EAST TEXAS

The killing of inmate Billy Chemirmir in the Coffield Unit occurred during a statewide lockdown of prisons, promoted by a rise in inmate homicides. A day before the lockdown, another incident at the same prison resulted in the firings of seven correctional officers and the resignations of another six.

Officials say a man accused of killing nearly two dozen elderly women and who was convicted in the slayings of two has been killed by his Texas prison cellmate.

Texas is one of 17 states that still permits hitting, spanking and paddling in schools. Republican lawmakers stood by the practice earlier this year in part because they say it was permitted in the Bible.

Kelly Hancock and Robert Nichols broke from the rest of their party, but longtime observers said they weren’t surprised.

As the state’s wildfire season continues, rural fire departments and their volunteers are strained to keep up with hundreds of fires.

Simmons talked with The Texas Tribune about “Up Home: One Girl’s Journey,” which depicts an era long gone but whose legacies of inequality still persist.

A driver slammed into a a busy Denny's restaurant in a suburb of Houston, injuring twenty-three people.

Opal Lee, the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” is among the inductees for the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday.

For decades, the Texas comptroller’s office has double-checked property valuations across the state, which help determine how much school districts can levy in property taxes. But when state and county appraisers disagree, districts can end up with big holes in their budgets.

Most Texas prisons lack air conditioning. At least 41 prisoners have died of heart-related or undetermined causes since the unrelenting heat wave began.

A 22-year-old man is in custody after he tried to kidnap an 18-year-old woman at a Target store in East Texas, according to a report from KSAT’s sister station in Houston, KPRC.

Grant applicants are required to have a line of credit from a major bank and put up 25% of the project cost ahead of time. That will likely disqualify many small internet service providers in rural areas.

The federal agency has settled a lawsuit the Sierra Club brought over pollution from a coal-burning power plant. The agreement requires the EPA to weigh in on the state’s plan to improve air quality in Rusk and Panola counties.

In triple-digit temperatures, drinking water frequently and resting in the shade are minimum safety measures for avoiding injuries and deaths. But they are not applied to every job site.

A giraffe named Twiga who died over the weekend at an East Texas zoo at the age of 31 was among the oldest giraffes being cared for by humans.

The Padre Island National Seashore says it recently received a “not-so-welcome visitor.” The invasive Australian Spotted Jellyfish, or Phyllorhiza punctata, was spotted on North Beach, PINS said.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management will decide how to use the money.

One person was killed in an explosion in East Texas during preparation for a fireworks display on Tuesday, according to media reports.

An invasive, tree-killing bug species was discovered again in Texas. While the pest has not been found in Bexar County, agriculture officials urge caution and awareness.

Some Texans may have to wait a week for their power to be restored during a period of extreme heat and humidity.

Texas Rural Funders hopes a one-stop resource for grant applications and writers could help small towns win money to fund innovation and capital needs.

On the eve of a historic investment in connecting the Lone Star State, advocates worry maps that will help establish which communities get funding have bad information.

Many Americans will be marking Juneteenth this month.

The quiet East Texas town of Jasper came together immediately after the racist murder of James Byrd Jr. Now, Texas is leading the nation in incidents of white supremacist propaganda.

An estimated 7 million Texans don’t have access to high-speed broadband internet access.

Water agencies have long resisted working together out of fear of losing their local powers. But an example from Florida could help save the Lone Star State’s water and infrastructure.

Texas has more than 7,000 water systems. A fraction of them self-reported that they lost 30 billion gallons of water due to broken pipes and leaks in 2021.

On a daily basis, water managers in cities across the state move from crisis to crisis hoping to keep the water flowing to residents.

The 150 districts didn’t change, but the vote ensured the House met its constitutional requirement to approve new maps in the first regular session following formal publication of the 2020 census results.

Police in Jasper have released additional information about a shooting that occurred after shots were fired at a prom afterparty over the weekend.

A sheriff's office in Texas says nine teenagers were shot at a prom after-party attended by hundreds.

Nine people were hospitalized after a prom after-party turned into a shooting overnight, according to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.

A missing woman from East Texas was found in a submerged Jeep at Lake O’ The Pines, according to authorities.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other conservatives say families need options to escape “woke” education in public schools. East Texas parents and school leaders say the national talking points are off base.

The Senate on Monday passed a bill that would create a new state fund tailored for large or long-shot water supply projects, including marine desalination. The bill will advance to the House.

East Texans worry they could miss out on federal dollars because a state map that will help determine where the money goes shows they already have access to broadband. Residents say their broadband is chronically unreliable.

Whataburger employees in East Texas told police that “something didn’t seem right” when they saw a teen and a 79-year-old man eating together in the restaurant Tuesday morning.

Pregnancy forced Destiny Williams to quit her job. She almost died during childbirth. Now with a newborn in tow, she’s struggling to build a more stable life for her and her children.

A survey was commissioned by the nonprofit organization Texas Water Trade and included responses from households in both rural border communities and in urban areas across Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

A cascade of issues including inflation and growing distrust in government aren’t helping local governments hire for critical positions in public safety and utilities.

Whittington, who was 95, was shot in 2006 during a quail-hunting trip near Corpus Christi. He quickly forgave Cheney.

Experts say local governments should prioritize extreme weather preparedness. Cost can be a deterring factor.

McBride Operating LLC and its owner, Joseph McBride, contributed to the political campaigns of the three commissioners on the Texas Railroad Commission now considering his request.

Close to 325,000 electricity customers statewide lacked power Thursday evening. Austin’s main power provider said it can no longer promise full restoration by 6 p.m. Friday.

Rural school leaders in Texas have been able to stave off the legislative priority of some of the state’s most prominent Republicans. But private school officials hope this year will be different.

The Texas Railroad Commission has rejected the proposal twice over water contamination concerns, but locals are dismayed that the commissioners keep giving the developer more chances to alter its application.

Tuesday brought much-needed rain to parts of South Central Texas as a strong area of low pressure pushed across the state, sparking severe weather in East Texas and snow in North Texas.

So far there has been an average of six boil-water notices a day across Texas in 2023.

The leaders of the state’s six biggest university systems are seeking the money to fund instruction, university operations and employee health insurance and to cover a free tuition program for veterans and their children.

Women in Deep East Texas drive over an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. But if closing the unit was hard, reopening it is proving nearly impossible.

Nathaniel Moran, the former Smith County judge, has promised to be a staunch conservative who will pass legislation. That worries some of his constituents.

It was another historic, news-filled year. As you get ready for 2023, check out these memorable articles the Tribune published in 2022.

Fatal crashes in rural areas accounted for 51% of Texas’ 4,489 traffic fatalities in 2021, even though only about 10% of the state’s population lives in a rural area, according to data from the state’s department of transportation.

Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources.

The latest county to make a disaster declaration is an eight-hour drive away from the Texas-Mexico border, but local officials there say they’re under “invasion.”

Zavalla lost all water for several days. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has sent pallets of bottled water and a team to help.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department drone program is helping local Texas law enforcement officers locate crime suspects and lost citizens.

An AMBER Alert was canceled for a 5-year-old boy after he was found about 6 hours away from where he was abducted, authorities said.

Texas’ seven freshly elected members of Congress run the ideological gamut, from impassioned conservatives to some of the most progressive members ever sent from Texas.

Texas Tribune photographers spread out all over the state to document a momentous midterm election.

Texas voters cast their ballots Tuesday with a wide variety of issues on their minds, including the state’s grid and the Uvalde shooting.

Downtowns are deserted, hospitals are closing, teachers are leaving. Every part of life in rural Texas is harder — but it’s worth saving.

An increase in fake active-shooter reports since the beginning of the school year has intensified parents’ anxieties and required an additional law enforcement response.

School leaders are offering more money and paid training for potential bus drivers. Some routes still go unserved.

The high turnout seen in 2018 may have been an anomaly rather than the start of a long-term trend.

Access to health care is limited in rural Texas. The mobile clinic operated by Beaumont-based TAN Healthcare aims to close that gap.

Formerly incarcerated Texans face numerous barriers to restart their lives. Without help from the state, the Next Chapter program in Lufkin is helping people released from prison get back on their feet.

Running elections in Texas has never been easy. But since 2020, the scrutiny elections administrators face has grown — even in small Republican-controlled counties that former President Donald Trump carried.

Other anti-abortion groups and Republicans said they will continue to support state Sen. Robert Nichols after his comments at The Texas Tribune Festival.

Local governments in Texas have spent the summer preparing their budgets for next year, wrestling with inflation and a law that prohibits them from raising property tax revenues beyond 3.5% without voter approval.

Texas lawmakers on both sides of the aisle talked schools, abortion and guns in advance of next year’s session in a range of panels at The Texas Tribune Festival.

One of the longest-serving Republican state senators, Robert Nichols is among the first to say publicly he’d support revising the state’s abortion prohibition. He spoke Friday at The Texas Tribune Festival.

Texas ranks last among states in access to health care and has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country. Two longtime doctors in rural Henderson County created a homegrown safety net to fill the gap.

Across the country, more books have been challenged and removed as religious and conservative groups target LGBTQ and race issues.

A recent analysis of Oath Keepers’ membership rolls leaked last year found that Texas had more members of the far-right extremist group than any other state — and the most who worked as elected officials, law enforcement officers or members of the military.

“If it’s gonna rise by that much, I don’t think we’re prepared,” one South Texas mayor said of temperature increases.

Texas heat has killed prisoners and cost the state millions in wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits. Prison rights advocates hope a budget surplus next year will finally push lawmakers to invest in air conditioning.

A St. Mary's University student is researching the story of a freed slave who would become the first Black Texan to earn the nation's highest military honor.

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, the leader of the San Antonio Archdiocese and one of the top two Catholic leaders in Texas, shared his thoughts about Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of the Uvalde school shooting massacre in an emotional interview.

An East Texas deputy was hit and killed by a drunken driver during a traffic stop on his last day of training, according to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.

The bodies of three sisters were recovered from a private pond in East Texas and investigators are still working to find out what happened.

Authorities say a car driving on the wrong side of a two-lane highway in East Texas early Friday collided with an SUV, killing all five people in the vehicles.

Officials say a former East Texas deputy pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation for punching a restrained detainee in the chest repeatedly with a shock gun.

Authorities in East Texas are searching for a 10-day-old infant and a man and a woman who are wanted in connection with his disappearance.

The Window Trail in the Chisos Basin in Big Bend National Park is closed to public use until further notice.

Texas had 3,866 water boil notices in 2021, the most in the last decade. Aging water systems threaten water supply and quality — and for many small towns across the state, they won’t be cheap to repair.

A former East Texas chief deputy has pleaded guilty to violating a prisoner's civil rights by using excessive force on him.

Pooja has worked at Chalkbeat, CNN and NPR. Based in Lufkin, she will report from a vast and diverse region that borders on three states.

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials are urging boaters to “clean, drain, dry” ahead of the holiday weekend to help prevent the spread of invasive zebra mussels.

A Mexican immigration official says that in the chaotic minutes after dozens of migrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer sweltering in the Texas heat, the driver tried to slip away by pretending to be one of the survivors.

Authorities say five people were shot and injured during an outdoor event in East Texas that featured a trail ride.

Authorities in East Texas are searching for a 4-year-old boy and a 34-year-old man wanted in connection with his abduction.

The Texas prison system says it's temporarily stopped transporting inmates as it investigates how a convicted murderer escaped from a transport bus last month, later killing a man and his four grandsons.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republicans argue that gunmen can be stopped by locking all but one door and posting guards at schools. School officials and safety experts say that’s not realistic.

After the Uvalde mass shooting, GOP leaders are again pushing to boost school security. But similar legislation after a 2018 school shooting has fallen short of its goals, and experts said there’s no evidence such tactics work.

A spokesperson for Abbott said he had previously committed to the event but all campaign-related activities are postponed until further notice.

Officials at Wiley College in East Texas say students graduating from the historically Black college were told at their commencement ceremony that an anonymous donor had paid their balances.

A storm system spawned several tornadoes that whipped through areas of Texas and Oklahoma, causing damage to a school, a marijuana farm and other structures.

Many Texas public universities have committed to accepting students who do not submit SAT or ACT standardized test scores, signaling that test-optional policies could be here to stay.

We’re hiring reporters to cover the Panhandle/South Plains and East Texas, along with a regional editor. We hope to also place staff in the Rio Grande Valley and the Permian Basin.