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Energy & Environment

Texas Leaders Failed To Heed Warnings That Left The State’s Power Grid Vulnerable To Winter Extremes, Experts Say

Posted on February 18, 2021 · Texas officials knew winter storms could leave the state’s power grid vulnerable, but they left the choice to prepare for harsh weather up to the power companies — many of which opted against the costly upgrades. That, plus a deregulated energy market largely isolated from the rest of the country’s power grid, left the state alone to deal with the crisis, experts said.

Energy & Environment

With More Dangerous Weather Approaching, Texans Say Officials Didn’t Warn Them About Going Days Without Power

Posted on February 17, 2021 · Texas' energy grid operators warned of rolling, short-term power outages. Millions of homes have been without power since early Monday morning.

Election 2020

Texas Counties Will Be Allowed Only One Drop-Off Location For Mail-In Ballots, State Supreme Court Rules

Posted on October 27, 2020 · The court upheld Gov. Greg Abbott's authority under state law to limit ballot drop-off locations, issuing what is expected to be the final ruling in numerous lawsuits that challenged his order.

Election 2020

Order Allowing Texas Counties To Have Multiple Mail-In Ballot Drop Off Sites Is Upheld, But Appeal Halts Openings

Posted on October 23, 2020 · The state is continuing to fight a Travis County district court's ruling that overrode Gov. Greg Abbott's order limiting counties to one absentee ballot drop-off location.

Texas

Voters In Harris County May Continue Using Drive-Thru Voting, Texas Supreme Court Rules

Posted on October 22, 2020 · A last-minute challenge by the Republican parties of Texas and Harris County argued the largely Democratic county's new drive-thru polling places were illegal.

Election 2020

Texas Republicans Challenge Curbside, Drive-Thru Voting in Harris County

Posted on October 13, 2020 · The court filing from just before early voting began is the latest GOP effort to tamp down voting options in the state's most populous county.

Election 2020

Texas Counties Temporarily Blocked From Offering Multiple Mail-In Ballot Drop-Off Locations

Posted on October 10, 2020 · An order from a federal appeals court Saturday set up another potential legal showdown over voting in Texas as mail-in ballots are already being collected and just days before early voting begins.

Election 2020

Early Voting Can Start Oct. 13 As Scheduled, Texas Supreme Court Rules

Posted on October 7, 2020 · The Texas Supreme Court ruled against several GOP officials who pushed to keep early voting to a two-week period during the pandemic.

Texas

Gov. Greg Abbott Calls For New Crimes, Mandatory Jail Time For Certain Offenses Related To Protests

Posted on September 24, 2020 · Abbott's campaign event came after a majority of likely Texas voters in a recent poll said that law and order is a bigger issue than the pandemic. Yet, they were also more likely to say that racism in the criminal justice system is a larger problem than riots in American cities.

Texas

How Gov. Greg Abbott Made Austin’s Police Budget Cuts A Top Campaign Issue For Candidates Running In November

Posted on September 10, 2020 · The Republican governor isn't on the November ballot. But he has come out hard against efforts to shift city money away from policing, echoing a national debate on policing and crime during a tumultuous election season.

Texas

Gov. Greg Abbott, Other Texas Leaders Want To Freeze Property Tax Revenues For Cities That Cut Police Budgets

Posted on August 18, 2020 · The state's three top elected leaders also fiercely criticized the Austin officials who cut one-third of their police department's budget last week.

News

Inmates Report Dangerous Practices Inside The Texas Prison With The Most Coronavirus Deaths

Posted on June 8, 2020 · The Wynne Unit in Huntsville has had at least 10 deaths connected to the new coronavirus. In letters, inmates said conditions were unsanitary and disorganized, and sick men often went untested.

News

Federal Judge Orders Texas Prison To Provide Hand Sanitizer, Face Masks For Inmates

Posted on April 17, 2020 · The Houston judge issued a temporary order against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at a geriatric prison after older inmates sued the prison system over its handling of the coronavirus.

News

The First Texas Prisoner Has Died After Testing Positive For The New Coronavirus

Posted on April 9, 2020 · The death of the 72-year-old man came one day after a 49-year-old correctional officer who worked at a different prison died. The state is locking down 15 prisons where inmates or guards have tested positive for the disease.

Texas

Inmates’ Attorneys Challenge Gov. Greg Abbott’s Order Banning Some Jail Release, Say It’s Unconstitutional

Posted on April 1, 2020 · Plaintiffs in an ongoing Harris County lawsuit over felony bail practices are asking a federal judge to temporarily block Abbott's order.