Texas

States Plan for Large-Scale Coronavirus Vaccinations at Stadiums and Other Sites

As Covid-19 vaccines become available to broader segments of the public, states are establishing facilities where thousands of doses can be administered daily.

  • By Andrea Noble

Texas' Move to Control Coal Ash Pollution Could Shield Industry from Tougher Rules Under Biden-led EPA

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.

  • By Erin Douglas, The Texas Tribune

Rio Grande Hospital Workers Turned Down the Vaccine. A Senator and a Sheriff’s Deputy Lined Up Instead.

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

'A Lost Generation:’ Community Colleges Report Record Enrollment Declines

New data shows total enrollment decreased by more than 10% since last fall, with the most precipitous drop seen with first-year students.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Republican AGs Sue Google, Alleging Uncompetitive Conduct With Online Ads

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.

  • By Bill Lucia and Laura Maggi

States Overpaid Millions in Unemployment and Now Demand People Pay It Back

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.

  • By Andrea Noble

Texas Democratic Losses Reflect Broader Statehouse Trend

There was no blue wave to topple the red statehouse wall.

  • By David Montgomery, Stateline

Feds Shoot Down Pennsylvania Plan to Funnel Virus Relief Money to School Districts

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.

  • By Bill Lucia and Emma Coleman

Covid Cases in One State Prison System Are ‘Off the Charts’

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.

  • By Emma Coleman

Republicans Maintain Advantage in Control of State Legislative Chambers

Democrats failed to make major inroads in state legislative races, in many places leaving them at a disadvantage in the upcoming redistricting process.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Texas Federal Judge Rejects Lawsuit to Toss 127,000 Drive-Thru Votes

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.

  • By Laura Maggi

These State Legislative Chambers Are Most Likely to Flip Blue

Democrats could take control in a handful of states, including North Carolina and Texas. But it won't be easy.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

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Texas Must Act Fast to Protect its Voters Against “Pink Slime” Journalism

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.

  • By Coda Rayo-Garza

Overwhelmed by Covid Hospital Cases, El Paso to Airlift Some Patients to Other Cities

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.”

  • By Laura Maggi

Texas Can Limit Counties to a Single Ballot Drop-off Location, Appeals Court Rules

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.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Texas AG Says He Won’t Resign After Staff Accuse Him of Bribery and Other Wrongdoing

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.

  • By Bill Lucia

In One State, Advocacy Groups Sue Over New Limit on the Number of Ballot Drop-Off Locations

Texas recently changed its election rules, limiting the number of drop-off sites in which voters can deposit their absentee ballots to one per county.

  • By Emma Coleman

With Texas Schools Struggling to Find Lost Students, State Offers Temporary Financial Reprieve

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.

  • By Aliyya Swaby, The Texas Tribune

Foreign Hackers Cripple Texas County’s Email System, Raising Election Security Concerns

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

Six Months Into the Pandemic, Out-of-Work Texans Are Still Struggling to Navigate Unemployment System

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

University of Texas Student Football Fans Will Be Tested Before Saturday Game

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.

  • By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman