Texas Tomorrow

Houston is spending half a billion dollars to look good for the World Cup and Arlington invested millions. Texas loves hosting the world, but is the mega-event economy a public investment or a public shakedown?

As Corpus Christi faces an emergency that could impact the rest of us, are its local officials able to meet the challenge?

Governor Abbott just launched a statewide Jobs Council but the skilled trades shortage it's supposed to fix is already reshaping what gets built across the state, and what doesn’t, so will it help?

Citizens can hold their local government accountable by reporting them, a good tool or bureaucratic Battlefield?

One of Texas's biggest industrial ports needs 60 million gallons of new water a day by November what happens if they miss?

Seats are emptying and schools are closing but do we know exactly why?

-New UT Poll Shows Tight AG Race, Close Senate Contest

-Hood County Rejects Data Center Moratorium, Pressures DA on Appraisal District Audit

-Texas Education Freedom Accounts Hit 130,000 Applications at Midway Mark

Over 400 data centers are operating or under construction in Texas. The $500 billion Stargate project alone will draw enough power to light 750,000 homes. And yet the state's water plan doesn't include a single line for data center demand, call that an accountability gap.

Texas school districts are spending hundreds of millions without board approval, did the state make it easier to do more of it? If your school district spent $870 million without board approval, would you call that efficiency or a governance failure? That's not hypothetical, it’s happening right now.

School board meetings have become battlegrounds—but most parents still have no idea how much power these elected officials actually hold over their kids' education.

Texas local governments come in all sizes, but is there a "right" size?

Some jurisdictions are so small they fly under the radar, but these invisible governments shouldn't go without accountability.

What happens in communities where people’s access to their officials, whether through network or time constraints, is limited? Who upholds accountability?

We’re used to not trusting talking heads and distant politicians, but what happens when it's our neighbors we start to question?

Every year, cities release polished budget presentations full of promises, but the real financial story is hidden in a boring document most citizens never read.

The Texas legislature has recently passed bills aimed at lowering housing costs through deregulation, but local municipalities are fighting back. Learn how these bureaucratic hurdles are being used to kill new developments and keep rent prices high in your backyard. 

In rural Texas, where high school enrollments have plummeted below 104 students, the 11-man game has been replaced by 6-man football. Is this beloved tradition a sign of resilience, or merely a symptom of inevitable demographic and economic decline in rural America? 

Boards and commissions are stacked with insiders whose names you should know, but you should be paying attention to what they're doing.

Bee Cave residents fought back and told their city that if they want to make land deals, they must first ask voters. Will it work?