Analysis: Voting in Texas could be as easy as a trip to the grocery store
Some of the biggest private-sector companies in Texas adapted quickly to customer service during the pandemic. Unfortunately, they're not in charge of voting. Full Story
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![The Collin County Elections Department created a mock polling site to prepare poll workers for early voting beginning June 29. The polling site included newly added signs to inform voters and employees on how to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 during the voting process.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials want to cut funding for women's health services while preserving an anti-abortion program
An August budget document shows funding for the anti-abortion program would be maintained, but reduced for doctors and clinics that provide reduced-cost contraception and health screenings. Full Story
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![One of the six exam rooms at Haven Health Clinics in downtown Amarillo on Dec. 9, 2013. The clinic provides services for women and some men in the 26 county region of the Texas panhandle.]()
Credit: Stephen Spillman for The Texas Tribune -
Hurricane after hurricane wreaked havoc in Orange, Texas. Finally, residents say they got a break.
State and local leaders and thousands of residents surveyed the comparatively little damage with gratitude — and surprise. Full Story
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![Drainage foreman Robert Walker scans the side of his house for storm damage after Hurricane Laura blew through Orange.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A weather map for Texas’ COVID-19 response
The state has disaster response down to a routine, ready to roll out whenever hurricanes and other bad weather strikes. But that coordination between state and local governments hasn't been the model for pandemic response. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds a press conference after talking to local and county officials about the damage done by Hurricane Hanna in Nueces and Kleberg Counties, on Tuesday, July 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times via REUTERS -
Five health experts on the state’s coronavirus data backlog
The state disclosed a backlog of more than 850,000 tests this month, which were delayed in part because of coding or formatting errors and a lengthy onboarding process needed to receive reports from laboratories. Full Story
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![A health care worker speaks to a patient at a drive-thru testing site at Exceptional Medical Plaza in Garland on June 30, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
As Hurricane Laura heads for Southeast Texas, officials scramble to evacuate and shelter people during a pandemic
The storm is now a Category 4 hurricane whose dangerous winds and storm surge could cause damage along a large swath of the Gulf Coast and Southeast Texas. Full Story
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![A man rides a bike down Broadway Street in Galveston, past a sign that reads "Laura Go Away your' not welcome.” Hurricane Laura is expected to make landfall between Texas and Louisiana.]()
Credit: Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times via USA Today Network -
Several Texas cities issue mandatory evacuation orders as Hurricane Laura strengthens in the Gulf
From Galveston to the Louisiana border, Texas communities are telling residents to seek shelter away from the coast as Laura is projected to intensify into a Category 3 hurricane. Full Story
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![Surfers rode high swells from Hurricane Hanna in Galveston in July. The city is currently under mandatory evacuation in anticipation of Hurricane Laura.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif -
Nearly 350,000 unemployed Texans don't qualify for extra $300 weekly benefit
Texans receiving less than $100 in weekly unemployment benefits do not qualify for the extra $300 weekly payments the Trump administration is distributing to Texas and other states. Full Story
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![Threadgill’s restaurant is closing permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic.]()
Credit: Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Analysis: Austin’s police cuts give Texas Republicans new campaign material
Texas Republicans who were looking for fertile political ground in the runup to the November elections got a gift from a most unlikely source: the Austin City Council. Full Story
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![The CIty of Austin seal inside Austin City Hall. Sept. 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declares state of disaster in 23 counties ahead of Hurricane Marco, Tropical Storm Laura
With two storms gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico, Abbott on Sunday declared a state of disaster in coastal counties and warned Texans to remember coronavirus health guidelines. Full Story
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![From left, current forecast models show Tropical Storm Marco making landfall near Texas and Louisiana as a hurricane on Monday afternoon, followed by Tropical Storm Laura also arriving in the area as a hurricane early Thursday.]()
Credit: National Hurricane Center -
For this working mom, the risk of her son contracting coronavirus outweighs the need for him to be in class
Amy Mason says there are just too many unknowns for her to feel comfortable sending her 4-year-old to school at this point. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast. Full Story
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![Amy Mason and her son, Clark outside their home in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Amy Mason -
Out-of-work Texans could start seeing extra $300 in unemployment payments next week
On Friday, federal officials gave Texas the green light to provide the additional payments. States can contribute another $100, but Texas does not plan to do so. Full Story
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![Volunteers load boxes of food into a car during a drive-thru food distribution hosted by the Central Texas Food Bank at the Travis County Expo Center on June 30, 2020 in Austin.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
With no end to the shutdown in sight, Texas bar owners and employees are on the brink of losing everything
Some bar owners are planning to reopen in defiance of the moratorium, a desperate attempt to generate income — and draw Gov. Greg Abbott’s attention. Full Story
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![Elizabeth McNiel, the owner of Ironwood Saloon and an ASL teacher, and her husband Ryan front of their RV that is parked behind their empty bar, the only one in Sabinal. They shut it down because of COVID-19 mandates. Aug. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Christopher Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: With elections coming, Texas Republican leaders join the thin blue line
Freezing local taxes in Texas cities that cut police funding sounds better than it works. But the political angle taken by the state's top leaders gives them something other than pandemic and recession to talk about this election season. Full Story
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![Austin police officers stand guard as the Austin Fire Department puts out a car that was set on fire by protesters in downtown Austin on May 30, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas will apply for federal program to get extra $300 per week for unemployed Texans
At least 10 other states have already applied and been approved for the additional unemployment benefits. Full Story
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![Workers boarded up bars on Sixth Street in Austin after Gov. Greg Abbott closed bars in Texas for the second time in three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic on June 26, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas, USPS woes and state deadlines could leave voters without enough time to return mail-in ballots
In Texas' major counties, almost 99% of mail-in ballots were counted during the July primary runoff election, a Tribune analysis shows. But election officials say postal service disarray and a record number of requests mean people should ask for their absentee ballots well before November's Election Day. Full Story
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TribCast: Texas and the DNC, the fight over police funding, and election mailing woes
On this week's Tribcast, Alexa talks to Matthew, Alex and Ross about Texans' role at the Democratic National Convention, a new front in the local control fight and what election mail concerns could mean for Texas. Full Story
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![Protesters march in downtown Austin on July 27, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott, other Texas leaders want to freeze property tax revenues for cities that cut police budgets
The state's three top elected leaders also fiercely criticized the Austin officials who plan to cut up to one-third of their police department's budget, largely through reorganizing divisions out from under law enforcement. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, hold the first meeting of the Texas Safety Commission at the Texas Capitol August 22, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas becomes fourth state to surpass 10,000 COVID-19 deaths
New Jersey, New York and California have also exceeded 10,000 known COVID-19 fatalities. Experts say official death tolls are all but certain to be undercounts. Full Story
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Texas Legislative Black Caucus unveils the George Floyd Act to ban chokeholds and limit police use of force
In a press conference featuring Floyd's brother, the lawmakers said they hope their bill wins the support of Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus at a press conference supporting the CROWN Act in Houston on Feb. 6, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
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