Texas is close to finalizing a years-long effort to wrangle control of coal ash pollution from the EPA, a move that could, for a time, keep coal companies insulated from tougher rules expected from the next administration.
So many workers at a hospital in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley declined the new COVID-19 vaccine that the facility offered doses to other medical workers in the region. It turns out, the vaccine ended up going to non-medical personnel as well.
By Vianna Davila and Karen Brooks Harper, ProPublica
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Vegas city council green-lights expansion of Elon Musk-backed tunnel project … City’s plan to spend relief funds on golf course upgrade draws backlash … Santa who visited with kids tests positive for Covid.
States rushed to get unemployment benefits approved when the pandemic struck. Reviews are now identifying millions of dollars in overpayments that they want workers to repay.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | D.C. transit agency looking at buyouts to avoid 1,400 layoffs … Missouri state Senate postpones session because of Covid outbreak among members … Texas AG controversy continues with whistleblower lawsuit.
A new report from the University of Texas at Austin says that the state’s correctional system has not taken the adequate steps to reduce Covid cases and deaths among incarcerated people and staff.
Democrats failed to make major inroads in state legislative races, in many places leaving them at a disadvantage in the upcoming redistricting process.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Students in Los Angeles get bad grades at remote school … New virus restrictions in Massachusetts … Trump administration approves Georgia’s Affordable Care Act proposal.
COMMENTARY | Local news in many Texas communities has been replaced by websites that appear local but are often non-local, ad-revenue operations with political agendas. If Washington won’t act to combat the proliferation of “pink slime,” then Texas and other states experiencing similar activity must act to protect their voters.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Virginia police can continue to collect license plate data from scanners … Texas AG fired two aides and put two on leave after bribery accusations against him … Washington state captures “murder hornets.”
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that Texas can mandate only one drop-off location for absentee ballots in each county, reversing a lower court ruling on Gov. Greg Abbott's order earlier this month.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Thousands of kids in Miami-Dade return to classrooms … Maine’s marijuana industry expected to get off to a sputtering start … de Blasio, Cuomo at odds over shutdown orders in some New York City neighborhoods.
The state parcels out school funding based on attendance, but many districts have seen sharp declines this fall. Local school officials are worried that they'll run out of money to pay for staff, facilities and other fixed expenses.
The malware attack, which sent fake email replies to voters and businesses, spotlights an overlooked vulnerability in counties that don’t follow best practices for computer security.
By Jessica Huseman, Jack Gillum, Derek Willis and Jeff Kao, ProPublica
As 1.8 million Texans continue to claim unemployment, many complain they still can't reach the Texas Workforce Commission and are quickly losing trust in Congress to agree to a second stimulus agreement.
By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Kelsey Carolan, The Texas Tribune
STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | Mosquito swarms that increased after Hurricane Laura are attacking Louisiana livestock … Richmond, Virginia city council votes to ban open carrying of firearms in public spaces … Controversy over South Dakota tourism ads.