Analysis: The Texas storms — actual and political — of 2021
Here are a dozen of my columns from 2021: highlights on the winter storm, redistricting, the state’s finances and on issues that could figure into this next round of elections. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on June 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
2021 Texas politics in photos: An insurrection, legislative battles and emerging campaigns
Texas politics in 2021 were marked by a violent insurrection at the nation’s Capitol and state legislative fights over abortion, voting rights and redistricting. Our photojournalists were there every step of the way. Full Story
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![Democratic members of the Texas House and Texas Senate gather for a joint press event to update Texans on their work in Washington, DC to advocate for federal voting rights protections at Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Holidays and at-home tests mean omicron’s spread will be harder to track in Texas
The Texas Department of State Health Services, which tracks the number of coronavirus vaccinations, cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the state, won’t be updating its daily dashboard Friday through Sunday both this week and next over the holidays. Full Story
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Unhappy holidays: Texas endures another COVID Christmas
After nearly two years of navigating life during a pandemic, many Texans are now scrambling for COVID tests, delaying plans and worrying about relatives who have been exposed to the virus. Full Story
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![Travelers check flight statuses at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Nov. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Beto O’Rourke targets Gov. Greg Abbott for vetoing bill to improve internet access in rural Texas
Abbott vetoed legislation in June that would have helped shore up the Universal Service Fund, which supports telecommunications in rural Texas. He said it would have “imposed a new fee on millions of Texans.” Full Story
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![A colonia, unincorporated neighborhoods that lack basic services such as street lights, proper drainage, paved roads or waste management, is seen near Edinburg on March 25, 2020.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott has touted the state’s efforts to build a border wall, but many details remain a mystery
Abbott unveiled the first 900 feet of border barrier Saturday. But the state has been mum on where it plans to build additional barriers and how many miles it can afford. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott looks at crane lifting a section of the border wall in place after giving a press conference at Rio Grande City on Dec. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
“Left out of the conversation”: Transgender Texans feel the impact of state’s restrictive abortion law
While Texas’ controversial abortion law strictly refers to women in its phrasing, it also limits access to the procedure for transgender and nonbinary people who are able to become pregnant. Full Story
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![A surgery room at the Whole Woman's Health Surgical Center in San Antonio on March 18, 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas Supreme Court case, state argues that Dallas-Houston bullet train developer can’t use eminent domain
A rural Texas landowner is battling Texas Central in a lawsuit that hinges on whether the company can forcibly take parcels needed to connect the state’s two biggest urban areas. Full Story
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![A public scoping meeting on the Dallas to Houston High-Speed Rail hosted by TXDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration in Houston on Oct. 29, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Amid Texas GOP’s effort to question electoral integrity, attorney general tried to indict Travis County elections chief
The effort to charge Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir came at a time when many Texas Republicans questioned the integrity of last year’s election despite there being no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Full Story
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![Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir speaks at a press conference outside a mail-in ballot drive thru location in Austin on Oct. 1, 2020.]()
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The push to ban books in Texas schools spreads to public libraries
Some Texas residents are asking for greater say in what titles appear on public library shelves. Full Story
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![Books on shelves at the Llano Public Library on Dec. 14, 2021. The Commissioners Court for Llano County voted to close the public library to conduct "inventory and catalog" their books after community pushback related to books that some deemed offensive. The pushback also led to a decision to immediately shut down an online library of thousands of books out of fears that children could access material not appropriate for children.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A rose by any other name could stink up the Texas ballot
Political people in Texas know that the Rick Perry on the 2022 Republican primary ballot is not the former governor of the state. Do voters know? Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at the poll booths in University Park United Methodist Church on election day in Dallas. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott inaugurates first stretch of state-funded border barrier in Starr County
Abbott launched the construction of a wall along the Texas-Mexico border using state money and crowdfunded private donations. The state has at least $1.05 billion for the border barriers. Full Story
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![Greg Abbott gives a press conference on border wall construction at Rio Grande City on Dec. 18, 2021]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas ducks the federal courts, inspiring copycats
Just as many legal experts predicted, the enforcement provision in Texas’ new law restricting abortion has become a magnet for other states that want to limit constitutionally protected rights. Full Story
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![Signs reading “Dismantle Roe” are placed along a barrier surrounding the Supreme Court in Washington D.C., on Nov. 1, 2021.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
After governor’s veto, parents now must opt-in for students to learn about dating violence, child abuse
Advocates are worried that a last-minute law change means that students who need information about dating violence and child abuse will be the least likely to receive it. Full Story
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![Students arrived at Morehead Middle School in El Paso on Aug. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Death threats and doxxing: The outcomes of mask mandate and critical race theory fights at a Texas school board
The fight over race and how to deal with the pandemic has split the Fort Worth community, showcasing what’s being seen across the state and country. Full Story
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![Roxanne Martinez, District 9 trustee on the Fort Worth Board of Education, was elected to the position in June of this year. Dec. 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Republican primary for attorney general heats up, with challengers taking aim at Ken Paxton’s legal troubles
With the candidate filing deadline behind them, the attorney general’s challengers jockey to establish themselves as best person to unseat him. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on Oct. 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Some Texas lawmakers are worried about the wrong reading problem
Some Texas Republicans are busy raising questions about what's in the books in the state's public school libraries. The real problem isn't in the books. Full Story
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![The library at Blanco Vista Elementary in San Marcos on Nov. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ 2022 races coming into focus as candidate filings close
Every statewide office, legislative seat and U.S. House district will be on the ballot next year when the state’s new political maps are expected to be used. Full Story
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![A voting sign at the South Austin Recreation Center polling site on Oct. 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
A Rick Perry — no, not that Rick Perry — files to run for Texas governor
A Springtown man with the same name as the former governor filed Monday to run for the state's top post against Gov. Greg Abbott, raising the prospect of dirty political tricks. Full Story
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![A view of the U.S. and Texas flags flown on the south side of the Texas Capitol from the Capitol Dome in Austin on Aug. 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas abortion law author reacts to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pledge to do the same thing with guns: “Good luck”
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who wrote the law, was dismissive of Newsom’s effort to restrict gun rights by using Texas’ legal strategy to ban many abortions. He said he didn’t think his enforcement mechanism would be “effective against firmly established constitutional rights.” Full Story
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![California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks after the polls close for the recall election at the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento, California, on Sept. 14, 2021.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Fred Greaves
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