Reporting Texas
News and features from UT-Austin's School of Journalism
byRebecca Butler
Waller County saw a population increase of over 42 percent during the 2010s after the arrival of several large companies, most notably the Japanese air conditioning manufacturer Daikin Comfort. Although the city of Waller’s population is only about 4,000, Daikin employs over 9,000 people.
In 2014, the Texas-themed convenience store chain Buc-ee’s moved into the town, bringing new job opportunities and more tax revenue to the city. Three years later, Daikin built a 4.23 million square foot factory, roughly the size of 65 football fields — making it the third-largest factory in the United States at the time of its opening. Daikin’s technology park serves as its American headquarters.
Daikin will soon increase its Texas presence. It announced in November that it has bought the naming rights to Minute Maid Stadium, home of the Houston Astros baseball team.
byMichael Karlis
Brennan Avants was completing his final tour in Iraq when a care package from nonprofit Operation Gratitude arrived at his base. “It just meant so much at the time,” Avants recalled.
After 21 years in the U.S. Army as an artillery gunner, Avants teamed up with the group that had sent him that care package all those years ago. The group recently packed new care packages in San Antonio for shipment around the globe.
byMadeline de Figueiredo
In the leadup to the Nov. 1 implementation of Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring Texas public hospitals to report on health care for undocumented immigrants, advocacy groups raced to inform affected communities and providers about the policy’s implications and limitations.
byMadeline de Figueiredo
Voters with disabilities could get expanded access to the ballot this election season after a federal judge struck down Texas laws limiting voter assistance.
The Oct. 11 ruling has yielded cautious celebration from activist and advocacy communities on the eve of early voting, which begins Monday. But the state might appeal the decision in time to thwart voter assistance efforts.
“The ruling protects the rights of Texas voters with disabilities to get the assistance they need without fear of prosecution,” said Bob Kafka, the state coordinator for REV UP Texas, one of the groups that challenged the law.