Dug Begley

New wave of Texas state parks is taking shape, aimed at thinning crowds More than 9 million visitors went to a Texas state park last year, a decline from the pandemic but still huge growth as the state rushes to add new park land.

State announces soft opening of Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, first new state park in North Texas in 24 years. It is part of expansion plans that have taken years to bear fruit for park goers, as we wrote last year. www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi...

Lina Hidalgo Was a Rising Democratic Star. She’s Leaving Office a Pariah. The Harris County judge rose to national prominence steering Houston through disasters. Then her second term became one.

"I heard a different story—of an ambitious politician who was undone not just by outside forces but by her own overbearing leadership style & reluctance to compromise." www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

Please reach out! We are relying to some degree on whistleblowers, some who have already been in
touch!

www.texastribune.org/2026/02/19/i...

New film about Prairie View Interscholastic League arrives at important time A new documentary premieres this weekend spotlighting an era of Texas sports history many fans may not be familiar with.

New film about Prairie View Interscholastic League's history arrives at important time www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/high-...

Houston on track to overspend $54M on overtime for public safety, solid waste After going $74 million over the overtime budget last year, Houston is on track to spend $54 million more than it's supposed to on overtime.

Houston on track to blast through public safety, solid waste overtime budgets in potential budget blow www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/hou...

Why increased fines haven't stopped Houston's problem with 'bandit signs' so far Fines of up to $5,000 went into effect on Sept. 1, but Houston officials have yet to levy them as 'bandit signs' continue to litter the public right-of-way.

Houston has a problem with 'bandit signs' littering roads. Even increased fines aren’t stopping them. www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

A year later, family still can’t fathom New Orleans attacker’s turn to hate FBI timeline shows how Shamsud-Din Jabbar planned the 2025 New Orleans attack that killed 14, as his family still searches for how he became radicalized.

One year after the New Orleans attack, the 'why' still eludes the Houston killer's family www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi...

Houston Metro's free shuttle program gets $4M expansion despite low ridership Metro has 13 months of data on the free shuttles, operated via Evolve Houston, but there are serious questions about the measures used to assess its success.

Why Houston Metro's free shuttle service is getting a $4 million expansion despite low ridership www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

Former HISD superintendent and 'No Child Left Behind' architect Rod Paige dies Rod Paige, a former Houston ISD superintendent behind the "Houston Miracle" and U.S. Secretary of Education who led the "No Child Left Behind" era, has died at 92.

Rod Paige, HISD superintendent and former U.S. Secretary of Education, dies at 92 www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

I-45 construction tracker: Latest updates on Houston's massive freeway rebuild Houston I-45 rebuild is a decades-in-the-making overhaul that will add managed lanes, reshape downtown freeways and gradually impact work commutes.

New lanes. New underpasses. More construction. More road closures.

Although we’re still years away from crews completing the massive $13 billion I-45 rebuild project, keeping up with what’s happening on Houston’s highways is essential. @houstonchronicle.com (1/2)

An empty bus in Montgomery Alabama, as boycotters commute to work on bikes

It was seventy years ago today that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus, triggering one of the world's great experiments in nonviolent action

Houston’s roads are still among deadliest in Texas despite a drop in crashes Houston is on track for fewer fatalities and serious injuries in 2025, but continues to lag behind the rest of Texas on road safety measures.

“Too many families in Houston have lost a loved one to a violent, unexpected event just trying to use the transportation system."
Traffic deaths and injuries falling in Houston, but not as sharply as in the rest of Texas www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

Houston-area ICE officer pleads guilty to abusing migrant detainee A detention officer at a Conroe ICE facility pleaded guilty to using excessive force against a migrant detainee.

Detention officer admits to assaulting migrant at Houston-area ICE facility www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

Montrose rainbow crosswalk is gone after HPD arrested 4 protesters Protesters stood in the way of construction crews scheduled to remove Montrose's rainbow crosswalks at Westheimer Road and Taft Street overnight.

“It’s like they're digging a soul out.”
Montrose rainbow crosswalk is gone after HPD arrested 4 protesters www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

FEMA aid flowed faster to wealthier Central Texas homes after July 4 floods Since the July 4 Central Texas floods, FEMA has awarded over $37M in aid — much of it flowing faster to wealthier residents than middle- and low-income residents.

More than three months after the rains stopped, nearly 3,800 households damaged by the July 4 flooding in Central Texas have been awarded federal assistance.
However, not everyone seeking aid has been successful. Many of the lowest income residents are waiting on checks or had their claims denied.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America’s most importan...

www.propublica.org/article/elon...

A Houston community's air is thick with pollution. Why hasn't the EPA done more? Houston residents wonder why Texas and EPA officials aren’t doing more to keep the air clean in their polluted neighborhood.

“When we come through my house and mop or sweep, everything is black. The floor is black, the ceiling fans, even the light is black."
Settegast stands out like a flashing warning light in the state’s network of air-quality monitors maintained by TCEQ.

The announcement is in line with a Trump administration rule to “drastically” restrict non-U.S. citizens from getting trucking licenses. bit.ly/46ENPzX

Weeks after flash flooding in Kerr County killed more than 100 people, Kerrville first responders were notified that family health insurance premiums could increase by up to $5,000 annually.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi...

Texas Oil Boom Leaves a Toxic Legacy of Its Own Making Toxic wastewater is spreading across America’s biggest oil field, posing a pressing threat to a basin that has grown into a cornerstone of global markets

Great look at the growing problem of toxic wastewater in US Permian basin, including a 9-minute mini-documentary

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

Parents say son would be alive if Houston restaurant staff had called 911 Jessie Mobley, Jr., 34, passed out after eating dinner at an African steakhouse in west Houston, police said. Staff carried him outside, where he was found dead the following morning.

A Houston restaurant carried a passed-out man outside, where he died. Why didn't staff call 911? www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

How gruesome claims about Houston funerals unraveled a nightmare A Houston man stands accused of disrespecting the dead. A bereaved mother will stop at nothing to get justice for her son. And the police trail on the case has seemingly gone cold.

"Now I have to figure out if I have the correct ashes."
Gruesome claims about Houston funerals shocked the nation. Then a quiet horror unraveled.

Cool. If you have that covered I’ll go to my backup idea.

I have the perfect costume idea.

Justice Department sues Uber, alleging disability discrimination The company is accused of refusing to serve those with disabilities including wheelchairs and service dog users in a $125 million suit. Uber denies the claims.

The federal government has filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the ride-hailing app of discriminating against passengers with disabilities, including those who use service dogs and wheelchairs.

How Houston Heights became the neighborhood everyone wants to live in Once Houston’s first suburb, the Heights suffered decline before rising again as one of the city’s most desirable and fast-changing neighborhoods.

How Houston Heights went from a fading suburb to one of the city's most popular areas ... Well, one way it did that was somehow "the Heights" or "Heights area" expanded to 175 square miles.
Also, no mention of the screwy liquor regs pre-14?

65K Houston-area properties have been built in floodplains since Hurricane Harvey Houston’s relentless push into new suburbs has overlooked flood risks, putting tens of thousands of families in harm’s way.

Experts say these numbers show how Houston’s relentless push into new suburbs has overlooked flood risks, putting tens of thousands of families in harm’s way.
www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/202...

Just Beyond the Texas Border, Chihuahua Is Launching a Burgeoning State Surveillance System The 20-story Torre Centinela looming over Juárez is part of a much larger AI-powered network that won’t stop at the U.S.-Mexico divide.

“It’s like seeing the eye of Sauron hanging over your city,” EFF’s @maassive.bsky.social told @texasobserver.org of the Torre Centinela surveillance nexus rising over Ciudad Juárez. Will it gather information in violation of US laws and share it with US law enforcement?

Inside a Conroe lab’s alleged scheme to downplay poop in Houston waters A federal grand jury indicted three people who are accused of concealing high levels of feces and other pollutants released in Houston-area waterways.

Shit getting real www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

The Trump administration says it’s reviewing all the more than 55 million people with U.S. visas for potential deportable violations. bit.ly/4787NoF