Expuestos y en el olvido: El aire tóxico en una comunidad latina de Texas revela los fallos del sistema estatal de control de calidad del aire
Los datos públicos de una red de monitores de la calidad del aire alrededor del Canal de Navegación de Houston son difíciles de interpretar y a menudo son insuficientes, dejando a vecindarios de mayoría latina, como Cloverleaf, sin saber si el aire que respiran es seguro.
Neglected and exposed: Toxic air lingers in a Texas Latino community, revealing failures in state’s 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.
One of Texas’ oldest towns needs $200 million for upgrades. It’s 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 isn’t helping them keep up with capital needs.
Texas Supreme Court lets state law eliminating Harris County elections chief stand, for now
The ruling means the November elections in the state’s largest county will be overseen by two other county officials. Legislators targeted Harris County’s 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. Here’s 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 Abbott’s COVID ban on local mask rules was lawful
Several of Texas’ 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 — but did little to address — 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.