News
Thousands of Children Still Live in Texas Shelters after End of ‘Zero Tolerance’
Posted on · New data shows the number of children held in privately run shelters in Texas remains higher than normal
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The Number Of Immigrant Children Held In Texas Is Up, Despite Reunifications
Posted on · Private shelter operators want to open as many as four new facilities to accommodate the continued influx of children.
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Can Separated Immigrant Children Just Walk Out Of Shelters? Technically, Yes
Posted on · The shelters are designed to keep kids in, but they're not detention facilities, and in most cases staff can't forcibly stop a child from leaving.
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Thanks To A Healthy Economy, Texas Comptroller Bumps Revenue Estimate By $2.8 Billion
Posted on · State officials welcomed the news with cautious optimism.
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Following Santa Fe School Shooting, Dan Patrick Says Texas Should Cut Incentive Funding For ‘Violent’ Films And Video Games
Posted on · The lieutenant governor said he would withdraw his support for a Texas film and video game incentives program if it funded depictions of violence, blaming school shootings on a "culture where we've devalued life."
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“It’s Our Form Of Apartheid”: How Galveston Stalled Public Housing Reconstruction In The 10 Years After Ike
Posted on · Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston in 2008 and touched off a fierce battle over whether to rebuild the city's destroyed public housing. A decade later, less than half of it has been replaced. The prolonged saga offers a cautionary tale for Texas as it launches the long-term recovery process after Hurricane Harvey.
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Texas Government Risks Credit Rating Downgrade, Comptroller Glenn Hegar Says
Posted on · Without an infusion of new money to cover mounting liabilities, Hegar warned, credit agencies are likely to downgrade Texas’ credit rating, which would make it more expensive for the state to borrow money — and perhaps damage the state's business climate
News
How Much Has Been Raised For Harvey Relief — And How’s It Being Spent?
Posted on · It’s been five months since Hurricane Harvey unleashed historic flooding in southeastern parts of the state, but billions of dollars in recovery money have yet to be spent.
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After First Amendment Challenge, FEMA May Pay Texas Churches To Rebuild After Harvey
Posted on · FEMA announced the policy change Tuesday
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Texas Health Regulators Overrun By ‘Several Hundred’ Rats At Austin Headquarters
Posted on · The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has a $60,000 vermin problem, and is hiring private exterminators to deal with an estimated "several hundred" sewer rats in the building
News
At The Texas Capitol, Victims Of Sexual Harassment Must Fend For Themselves
Posted on · Interviews with more than two dozen current and former lawmakers and legislative aides indicate sexual harassment regularly goes unchecked at the Texas Capitol. And sexual harassment policies rely on officials with little incentive or authority to enforce them, particularly in cases of harassment by lawmakers.
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Texas Has Hired Its First Ever Director Of Human Trafficking Prevention
Posted on · In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Kim Grabert, the state's first director of human trafficking prevention, discussed how the state plans to recover and rehabilitate runaway youth who are sold for sex.
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Amid Opioid Crisis, Texas Subsidized Drug Company It’s Now Investigating
Posted on · In 2016, Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $9.75 million grant to McKesson Corporation. Now, Texas is among the states investigating the giant drug distributor's role in a growing opioid crisis
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Report: Indicted State Rep. Dawnna Dukes Spent $51k On Online Psychic
Posted on · Dukes is accused of using her legislative staff to run personal errands and being compensated for days she did not work at the Texas Capitol.
Texas
Behind Closed Doors, Texas Lawmakers Strip Funding For Sex Trafficking Victims
Posted on · In recent private negotiations between the Texas House and Senate about which public programs to fund and how to fund them, state lawmakers opted to kill a $3 million initiative to rehabilitate victims of sex trafficking.