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Jeremy Bird speaking at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sep. 28, 2013
Enlarge photo by: Callie Richmond
Jeremy Bird speaking at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sep. 28, 2013

Battleground Misfires on Voter Turnout Memo

Oops. Battleground Texas, a liberal group working to boost Democratic hopes in conservative Texas, admitted Friday that it erred in claiming that early voter turnout in the 70 largest counties was rising dramatically. State figures show turnout is flat at best so far.

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte waves to the delegates at the 2014 Texas Democratic Convention held at the Dallas Convention Center on June 27, 2014.
Enlarge photo by: Alyssa Banata
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte waves to the delegates at the 2014 Texas Democratic Convention held at the Dallas Convention Center on June 27, 2014.

Van de Putte's Statewide Bus Tour Ventures off Democrats' Beaten Path

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, is reaching out to voters in conservative hotbeds in North and East Texas — a nod to Democrats’ dependence on increasing voter turnout in statewide races.

A nod to the city's changing demographics, the masthead for a branch of Jefferson Dental Clinics in Irving, Texas includes a large Spanish-language sign on its storefront that reads, “A friend of the Hispanic family.”
Enlarge photo by: Cooper Neill
A nod to the city's changing demographics, the masthead for a branch of Jefferson Dental Clinics in Irving, Texas includes a large Spanish-language sign on its storefront that reads, “A friend of the Hispanic family.”

Changing Demographics Create a Battleground in North Texas District

Democrats are hoping to take advantage of the shifting demographics in Irving to flip Texas House District 105, which has been held by a Republican for more than a decade. 

Van de Putte's Statewide Bus Tour Ventures off Democrats' Beaten Path

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte waves to the delegates at the 2014 Texas Democratic Convention held at the Dallas Convention Center on June 27, 2014.
Enlarge photo by: Alyssa Banata
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte waves to the delegates at the 2014 Texas Democratic Convention held at the Dallas Convention Center on June 27, 2014.

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, is reaching out to voters in conservative hotbeds in North and East Texas — a nod to Democrats’ dependence on increasing voter turnout in statewide races.

Changing Demographics Create a Battleground in North Texas District

A nod to the city's changing demographics, the masthead for a branch of Jefferson Dental Clinics in Irving, Texas includes a large Spanish-language sign on its storefront that reads, “A friend of the Hispanic family.”
Enlarge photo by: Cooper Neill
A nod to the city's changing demographics, the masthead for a branch of Jefferson Dental Clinics in Irving, Texas includes a large Spanish-language sign on its storefront that reads, “A friend of the Hispanic family.”

Democrats are hoping to take advantage of the shifting demographics in Irving to flip Texas House District 105, which has been held by a Republican for more than a decade. 

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Enlarge photo illustration by: Todd Wiseman / David Jones

Tours Aim to Redefine Juárez, Revitalize Tourism

Historian Antonio Ramos poses as a Maderista soldier at a marketplace in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Oct. 8, 2014.
Enlarge photo by: Julian Aguilar
Historian Antonio Ramos poses as a Maderista soldier at a marketplace in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Oct. 8, 2014.

Hopes are riding on a new effort in which tour buses will come to Ciudad Juárez regularly from El Paso. Officials want the tours to help shed Juárez's image as a danger zone and showcase the city as a destination for area tourists.

Against Difficult Odds, Finding Refuge in El Paso

A woman, who asked not to be identified because she fears for her safety, stands near the pulpit at the end of service at First Baptist Church on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014, in El Paso. The woman fled Boko Haram in Nigeria and is now seeking asylum.
Enlarge photo by: Ivan Pierre Aguirre
A woman, who asked not to be identified because she fears for her safety, stands near the pulpit at the end of service at First Baptist Church on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014, in El Paso. The woman fled Boko Haram in Nigeria and is now seeking asylum.

Four years after fleeing Somalia, Dekha Hassan-Mohamed is living in El Paso after winning an asylum claim and bucking a national trend. Her lawyer is seeking the same protection for another client who fled Nigeria. Both women are grateful for the new chapters of their lives in El Paso. 

Series: Bypassed by the Miracle

Keller ISD Superintendent Randy Reid spoke during an Aug. 11, 2014, town hall meeting, where attendees debated whether to put a $175 million bond up to Keller ISD voters in the general election.
Enlarge photo by: Cooper Neill
Keller ISD Superintendent Randy Reid spoke during an Aug. 11, 2014, town hall meeting, where attendees debated whether to put a $175 million bond up to Keller ISD voters in the general election.

Check out Bypassed by the Miracle, our seven-part series on the people and communities that have missed out on Texas' economic success or are finding that it comes at a price. 

Texas Hospitals Say They've Lost Insured Patients to Urgent Care

Eighth-grader Montanique DeShay waits as Ashlyn Brooks, medical assistant at MedSpring Urgent Care in Austin, comes to check on her on Wednesday. Like many patients visiting urgent care facilities at this time of year, Montanique is having a physical evaluation performed to allow her to participate in sports this school year.
Enlarge photo by: Martin do Nascimento
Eighth-grader Montanique DeShay waits as Ashlyn Brooks, medical assistant at MedSpring Urgent Care in Austin, comes to check on her on Wednesday. Like many patients visiting urgent care facilities at this time of year, Montanique is having a physical evaluation performed to allow her to participate in sports this school year.

The increasing number of urgent care centers in Texas is proving problematic for hospitals, which say they are competing with the clinics for the same pool of insured Texans at a time when they are also getting less money to cover the cost of treating uninsured patients.

Attorneys Struggling to Help Migrants Navigate Complex Legal System

A Catholic Charities shelter at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen helps hundreds of displaced immigrants who have crossed the Texas-Mexico border. Texas immigration lawyers are scrambling to coordinate representation for many of the migrants.
Enlarge photo by: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
A Catholic Charities shelter at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen helps hundreds of displaced immigrants who have crossed the Texas-Mexico border. Texas immigration lawyers are scrambling to coordinate representation for many of the migrants.

Texas immigration lawyers are scrambling to coordinate representation for the thousands of Central American migrants who have crossed into Texas illegally. 

 

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Judge Throws a Wrench in Border Coal Project

If Dos Republicas is able to mine substandard coal in Maverick County, it will be carried by train from the site in rural Maverick County through the center of Eagle Pass, Texas - Saturday, February 4, 2012
Enlarge photo by: Jennifer Whitney
If Dos Republicas is able to mine substandard coal in Maverick County, it will be carried by train from the site in rural Maverick County through the center of Eagle Pass, Texas - Saturday, February 4, 2012

For several years, residents in Maverick County have waged a war against a company that wants to mine low-grade coal on 6,300 acres of land in this impoverished borderland. A recent twist in the saga is giving them new hope.  

Cornyn at TribFest: GOP Must Lead and Not Throw Tantrums

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is interviewed by Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 20, 2014.
Enlarge photo by: Bob Daemmrich
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is interviewed by Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 20, 2014.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said on Saturday that he lamented his party’s contribution to what he said was a dysfunctional government, and he criticized the Obama administration's handling of the current crisis over the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.