The Brief: July 7, 2014
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers has asked for a chance at a "graceful" departure from his post after next year's legislative session. Full Story
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![The nine University of Texas System presidents led by UT-Austin President Bill Powers appear at the committee meeting on May 14, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
T-Squared: A Journey on the Disappearing Rio Grande
Colin McDonald is traveling the length of the Rio Grande — on foot and kayak — to document its ongoing disappearing act. We're excited to follow McDonald on this voyage and to support this unique journalistic endeavor. Full Story
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Credit: Erich Schlegel -
In Its Fight With Drought, Wichita Falls Considers Using Chemical for Relief
Desperate to keep the precious little water left in its reservoirs, the city of Wichita Falls may turn to an "evaporation suppressant" chemical for help. Full Story
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![The decreasing water line on Lake Arrowhead, one of three lakes the city of Wichita Falls gets its water from, is pictured here on Jan. 25, 2013.]()
Credit: Brandon Thibodeaux -
The Disappearing Rio Grande Expedition
The Rio Grande's future has never been more uncertain. Reporter Colin McDonald and photojournalist Erich Schlegel are traveling the river's length, documenting its culture and its biology from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. Full Story
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Credit: Erich Schlegel -
New in Trib+Water: Watershed and Aquifer Protection
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: the Lege talks watershed protections, Prop 6 funding system announced and an interview with Blair Fitzsimons of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust. Full Story
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The Brief: July 2, 2014
Lawmakers had a busy Tuesday, with the safe storage of ammonium nitrate and the alleged influence of criminal cartels in the current immigration crisis among the topics addressed. Full Story
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![L to R: Larry Phillips (R) Sherman and Joe Pickett (D) El Paso during the Transportation and the 83rd Legislature section of The Texas Tribune's symposium held on the SMU campus.]()
Credit: Mark Graham -
Bill Aimed at Preventing Plant Accidents Meets Resistance
In the year since the West fertilizer plant explosion, there have been no new regulations approved for such plants. Now one state lawmaker is hoping to change that, but he's already facing opposition. Full Story
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![A vehicle near the remains of a fertilizer plant burning after an explosion in West, Texas, near Waco.]()
Credit: Mike Stone / Bay Area News -
The Brief: July 1, 2014
Political rhetoric aside, uncertainty remains on the larger impact of Monday's Hobby Lobby decision. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Esther Groen -
5th Circuit Reverses District Court Opinion in Victory for Water Suppliers
State and local water planning agencies in Texas were handed a narrow victory by federal judges on Monday, vindicating decisions to supply more water to cities and industries at potential expense of wildlife. Full Story
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![Whooping Crane in flight in Texas.]()
Credit: John Noll / USDA -
The Brief: June 30, 2014
Did Wendy Davis peak with the filibuster? Full Story
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![Wendy Davis addresses her supporters at the filibuster anniversary celebration hosted by her campaign.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Federal Government Targets Oil Industry for Underpaying Workers
The federal Department of Labor says it has found that some energy companies in states where drilling is booming are cheating thousands of workers out of millions of dollars in overtime pay. Full Story
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Credit: Lindsey Gee -
The Brief: June 25, 2014
The Tribune's Reeve Hamilton has dropped the first in a three-part series tackling the timely topic of lawmakers writing recommendations on behalf of applicants to the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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![Flagship university chancellor Dr. Francisco Cigarroa interviewed by editor Evan Smith at TribLive on March 28, 2013.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: June 24, 2014
Texas politicians from across the political spectrum are weighing in on the surge of unaccompanied minors crowding detention facilities. Full Story
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![The Hackney Training Complex at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, where hundreds of minors are currently housed. Texas has seen a dramatic increase in unaccompanied minors crossing the border into the U.S.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Another Loss for Texas in Its Challenge of EPA Regulations
The U.S. Supreme Court largely rejected Attorney General Greg Abbott’s challenge of federal climate rules Monday, deciding that the EPA is allowed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from most large industrial facilities. Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry has said that a new federal proposal to cut carbon emissions is "the most direct assault yet on the energy providers that employ thousands of Americans."]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Texas a Testing Ground for Energy Storage
Spurred in part by its fast-growing renewable energy sector, Texas has become a major testing ground for storage technology that could revolutionize the power grid. Full Story
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![Chris Schein of Oncor stood with one of the company's new batteries at Oncor's Environment System Operating Services Facility near Lancaster on June 12, 2014.]()
Credit: Robert W. Hart -
The Brief: June 23, 2014
The discovery of a mass grave in Brooks County containing unidentified immigrants already has a couple of state lawmakers calling for an investigation of what happened. Full Story
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PUC Rejects Petition Targeting Small Electric Generators
UPDATED: The Texas Public Utility Commission on Friday unanimously rejected a petition to overturn its “small fish, swim free” rule, which gives small electricity generators an absolute defense against allegations of market power abuse. Full Story
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![A look inside the ERCOT control center in 2013.]()
Credit: Justin Dehn/The Texas Tribune -
Rancher's Complaint May Spur New Power Line Rules
A North Texas rancher’s protest of a power line that splits his land — one he says was built in the wrong place — could prompt new rules addressing when a transmission company can tweak a line’s route after it is approved. Full Story
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![Johnny Vinson stands on the part of his Wise County, Texas ranch where Oncor built a power line through his property. Vinson says the power company didn't build the line where it was approved.]()
Credit: Robert Hart -
After Fire, Panhandle Town's Future is Unclear
A month after a fire destroyed 225 homes near Fritch, the small Panhandle town is grappling with questions about its future after years of drought and a steadily declining population. Full Story
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![The town is now grappling with questions about its future and how to provide aid to the hundreds of residents displaced by the fire.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster -
Methane Inquiry Closes, but Questions Linger
Last month, the Railroad Commission of Texas rejected an argument that drilling activity was to blame for methane migrating into a North Texas neighborhood's water supply. But independent geoscientists remain divided on the issue. Full Story
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![Steve Lipsky shows the methane contamination of his well by igniting the gas with a lighter outside his family's home in Parker County near Weatherford, Texas on June 17, 2014.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill