Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
Reporting Texas Archives
Oct 21, 2021

UT Students Voice Concerns Over Student Emergency Services Protocol

AUSTIN, Texas — Students face a variety of unexpected emergencies in their personal lives every semester, with some crises taking tolls on both physical and mental health. The University of Texas at Austin offers Student Emergency Services as a resource to assist students during unprecedented times. Emergencies that fall under these services include, but are […]

Oct 21, 2021

Texas Remains Reluctant to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use

Texas has had a puzzling past with marijuana. While the state refuses to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana, it has made small strides in recent years to legalize CBD, hemp and medical marijuana. As the laws become more confusing, some cities — like Austin — have chosen to decriminalize misdemeanor amounts of marijuana.

Of the 50 bills pertaining to marijuana introduced during Texas’ 87th legislation — only HB 1535 made it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. This bill expands the number of people eligible for medical marijuana as well as the concentration amount they can have. Bills dealing with penalty reduction or recreational legalization died.

Oct 21, 2021

UT Police Department Opens Satellite Office in West Campus

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin Police Department (UTPD) opened a new satellite office in West Campus called UTPD West in response to an uptick in crime last year. The office is located at 405 W. 25th St. on the first floor of Walter Webb Hall at 25th Street and Guadalupe Street. […]

Oct 19, 2021

Austin Police Forward Non-Emergency Calls From 911 to 311

AUSTIN, Texas — Starting this month, the Austin Police Department’s 911 line began to forward all non-emergency calls to Austin 311’s ambassador line. Non-emergency calls include incidents like stolen bikes and cars, as well as vandalism, attempted burglary of residences and verbal disturbances. University of Texas student Skyler Quait recently noticed several bikes destroyed and […]

Oct 15, 2021

COVID-19 Infections in Pregnancy Rise as Vaccination Rate Stays Low

Pregnant people are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. In recent months, health officials have been raising alarms that the group needs to urgently get vaccinated.

The highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in pregnant people in a single month of the pandemic was reported in August 2021, according to a Sept. 29 health alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates only about 31% of pregnant people are fully vaccinated. This number is even lower for Black pregnant people, at 15.6%.

Oct 15, 2021

ACL Music Fest Marks Return of Major In-Person Events in Austin

“A lesson we’ve all learned is that change is constant. I think we all learned that during the pandemic. It felt like it was never going to end, but it did. Here we are.”

Oct 15, 2021

Survivors and Seeking Help: Suicide Prevention and Recovery

Depression inflicts a pain and numbness that engulfs people in ways that no aching of the body ever could. Like any other disease, it spreads until a person is fully consumed. Yet many in our society are reluctant to speak of the disease’s worst outcome. In 2019 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported there […]

Oct 14, 2021

Proposition A Faces Scrutiny for Potential Impacts on City Budget

AUSTIN, Texas – With early voting in Austin beginning Oct. 18 ahead of the Nov. 2 general election, debate over Proposition A is increasing. The proposition would restore funding pulled from the Austin Police Department and reallocated last year, but critics call it an irresponsible use of the city’s budget. “Who is Prop A going […]

Oct 14, 2021

Texas Businesses Confused After Governor Bans Vaccine Mandates

AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order that bans Texas businesses from mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for its employees or customers.  There is a $1,000 maximum fine for those who do not comply with the order. Abbott’s new order came a month after the Biden administration issued an executive order […]

Oct 14, 2021

Goodbye Trucks, Hello Cars: Co-Op Food Court to Become Parking Lot

AUSTIN, Texas — Local food trucks are looking for a new place to park after the University Co-Op announced it is closing the food court behind its Guadalupe Street retail store. In a letter sent Sept. 23, Co-Op Chief Operating Officer Kristen Huffman informed food truck owners that they will have to vacate the lot […]

Oct 14, 2021

Q2 Stadium Hosts First World Cup Qualifier in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Q2 Stadium in Austin hosted the first World Cup Qualifying match in Texas on Oct. 7 as the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) faced Jamaica. Thanks to Ricardo Pepi’s two goals in the second-half, the USMNT grabbed a 2-0 victory. The USMNT is hoping to bounce back by making it to the […]

Oct 14, 2021

Contactless Food Option Offers Safer Alternative for UT Students

AUSTIN, Texas – Students at The University of Texas at Austin have experienced crowded restaurants in West Campus for months throughout the pandemic, but a new food option offers a contactless alternative.  “Sometimes, the line [at one of my favorite restaurants] is backed all the way out to the door, and it’s not spaced out, […]

Aug 26, 2021

After Initially Settling in Texas, Buhtanese Refugees Increasingly Leaving the State

About 85% of the more than 100,000 displaced Bhutanese refugees came to the U.S. since 2006, with Pennsylvania and Texas receiving the largest shares, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  But Bhutanese refugees and their advocates say many of them are leaving Texas due to lack of access to affordable health care, affordable housing and limited job advancement opportunities.

Jun 01, 2021

Before QAnon, Satanic Panic Gripped Central Texas

Thirty years ago, Oak Hill daycare owners Dan and Fran Keller were convicted and sentenced to 48 years in jail — a likely death sentence for Dan, 50 at the time, and Fran, then 42. Their supposed crime: sexually abusing children during satanic rituals. The Kellers were accused of forcing children to drink blood-laced Kool-Aid and to watch Dan and Fran dismember people with a chainsaw. Today, the claims are believed to have been false memories planted in children’s minds by the suggestive questioning of parents, law enforcement and therapists. But the damage was done.

May 27, 2021

Natural Wine Staking Claim in Texas

Natural wine is made with organically farmed grapes and fermented with yeast that grows naturally on the grapes. The fruit is also picked by hand, without the aid of machinery. Winemakers call the process “non-intervention” or “zero-zero,” meaning nothing is added and nothing is taken away during production.

May 27, 2021

A Historical Look at Jim Crow Laws in Texas

Charles Zelden, history professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, sat down with Reporting Texas to discuss the unfortunate history of Jim Crow in Texas.

May 25, 2021

Sexuality in the Age of COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to spend a large amount of time alone, and more and more people have turned to sex therapists to explore their sexuality. 

May 21, 2021

Texas Lawmakers Want to Make Single Eyewitness Testimony No Longer Grounds for Death Penalty

A state representative wants to make it impossible to hand down a death sentence in Texas based on the testimony of a single witness without corroborating evidence. Supporters of the change say it’s dangerous to sentence someone to death row based on eyewitness testimony alone. Prosecutors, meanwhile, say they doubt  it’s actually a problem and that the proposal could be a slippery slope that leads to micromanaging their work. 

May 21, 2021

Austin Sumo Wrestlers Prepare for National Competition

Over the past 20 years, the male-dominated sport has found increasing popularity outside of Japan among wrestlers of different genders, weight classes and racial backgrounds. In 2022, the sumo World Games will be held in the U.S., in Birmingham, Ala — an opportunity to put American sumo on the map. 

May 19, 2021

Esports Gaming Seeks Validation from University

Esports, or competitive gaming, has been growing on college campuses nationwide including here at the University of Texas at Austin. On their official website, Longhorn Gaming defines themselves as “the central hub for casual and competitive gaming at the University of Texas at Austin.” Longhorn Gaming has 23 teams competing in leagues for games across multiple genres […]