by Eric Galatas AUSTIN, Texas – After more than a decade of progress getting health coverage for more children in the U.S., a new report shows that nationally, more than 800,000 fewer children were enrolled in federal health programs at the end of 2018. Anne Dunkelberg, associate director at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, […]

by Julie Tomascik Calloused hands and sun-kissed skin. Mud on her boots and grease on his pants. Exhaustion is in their eyes, yet each step has the spring of earlier years. He’s a farmer, and so is she. They’re running tractors and plows from sun up to sun down. Working cattle and baling hay. It’s […]

by Eric Galatas AUSTIN, Texas – Texas has the highest rate of uninsured women of childbearing age in the nation, with one in four lacking coverage, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. It says states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw a 50% greater reduction in […]

AUSTIN – Texas Folklife has crowned four 2019 Big Squeeze youth accordion champions in the traditional Texas accordion music genres: polka; Cajun and zydeco; and conjunto. The gifted young musicians were chosen at a lively concert and showcase at the Bullock State History Museum on May 11, where hundreds of fans gathered to support the accordionists […]

by Mary Schuermann Kuhlman AUSTIN, Texas – Texas lawmakers are showing overwhelming support so far for legislation that AARP says would be one of the strongest drug-price transparency measures in the country. House Bill 2536 is in the hands of a Senate committee after passing the House without opposition. It calls for drug manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers […]

by Eric Galatas AUSTIN, Texas – A new Feeding America report shows that in every county and congressional district in the U.S., a subset of the population can’t afford to buy food on a consistent basis. In some states, one in four children is at risk of missing a meal, and eight of the top 10 states with […]

AUSTIN — The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats has continued to spread into parts of Central, South, and East Texas, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The fungus was detected for the first time in Texas in early 2017 in six Panhandle counties. This year it was detected at 22 sites […]

by Eric Galatas AUSTIN, Texas – Texas teachers earned more than 22 percent less in weekly wages than similar college graduates in 2018, after accounting for education, experience and other factors, according to a new Economic Policy Institute report. Report co-author Sylvia Allegretto, an economist at the University of California, says that’s a problem because more teachers […]