Tag Archives: Hurricane Harvey
Will Hurricane Harvey Recovery Sink or Save a Texas City Already Fighting for Survival?
A year after Hurricane Harvey, Port Arthur is fighting for survival. Will Texas' disaster recovery process push residents deeper into despair, or help lift them out of it?
by Michael Barajas and Sophie Novack July 30, 2018 On a Friday morning in mid-May, Beatrice Sanders stepped outside her FEMA trailer to find a port-a-potty park...Read More
How Disaster Recovery Overlooks the Poor
Texas’ recent plan for allocating $5 billion in federal disaster recovery grants neglects the poorest people harmed by Hurricane Harvey, activists say.
Early in his career, David Hall came to see the Rio Grande Valley’s most impoverished communities as an important prism for viewing Texas’ civil rights stru...Read More
Without State Aid, Advocates Worry Port Arthur Will Bleed Residents Long After Harvey
Flooding was so widespread in Port Arthur during Harvey that even shelters had to be evacuated.
Hurricane Harvey was destruction in three acts. The first occurred on August 25, when the storm crashed ashore north of Corpus Christi with 130 mph winds. For i...Read More
Let the Concrete Pour: ‘Power Moves’ Tracks Houston’s Bleak Transportation History
Kyle Shelton’s even-handed new history never lets the reader forget that one person’s infrastructure disappointment is another person’s happiness.
Jensen Drive, on the east side of downtown Houston, is an unlikely spot to begin a narrative. This bleak stretch of pavement crosses over a sunken Interstate 10...Read More
Hung Out to Dry: Low-Income Houstonians Stuck in Damaged Homes Months After Harvey
Housing advocates say many Houstonians are stuck in unsafe homes and aren't receiving disaster relief from FEMA.
Dorothy Jones stands in her near-empty apartment in Houston and worries that her kids won’t understand why there’s no Christmas tree this year. It’s late ...Read More
2017 Was Texas’ Second-Warmest Year on Record
The average temperature in Texas last year was 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit above average.
At least the summer wasn’t too brutal. Other than a merely somewhat-above-average summer, 2017 proved to be another record-breaking year of weather extremes i...Read More
Big Trouble in Little Cambodia
After Harvey, a small refugee community in Brazoria County needed help. Neo-Confederates and radical anti-government groups showed up.
Big Trouble in Little Cambodia After Harvey, a small refugee community in Brazoria County needed help. Neo-Confederates and radical anti-government groups showe...Read More
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo on Sanctuary Cities, Police Unions and Tommy Guns
Houston's police chief rose to the top of Texas' largest police force while inserting himself in thorny political debates.
As I enter Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo’s downtown office, he’s just wrapped up a TV interview, and the moment we finish talking, he’ll rush downstair...Read More
The 7 Most Pressing Issues Facing Rural Texas
In 2017, rural schools lost crucial funding, two hospitals closed and natural disasters wreaked havoc in what some regard as “flyover country.”
It’s been a tough year for rural Texas. In 2017, the 3.8 million Texans who live outside the state’s metro areas bore a bevy of hardships, including hospita...Read More
