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Texas would need about $81.5 billion a year to end property taxes, officials say
Texas Republicans have been trying to reduce the state’s high property taxes for years, but some acknowledge eliminating them would be too expensive.
Texas must build hundreds of thousands of homes to lower housing costs, says state comptroller
Texas needs hundreds of thousands more homes than it has, per one estimate. That shortage has driven up home prices and rents.
No American dream? 1 in 4 retirees return to work due to financial struggles
According to a new report by BadCredit.org, a financial education platform, 59% of retirees lack sufficient funds for retirement, with more than half forced to change their lifestyle due to financial hardship.
The oil industry is booming. This West Texas small business worries it’s been left behind.
Before the pandemic, Ben Bilbrey worked with some of the largest oil companies. Now he’s waiting for the phone to ring.
Federal court orders regulators to fix process, reconsider gas export projects in South Texas
This week’s ruling was the latest twist since cities and groups in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley sued to block the projects.
Houston internet prices below national average, but many feel overcharged: How to ensure you get what you pay for
In today’s economy, Houstonians are more mindful than ever of where their money is going.
Weak infrastructure, distrust make communication during natural disasters hard on rural Texas
When disaster strikes, Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy takes command of her county’s emergency communication channels, including a text service and Facebook page.
Insurance rates could climb for some Texas coastal homeowners, businesses
Homeowners typically pay $2,300 a year for a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policy. The rate increase would bump premiums by 10%.
Attorney general investigating CenterPoint Energy after Hurricane Beryl’s long-lasting power outages
The company’s power outages in July have drawn the ire of state leaders. Here’s what you need to know.
Texas city strips funding for monthly art event over drag show
The arts center that organizes the monthly art walk, which draws 20,000 to downtown Lubbock, said the drag show happened at an off-site location and had no association with it.
Texas named one of the least supportive states for impoverished people: report
Despite all the wonderful things Texas has to offer, a recent study is making some bold suggestions about how the Lone Star State looks after its residents living in poverty.
When will Gordie Howe International Bridge project be done? See timeline of progress
Here is a timeline of events thus far for the project, with more milestones obviously to come for a project expected to be done in 2025.
Need to stock up for the rest of Houston’s hurricane season? Here are 4 ways to save on Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day is July 16 and 17th. KPRC 2's Bill Spencer has four things you can do right now to save and how you might be able to get the sale prices without being a prime member.
Just as the temperature climbs, Texas towns are closing public pools to cut costs
Advocates say public pools are necessary community infrastructure and save lives. Splash pads have become a more affordable option.
Beryl power outage updates: More than 98,000 Texas electricity customers remain without power a week after Beryl
Tens of thousands of households and businesses aren’t expected to have electricity for most of this week.
Rio Grande Valley leaders hope to rebrand region as “RioPlex” to attract investment
After years of competing with each other for new businesses, Valley cities want to present a united front to highlight the region’s assets.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ban on homeless encampments. Here’s what it means for Texas.
The ruling comes amid a nationwide surge in homelessness as high rents put pressure on low-income households and pandemic-era protections expire.
As more Texans struggle with housing costs, homeownership becoming less attainable
A new housing report from Harvard University found that would-be homebuyers need to make more money than ever if they want to buy a home in Texas’ urban areas.
Texas Supreme Court keeps ‘Uplift Harris’ on hold, stopping Harris County from distributing guaranteed income funds
On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against Harris County from sending financial assistance to in-need families under a new income pilot program after a political match between the Texas Attorney General.
Abbott appoints first judges to new appeals court for cases involving state government, businesses
The Texas Legislature created the court last year, with proponents saying it would increase efficiency and opponents arguing that it was an effort by Republicans to circumvent Democrat-dominated courts.
With new platform, Texas Democrats may find common ground with Republicans on housing affordability crisis
The Democrats’ recently approved platform includes calls to loosen zoning rules, which housing experts believe contribute to high housing costs.
To fight poverty, some Texas cities gave aid with no strings attached. Conservatives are pushing back.
Guaranteed income programs let participants use funds however they see fit. Critics argue they're not a good use of taxpayer dollars.
Texas legislators want to help property owners deal with squatters. But the changes could affect tenants.
Housing advocates say Texas laws fall short when it comes to property trespassers but they warn changes could worsen the state’s evictions crisis.
Push to enforce occupancy rule in College Station highlights Texas A&M students’ housing woes
The new fines underscore the challenges college students face when looking for affordable housing — and how cities struggle to provide it.
Study says Houston has one of the lowest inflation problems, but do our pockets beg to differ?
Inflation continues to impact the U.S., and a recent study suggests Houston is not experiencing much of the brunt of high prices, compared to other cities, but if that's the case, how come I'm broke all the time?
Meatless in South Texas: Thousands flock to vegan festival in Rio Grande Valley
From brisket to carne asada, Texas is known for meat, making this annual gathering in a small Rio Grande Valley town stand out.
British economy rebounds strongly in first quarter of the year, ending 'technical recession'
The British economy bounced back strongly in the first three months of the year, bringing to an end to what economists termed a “technical recession.”.
Texans get their first crack at electing the people overseeing the state’s complicated property appraisal process
In the state’s larger counties, voters can now elect people to the agencies that appraise property values.
Legalized marijuana supporters hope voters in this Texas city will send a message to state lawmakers
There is no process in Texas for a voter-driven statewide referendum. So, supporters are going city by city to build statewide momentum.
Coal power plants must reduce pollution under new federal rules
The rules will require coal-fueled plants, including Texas plants that produced about 12% of power on the state’s grid this year, to reduce carbon emissions and mercury pollution and handle disposed coal ash more safely.
South Texas farmers are in peril as the Rio Grande Valley runs dry — again
With the hottest days still ahead, local leaders have declared emergencies. And farmers are lobbying for the U.S. government to pressure Mexico to release water.
‘Take off your political glasses’: NAACP Houston, partners push for full support of Uplift Harris program
The NAACP Houston Branch and partners held a news conference Wednesday to announce their support for Uplift Harris, a pilot program to help low-income households in Harris County.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asks state to halt new cement plant permits until 2025
Citing community concerns about a planned cement plant in Grayson County, Patrick’s letter asks TCEQ to reject the permit and halt permit approvals statewide.
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Harris County to block program that would give cash to poorest households
The program would give roughly 1,900 households payments of $500 for 18 months with no strings attached. Paxton called it “plainly unconstitutional.”
1.7 million Texas households are set to lose monthly internet subsidy
The Affordable Connectivity Program provides a $30 monthly subsidy to help low-income households pay for internet service. The program is slated to run out of money at the end of the month.
Republicans’ budding interest in Texas’ housing crisis could create strange political bedfellows
Republican lawmakers may try to force Texas cities to allow greater housing density as the state faces a housing crunch.
Cows at two Texas dairy farms have bird flu, another blow to Cattle Country following wildfires
Federal officials said the nation’s milk supply should be not at risk after a bird flu outbreak hits dairies in Texas, New Mexico and Kansas.
Pilot program ‘Uplift Harris’ notifying recipients of $500 monthly grant
Applicants for the pilot program to help low-income residents living below the poverty line in Harris County will be notified on their status by March 22, 2024
Why some Texas cities are getting rid of their minimum parking rules
Most cities require homes and businesses to have parking. Critics say they drive up housing costs, foster car dependency and raise carbon emissions.
Texas firefighters completely contain Panhandle inferno that burned more than 1 million acres
A series of deadly wildfires have burned for nearly three weeks, destroying farms and ranches in several counties.
Gov. Greg Abbott wants the Texas Legislature to rein in investors behind large-scale home purchases
So-called institutional homebuyers noticeably ramped up home purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. But housing experts point out investors have retreated amid high interest rates.
Gulf Coast petrochemical growth draws billions in tax breaks despite pollution violations
A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project compiled data on every U.S. plastics plant built, expanded or proposed since 2012, revealing massive growth in Texas.
“It does not get easier”: Texas ranchers lose cattle and land in historic wildfires
As ranchers recover from the Smokehouse Creek fire, they face the agonizing choice of what to do with an unknown number of injured cattle.
New EPA rule to slash cancer-causing emissions from sterilization facilities
Laredo residents who live near a sterilization plant say the new federal limits on the pollutant will improve air quality and reduce their city’s high cancer risk.
Facing staggering losses from wildfires, Panhandle ranchers and farmers seek aid to rebuild
Ranchers have likely lost thousands of cattle in the wildfires, according to some preliminary estimates.
Many homes burned in the Texas wildfires weren’t insured, creating a steep path to recovery
Rural Texans are more than twice as likely to go without homeowners insurance than their urban peers.
Texas Panhandle wildfires: What you need to know about the blazes, damage and recovery
The full scope of damage still isn’t known, but some Panhandle residents have returned home. Firefighters continue battling the infernos.
Panhandle residents begin rebuilding, even as fight to contain fires continues
The fire that engulfed their town was only 15% contained over the weekend, but Canadian residents were back to selling flowers and preparing for an election.
Wildfires ravage cattle country, threatening Texas’ agriculture economy
Texas wildfires have consumed acres of agricultural land, killing thousands of livestock, destroying crops and exacerbating challenges lingering from last year’s drought.
As Biden and Trump visit the border, many Texas residents feel ignored
When the two presidents used the Texas-Mexico boundary as a backdrop for the national immigration fight, residents felt they were left out of the conversation.
Years before Texas conservatives painted them as criminals, Colony Ridge residents sought help from state agencies
Texas has little to show for conservative leaders’ uproar — or previously unreported complaints about the community developer.
Texas launches new property tax incentive program to lure new businesses
The Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation program cuts property taxes for new manufacturing, research and development facilities. It replaces a shuttered program criticized for its impact on school finance.
Amid high rents, eviction filings in major Texas cities soar above pre-pandemic levels
Legal aid groups and housing advocates say there simply aren’t enough lawyers to keep up with the sheer volume of eviction filings.
Rural Texans, internet providers worry that feds’ broadband expansion plan will have a painfully slow rollout
A historic $3.3 billion federal investment in broadband could connect millions of Texans to the internet. But getting the money to the right hands could be a challenge.
From couch surfing to sleeping in a car: What one teen’s story tells us about homelessness in rural Texas
Georgia DeVries, an East Texas 17-year-old, shared her experience living in a car for one month last year on TikTok.
Texas attracted more relocating businesses than any other state, report finds
From 2010 to 2019, the state generated more jobs than any other from transferring businesses, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found.
Texas’ oil and gas production surges even as federal government clamps down on environmental regulations
Crude oil and natural gas extraction in Texas reached record levels in 2023, according to the industry’s annual report.
Child care costs in Texas pose a major challenge. These panelists discussed potential solutions.
At a Texas Tribune event held with the LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Urban Lab, experts discussed a unified approach to working with the Texas Legislature to secure funding that would benefit employers, working parents and the broader Texas economy.
Texas could swap land in Boca Chica State Park with SpaceX
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to vote in March on a deal that environmental advocates, the Esto'k Gna Tribal Nation of Texas and local officials oppose.
For Texas’ program of blind merchants, the pandemic shrank opportunities, exposed income gaps
The Business Enterprises of Texas program offers visually impaired vendors food service contracts in government buildings.
In the Texas Panhandle, a nonprofit is fighting rural child care deserts
The Amarillo Area Foundation is funding new day care facilities in Friona and Claude after the towns found that a shortage of child care is making it harder to fill job openings.
Homelessness in Texas on the rise amid high housing costs, federal estimates show
Homelessness rose last year across nearly every demographic group, but strides were made to connect people with new housing.
Texas regulators limit oil and gas disposal wells in bid to reduce earthquakes in West Texas
Injecting saltwater back into the ground “is likely contributing to recent seismic activity,” the Railroad Commission of Texas has said.
How Texas polluters classify big facilities as smaller ones to avoid stricter environmental rules and public input
Industrial developers describe large facilities as “minor” polluters to avoid federal permitting requirements, and environmental lawyers say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lets it happen.
Texans receiving federal food assistance caught in crosshairs of congressional funding fight
More than 225,000 Texans could get turned away from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children next year unless Congress allocates more money for the program, advocates and the White House warns. But partisan divisions are obscuring the path forward on government funding.
Vouchers, border security, abortion: The issues you heard about in 2023 will continue to be hotly debated in 2024
After nearly a year’s worth of legislative sessions, several issues are poised to dominate Texas politics this year. Here’s a look at how things ended on several fronts last year — and where they’re headed next.