selection’s Governor’s Cup award announcement at the Texas Governor's Mansion in Austin on March 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Google contractors on strike in Austin hope to rally support among tech workers
The several dozen contractors for YouTube Music are fighting a push to return to in-person work. Their strike has gained the support of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin. Full Story
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![A Google sign at one of the company's office complexes in Irvine, California on July 27, 2020.]()
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University of Texas System pauses new diversity, equity and inclusion policies
The system leaders’ decision comes weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop considering diversity in hiring. Texas A&M University also recently changed its hiring practices. Full Story
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![Students walk through campus at the University of Texas at Dallas on Aug. 27, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Former Texas House Speaker Rayford Price dies at 86
The Texas Democrat served as speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1972 to 1973. Full Story
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![Former House Speaker Rayford's official portrait for the 62nd Legislature.]()
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Texas’ shortage of mental health care professionals is getting worse
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already short supply of therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers. Full Story
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![AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 14, 2023: Communities in Schools staff members Christy Mitchell, Dorothy Garza and Amara Nitibhon (left to right) pose for a portrait at Langford Elementary School in Austin, Texas on February 14, 2023. (Photo by Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
In a Central Texas county, high schoolers are jailed on felony charges for vaping what could be legal hemp
Police often can’t tell if a cannabis vape pen is derived from marijuana or legal hemp, like the delta-8 products on display in gas stations across Texas. That doesn’t stop them from making felony arrests in high schools. Full Story
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![Miles Leon poses for a portrait inside his home on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 near Bulverde, TX. Leon was caught using a vape pen police say had THC but Leon claims had Delta-8. Leon could be charged with a felony for possession if tests show it was THC as a 17 year old in Texas Leon would be charged as an adult.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Mayors in some of Texas’ biggest cities face little opposition in May reelection bids
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker face little opposition in their reelection bids. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson doesn’t have any challengers. Full Story
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![From left: Mayors Eric Johnson of Dallas, Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio, and Mattie Parker of Fort Worth. All three are running unopposed in their upcoming elections.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott promises to be “heavily involved” in push for education savings accounts
In an interview with the Tribune, the governor also backed criminalizing some health care treatments for transgender kids and shrugged off the idea that he’s in a conservative policy rivalry with Ron DeSantis. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Asylum-seekers who cross the border illegally to be deported under new Biden administration rule
The new rule is designed to push migrants to seek asylum at official border crossings or through other legal channels rather than crossing the border illegally and then requesting asylum. Full Story
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![A group of migrants from Venezuela walk between the southern border wall and the Rio Grande river towards a temporary border patrol processing facility on October 6, 2022 in El Paso, TX. Record numbers of migrants, mostly from Venezuela, began arriving at the US/Mexico border this month.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
In audio, high-ranking TEA official admits public school funds could drop with voucher-like programs
“School districts, what they have to do if they lose a student, [is] be smart about how they allocate their resources and maybe that’s one less fourth grade teacher,” Steve Lecholop, a TEA deputy commissioner, said in a call with a parent that was secretly recorded. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at Parent Empowerment Night at Annapolis Christian Academy in Corpus Christi on Jan. 31, 2023 to discuss parent empowerment and choice in their child's education.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Texas puts up barriers that keep young adults out of extended foster care programs designed to help them
State and federal laws are supposed to protect foster youth until they turn 21. But Texas all too often erects unnecessarily burdensome hurdles. Full Story
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![Illustration of a person sitting on a bench at night.]()
Credit: Christine Ongjoco for The Imprint