Neglected and exposed: Toxic air lingers in a Texas Latino community, revealing failures in stateโs air monitoring system
Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe.
Expuestos y en el olvido: El aire tรณxico en una comunidad latina de Texas revela los fallos del sistema estatal de control de calidad del aire
Los datos pรบblicos de una red de monitores de la calidad del aire alrededor del Canal de Navegaciรณn de Houston son difรญciles de interpretar y a menudo son insuficientes, dejando a vecindarios de mayorรญa latina, como Cloverleaf, sin saber si el aire que respiran es seguro.
One of Texasโ oldest towns needs $200 million for upgrades. Itโs asking voters to approve $44 million this fall.
The East Texas town is one of 218 local governments asking voters to approve new debt for repairs and upgrades to city infrastructure. Local leaders say inflation isnโt helping them keep up with capital needs.
โAn epidemicโ: Syphilis rages through Texas, causing newborn cases to climb amid treatment shortage
Syphilis rates in Texas continue to climb, alarming healthcare workers who see the highest increases among pregnant people and newborns. A shortage of treatment is complicating efforts to combat it.
Texas Supreme Court lets state law eliminating Harris County elections chief stand, for now
The ruling means the November elections in the stateโs largest county will be overseen by two other county officials. Legislators targeted Harris Countyโs elections department after taking issue with the way the 2022 elections were run.
Texas judge says no quick ruling expected over GOP efforts to toss 2022 election losses near Houston
Following closing arguments in the first of multiple legal challenges to local election results in Harris County, Texas, a visiting judge said the decision on whether to overturn the outcome based on alleged irregularities is weeks away.
Texas has already seen 25 chemical emergencies this year. Hereโs how to protect yourself during the next one.
Preparing for a chemical incident means knowing which industrial facilities are near you, creating a disaster supply kit and signing up for alerts from local emergency managers ahead of time.
Texas Supreme Court says Gov. Greg Abbottโs COVID ban on local mask rules was lawful
Several of Texasโ largest cities sought to put in place mask requirements, which Gov. Greg Abbott overturned. The ruling is a legal win for Republicans in Austin their ongoing symbolic fight with cities, often run by Democrats.
Toxic benzene lingered for weeks after shelter-in-place warnings ended following 2019 Houston-area chemical fire
The Texas Tribune analyzed previously unreported air monitoring data and records from the 2019 ITC chemical disaster near Houston and found that high benzene levels lingered in the air for two weeks after public health measures were lifted. Experts say more shelter-in-place advisories should have been issued.
For years, the EPA and Texas ignored warning signs at a chemical storage site. Then an inferno erupted.
Regulators repeatedly documented โ but did little to address โ problems at a Houston-area tank farm. Then on March 17, 2019, a fire blew through a corner of the facility, releasing toxic chemicals into nearby communities for weeks.
Sheriff: 2 children escape after 3 teens, man killed in apparent murder-suicide
Three teenage girls, 13, 14, and 19 were killed before a 38-year-old man killed himself, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. The man was believed to be in a relationship with the mother of two of the teens. She was not home at the time.
13 Texas women file lawsuits after allegedly contracting STD from janitor who peed in water bottles
Thirteen women have filed lawsuits against multiple companies after they say they contracted an incurable sexually transmitted disease from a janitor who placed his genitals on water bottles and peed in them.
Texas executes Robert Fratta after high courts reject challenges to expired lethal injection drugs
Fratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Texasโ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions.
GOP Harris County judge candidate contesting her loss after Election Day problems at polling sites
Democratic County Judge Lina Hidalgo beat Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer by more than 18,000 votes. An assessment of Election Day problems at polling sites โhas not yet revealedโ whether any voters were turned away.
Harris County authorities investigate porn video that popped up in courtroom Zoom sessions
The Harris County Sheriffโs Office is investigating a video of โvery disturbingโ pornography that reportedly interrupted several courtroom Zoom sessions at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center Courthouse.
Why some Texas cities and counties had to return millions of dollars meant to help renters during the pandemic
For some local relief programs, a lack of staffing, political support and effective community outreach got in the way of spending federal funds to prevent evictions, a new report found. More than $30 million went unspent and had to be returned.
More Texas employees test positive for incurable STD after janitor peed in water bottles, report says
A Houston janitor accused of urinating in water bottles at a doctorโs office is facing additional charges after two more employees contracted a sexually transmitted disease, according to media reports.
Voter fraud charges dismissed against Hervis Rogers, Houston man who waited hours to vote in 2020
Attorney General Ken Paxton pursued charges against Rogers, who was on parole when he voted in the 2020 primary election. But a judge tossed the case after a higher court said Paxton canโt unilaterally prosecute election crimes.
Texas struggles to get guns away from domestic violence suspects, leaving victims in danger
Although there are laws on the books preventing certain people from possessing guns, there are few places in the state where the criminal justice system has programs to hand over firearms to law enforcement โ leaving survivors at a heightened risk for gun violence.