Analysis: Texas politicians can change their minds. But it helps if the public goes first.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends. Full Story
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![A recently harvested marijuana flower hangs up to dry at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Medical Marijuana facility in South Austin on April 30, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says critics are "playing politics" over Texas National Guard suicides
Abbott said the suicides are being investigated and thinks it will come out that not all “actually occurred during Operation Lone Star.” Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard set up a shade structure while they guard a gate along the border wall in Del Rio on September 16, 2021.]()
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COVID-19 kept Texas Democrats off the campaign trail in 2020. Not this time.
In 2020, Democrats took their campaign efforts virtual. But they later admitted that the lack of in-person campaigning hurt them at the polls. Full Story
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![Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a campaign rally in San Antonio on Nov. 16, 2021.]()
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State Rep. Celia Israel announces run for Austin mayor
Former Austin mayor and Democratic state Sen. Kirk Watson has also expressed interest in running for the position, as has City Council member Kathie Tovo. Two candidates have formally announced their candidacy: Jennifer Virden, a Realtor and former Austin city council candidate, and Erica Nix. Full Story
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![State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, waits to announce her plan to run for Austin mayor at Parque Zaragoza in Austin on Jan. 11, 2021.]()
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Analysis: A Texas election in the shade of government’s third branch
Challenges to new Texas laws on voting, political districts and abortion are all pending in court, as is the state’s challenge to federal vaccine mandates. But until the courts rule, those laws remain in place — and they provide political fodder for the incumbents who support them. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, 2021. Today, the Supreme Court will hear cases regarding abortion in Texas.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers deplore mistreatment of National Guardsmen sent to border duty
Legislative leaders overseeing the Texas Military Department say they are looking into reports of suicides, habitual pay problems and poor working conditions on Gov. Greg Abbott's highly touted border mission. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas National Guard, seen here on Dec. 8, work 12- to 13-hour shifts guarding the Texas border wall, construction crews and materials near Del Rio. Thousands of National Guard troops were deployed to Del Rio after an increase in migration at the southern border.]()
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A Texas charter school had to remove an anti-racist quote from its website before it could open
After lawmakers passed a law about how racism was to be taught in Texas schools, Essence Preparatory in San Antonio was sent back to the drawing board. Full Story
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![Akeem Brown, the superintendent of Essence Preparatory Charter School in San Antonio. The school, which focuses on an antiracist curriculum, has encountered pushback due to anti-CRT legislation in Texas.]()
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T-Squared: Introducing our spring 2022 student fellows
More than a dozen amazing students from Texas and around the country will work with us this semester in various areas of our newsroom. Full Story
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![The Texas Tribune office in downtown Austin on Nov. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas natural gas production dropped during recent cold front, reviving concerns about electric grid
Energy experts said the production drop during a relatively ordinary cold front could be a bad sign for the grid if the state is struck by extreme winter weather again. Full Story
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GOP expands effort for South Texas dominance to local races
In the weeks before the December filing deadline to run in the March primary election, Project Red Texas traveled South Texas to recruit candidates to run for county offices. The group ended up helping get 125 candidates on the ballot across 25 counties. Full Story
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Omicron’s swift emergence tests Texas public schools as a new semester begins
Many schools are pushing through with plans for in-person classes despite a surge in COVID-19 cases as they try to reassure parents and students they are prepared to open safely this week. Full Story
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![First-grader Martin Domingos receives a COVID-19 rapid antigen test on Jan. 03, 2022, as he prepares to return to in-person learning at Eastside Early College High School in Austin.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Allen West blasts Gov. Greg Abbott over suicides, pay problems among National Guardsmen at the border
Abbott’s political challenger said guard members deployed to Operation Lone Star are facing late pay, being exposed to COVID-19, experiencing supply shortages and dealing with added stress that has led to multiple suicides tied to the mission. Full Story
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![A National Guard soldier leads a group of asylum seekers who have just crossed the border to be apprehended by Customs and Border Protection officers in Roma on Aug. 3, 2021.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tested positive last week for COVID-19 but didn’t tell Texas right away
Patrick’s office said he tested positive for COVID-19 last week and experienced mild symptoms but has since tested negative. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a press conference concerning the recently passed Election & Ballot Security Bill, also known as Senate Bill 7, at the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2021. "Senate Bill 7 is about voter security, not about voter suppression, and I'm tired of the lies and the nest of liars who continue to repeat them," said Patrick.]()
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Beto O’Rourke’s blunt support of marijuana legalization gives advocates hope for policy change
While the Texas Legislature has been hesitant to embrace policy change, advocates hope the O’Rourke campaign’s attention to marijuana legalization will give the issue a political boost. Full Story
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![Singer Willie Nelson, his son Lukas Nelson and U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke sing at the “Turn out for Texas Rally with Willie & Beto” event in Austin on September 29, 2018.]()
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Texas puts final estimate of winter storm death toll at 246
Officials added 36 to the estimate of lives lost in the disaster, which knocked out power in much of the state. Some experts place the toll even higher. Full Story
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![An ice and snow covered alley in South Austin after a freezing rain storm rolled through the area on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
10 Texas stories you don’t want to miss as we say goodbye to 2021
It was another historic, news-filled year. As you get ready for 2022, check out these memorable articles The Texas Tribune published in 2021. Full Story
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![A view of the South Entrance of the Texas Capitol from the Capitol Dome in Austin on Aug. 12, 2021.]()
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Statewide elections, a redder South Texas and Beto-mania: the biggest Texas political stories to watch for in 2022
Next year, every state official and every member of the Texas Legislature and Congress are up for election. That makes for a big year in Texas politics. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
8 big Texas stories from 2021 — and what's in store for 2022
An ongoing pandemic. A restrictive and unusual abortion law. A vulnerable power grid. These are the biggest stories from 2021 that will continue to unfold in 2022. Full Story
![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott intervened to put a positive spin on Texas' power grid
He's been heavily involved in positive public messaging about the grid’s winter readiness, but the data aren't rosy — and experts fear the grid could fail if there's another winter storm. Full Story
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![Snow at the Capitol in Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
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Health agency warns Texas is running out of the only antibody treatment effective against the omicron variant
Five of the department’s regional infusion centers have run out of sotrovimab, the only antibody treatment known to be effective against the new variant. Full Story
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![Isidro Bernardino receives a COVID-19 antibody infusion at Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune
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