Political Intelligence
In Battle Between Big Oil and Big Corn, Ted Cruz Finally Called Out Trump
Immune from Justice
The Legislature appears unlikely to close a loophole that allows prosecutors to fire subordinates for refusing to illegally withhold evidence.
Eric Hillman thought the law was clear when he discovered new evidence that could help the man he was prosecuting in 2014. Then a prosecutor in the Nueces Count...Read More
How Trump’s Tax Cuts Could Accelerate Gentrification and Inequality in Houston
Tucked inside Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is a tax break for real-estate investors worth $1.5 billion. Critics say it could become a gentrification accelerant.
Once a crown jewel of Black Houston, the Third Ward is no longer affordable for many longtime homeowners and tenants. High-end townhomes have subsumed many part...Read More
Instead of Fighting ‘Tent City,’ Amarillo Decides to House Its Homeless
The city sued a landowner in 2018 for allowing about 30 homeless folks to set up tents. After a change of heart, city staff asked a camp advocate to help guide a "housing first" pilot program.
When Amarillo temperatures dip into the teens, like they did in early January, 36-year-old Dominic Baldivia simply turns up the heat in his two-bedroom duplex n...Read More
When Prison Reform Goes Bad
What happened to the Legislature's two-decade-old attempt to break the cycle of incarceration for low-level felons?
In the early 1990s, the Texas Legislature tried to build something surprisingly progressive amid the state’s tough-on-crime prison boom: an alternative to pri...Read More
How Climate Change Is Driving Central American Migrants to the United States
In the poor, violent Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, worsening floods, drought and storms are pushing a growing number of migrants north.
Donald Trump thinks there’s an immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has no idea what’s coming. Thousands of Central American migrants arrive at ...Read More
Trump’s Sabotage of ACA Enrollment Is Particularly Dangerous in Texas
The attacks on enrollment outreach come as Texas’ uninsured rate increased last year to more than 17 percent — the highest since 2014.
Illustration/Sunny Sone On a dreary day in late September, Ana Maria Garza Cortez stood in front of a hotel conference room full of worn-out community health wo...Read More
Why Environmental Groups Are Salty on Corpus Christi’s Pricey Desalination Plan
Despite the cost, logistical challenges and environmental side effects, city officials are moving forward on their plan to bolster Corpus Christi's water supply.
Having tried little else to save its water supply, Corpus Christi is considering an option that no other Texas city has embraced: seawater desalination. The str...Read More
After the Flood, the Political Storm?
Democrats in Greater Houston are hoping to tap into the frustrations of residents who are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey.
It’s been more than a year since Hurricane Harvey descended upon southeast Texas, damaging more than 200,000 homes and killing at least 88 people. Now, Democr...Read More
Inside the Coordinated Attack on a North Texas Wind Farm
Conservative lawmakers, an oil investor and other activists did all they could to stop a wind project in rural Texas, even as the state has increasingly embraced renewable energy.
Earlier this year, a Canadian energy producer was poised to build two large wind farms in Clay County, a mostly featureless stretch of plains at the Texas-Oklah...Read More