Texas' July unemployment rate drops slightly to 8%
With more than 10,000 Texans dead from COVID-19, economists have warned that until the state gets a handle on the pandemic, the economic recession will not improve. Full Story
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![A Rooms to Go in Frisco, open to customers.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for 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 -
UT-Austin students and employees urge officials to stop in-person classes, lower tuition and offer hazard pay
The Texas State Employees Union presented a petition that condemns the upcoming return to campus in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic as harmful. Classes start Wednesday. Full Story
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![The Texas flag flies on the south lawn of The Univerisity of Texas at Austin campus on Dec. 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/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 -
As the Texas restaurant industry struggles, so do farmers, truckers and others in the food supply chain
Economic experts say a slow recovery in the industry means problems will persist for the restaurant sector — and businesses in the supply chain on which it relies. Full Story
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![Owner Eric Silverstein takes food from the Bar Peached kitchen to one of his customers on Aug. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Jobless Texans still don't know if they will receive extra unemployment benefits
Confusion over unemployment relief in Texas has persisted since President Donald Trump took executive action in early August announcing an extra $400 weekly payment — but only if states administer the funds and chip in a quarter of the cost. 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 -
Democrats, local election leaders fear Donald Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting foreshadow voter suppression
Changes at the U.S. Postal Service have raised concerns about whether ballots will be delivered on time, but local officials and Democrats stress that mail-in voting remains a vital and safe way to cast a ballot. Full Story
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![A USPS delivery truck in Austin on April 21, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ largest cities spend more on police than anything else. Activists want more of those funds spent on the social safety net instead.
Austin officials slashed their police department's budget this week as other Texas cities are rethinking how general fund dollars are spent — and whether spending so much to combat crime addresses the poverty that can cause it. Full Story
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![Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo responds to demonstrators about police accountability at a rally for George Floyd at Houston City Hall.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Trump called the USMCA the best trade deal ever. Analysts say it's not likely to help Texas during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has clobbered the Texas economy and trade with Mexico, clouding the trade deal’s potential impacts, experts say. Full Story
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![Trucks entering the United States after crossing the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville on Jan. 10, 2019,]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar for The Texas Tribune -
White House acknowledges new unemployment assistance less than what President Trump originally touted
Under President Donald Trump’s directive, the federal government may only have enough money to pay the enhanced $300 weekly benefits for about five weeks. The extra federal benefit was previously $600 a week. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks after signing executive orders for economic relief during a news conference amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey Aug. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Joshua Roberts /REUTERS -
What losing football to COVID-19 would mean for Texas college towns: "It’s like losing Christmas"
Economists said canceling football would be devastating to local businesses that rely on the huge influxes of cash from home games. Meanwhile, athletics officials weigh whether they can risk the health and welfare of student athletes. Full Story
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![The Queen Theatre near downtown on June 15, 2020 in Bryan.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
$400 in extra unemployment benefits remain uncertain in Texas after Trump's executive order
The order could face legal challenges, and Texas might have to chip in a quarter of the cost. State leaders have not said how they'll respond. Full Story
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![COVID related street art on Sixth Street in downtown Austin on May 6th, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Restaurants, bars and breweries scramble to reinvent themselves to get around Gov. Greg Abbott's bar shutdown
Businesses that make up most of their sales with alcohol were closed down by Abbott's latest shutdown order, leaving them to maneuver through loopholes to reopen. Full Story
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![Waiter Katy Berry serves the Richardson family at Lava Cantina, a restaurant and bar in the Colony. Lava Cantina reopened on July 24 after being shut down by the TABC following the June 26 mandate.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says local governments can't stop or delay evictions
The nonbinding opinion comes as housing experts and advocates fear that the COVID-19 recession will prompt a surge in evictions across the state. Full Story
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![An apartment complex in Tomball.]()
Credit: Loren Elliott for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Opening Texas schools is 2020’s top election issue
During a pandemic, an economic recession and public protests against racial injustice and police violence, it's hard to say what Texas voters will be thinking about in this year's election. Here's a candidate: Reopening schools. Full Story
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![Desks are seated six feet away from each other at Premont Collegiate High School on Aug. 4, 2020 in Premont. Some desks, marked with yellow Xs, were used as placeholders to maintain a socially safe distance.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
UT planning to limit stadium capacity to 25%. Here's what you need to know about Texas college football during the pandemic.
Texas schools in the Big 12 and SEC are still planning to play this fall. Full Story
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![People take photos with the 3-ton bronze replica of the Haynes Aggie Ring at Texas A&M University on Monday, June 15, 2020 in College Station. The ring is located outside the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center near Kyle Field.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Inside the Trump campaign’s effort — and struggle — to win over Black voters in Texas
The Trump campaign has held events across the country to chip away at his broad unpopularity with Black voters and flip the narrative that he is hostile to people of color. Full Story
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![Frederick Douglass Republicans Engagement Strategy creator KCarl Smith speaks at a Black Voices for Trump event, a nationwide initiative to sway voters, at the McLennan County Republican Headquarters in Waco on Feb. 26, 2020.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sales tax collections went up in July — and were higher than one year ago
Texas collected $2.98 billion in sales tax revenue in July — 4.3% more than in July 2019. Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the number was "better than expected." Full Story
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![A restaurant worker cleans a table at Güeros Taco Bar in South Austin on June 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Houston announces $15 million to assist tenants, but passes on mandatory eviction grace period for people behind on rent
The city's first program, launched in May, received overwhelming demand and ran out of funds in 90 minutes. Full Story
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![Latino workers gather for a car protest to demand economic, rental and health relief outside of Houston City Hall on Tues. July 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Briana Vargas for The Texas Tribune -
Across Texas and the nation, the novel coronavirus is deadlier for people of color
New data on Texas coronavirus fatalities reveals stark racial disparities. Full Story
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![Juan Lopez wheels a stretcher out of the back of his vehicle in the early morning in McAllen. Lopez is picking up the body of a person who recently passed away from COVID-19. July 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune