Past Contributions

• Family legacies and the state’s Jim Crow past underlie a fight over mineral rights on a stretch of South Texas scrubland

  By Alexa Ura Aug. 24, 2023

  Descendants of a prominent white family and a formerly enslaved couple are fighting over ownership — and the oil and gas royalties that would come with it — of an 147.5-acre tract that has bound and divided generations of their families. Full Story 

• In federal trial, Galveston County challenged on efforts to undo Black and Latino voting power

  By Alexa Ura Aug. 10, 2023

  The coastal county faces a drawn-out trial over claims of intentional discrimination in its 2021 redistricting of commissioners court precincts. The only district in which Black and Latino voters could meaningfully influence elections was dismantled. Full Story 

• TribCast: Extreme heat and the toll of climate change on Texas

  By Alexa Ura and Justin Dehn July 7, 2023

  In this week’s episode, we speak with The Texas Tribune’s climate reporter Erin Douglas about why it’s been so hot in Texas and examine the long-term implications as climate change shifts the entire range of Texas heat upward. Full Story 

• As race-neutral college admissions begin, Texas counselors work to convince students of color they still belong

  By Alexa Ura and Kate McGee July 3, 2023

  Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of Texas’ public schools. But they are vastly underrepresented at its top universities, and Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling will shake up an already complicated application process. Full Story 

• Hispanics officially make up the biggest share of Texas’ population, new census numbers show

  By Alexa Ura June 21, 2023

  White people had been the state’s largest population group since at least 1850. Sometime in 2022, the Hispanic population surpassed them, new data shows. Full Story 

• Where Texas redistricting lawsuits stand after U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alabama case

  By Alexa Ura June 13, 2023

  The high court left intact a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act in a case many feared would go the other way. The decision’s importance in ongoing litigation over Texas’ political maps will largely be felt in what didn’t happen. Full Story 

• At the fringes of Houston’s prosperity, the city’s eviction machine is running full throttle

  By Lucy Tompkins, The Texas Tribune and The New York Times, and Alexa Ura, The Texas Tribune June 8, 2023

  Houston has seen eviction rates soar since pandemic protections for renters lapsed. At one apartment complex, ejecting people from their homes is a ritual part of the business model. Full Story 

• At session’s end, Houston language access advocates clung to one last hope that their voices had been heard

  By Alexa Ura May 30, 2023

  Their dream of passing a bill to improve access to state services for Texans who don’t speak English or Spanish was dashed. Woori Juntos activists fought until the end seeking at least a study of their ideas. Full Story 

• Lawyer currently leading Texas attorney general’s office has been swept up in Ken Paxton’s legal challenges

  By Alexa Ura May 29, 2023

  Brent Webster came to the Texas attorney general’s office in 2020. His work as Ken Paxton’s top aide was quickly mired in controversy. Full Story 

• Texas cities again lead population growth, and Austin is now country’s 10th largest

  By Alexa Ura May 18, 2023

  Texas took four of the 10 top spots among the nation’s fastest-growing cities, with the Austin metro area overall seeing some of the most significant growth. Full Story