‘Up Against a 500-Pound Gorilla’: Can Dems Make Inroads in Deep-Red West Texas?
With a candidate on the ballot in every state and federal race, the minority party is trying hard to gain some ground in the GOP’s electoral firewall.
Rural Texas
Ready, Set, File: Transparency Bills Passed by Legislature Could Open the Door to Once-Public Records
The measures would sew up the so-called Boeing loopholes, which the government has used thousands of times to keep taxpayer-funded deals private.
Carbon Sequestration Isn’t The Long-Term Solution. Is it a Short-Term One?
Experts have long debated the efficacy of capturing and storing carbon underground to reduce emissions. Now, in North Texas, oil and gas companies are getting in on the game.
Report: Oil and Gas Producers May Be Pushing the Permian Basin Past Federal Air Quality Limits
Sulfur dioxide levels in the vast West Texas region may be hitting dangerous levels. Meanwhile, the state is hardly bothering to monitor the pollutant.
The EPA Told Texas to Crack Down on Dangerous Air Emissions in 2015. The State Never Did, and Now It Won’t Have to.
Trump’s EPA rescinded a rule that would have forced Texas to close a loophole exploited by industrial polluters in 97 percent of illegal emission events.
Port of Corpus Christi Pushes Ahead with Oil Terminal Project, Environment Be Damned
As the agency courts tankers that can carry 2.2 million barrels of crude each, activists worry that the plan could spoil the habitats of the aquatic species that thrive here.
Religious Exemption Bill Could Leave LGBTQ Texans Scrambling for Health Care
About a quarter of Texas counties have two or fewer primary care doctors and pharmacists. What happens if they refuse service?
Could Hemp be an Economic Lifeline for Rural Texas Towns?
As the Legislature considers greenlighting hemp production, a litany of farmers, rural economic development advocates and even conservative Republicans are singing its praises.
Ghosts of the Baker Hotel
What does it take to revive a struggling small town?
New Chicken Farms are Ruining Roads and Fowling the Air in Upshur County
As industrial chicken farming expands to East Texas, local residents say they’ve been bombarded with the waste of hundreds of thousands of birds, an “overpowering” stench and heavy truck traffic.