A community college could transform the Lockhart area. Will voters approve it?
Residents of a rural Texas school district decide in November whether to expand Austin Community College’s reach. Full Story
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Alexa Ura
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Alexa Ura reported for The Texas Tribune from 2013 to 2023. She covered the complex dynamics of race, ethnicity, wealth, poverty and power and how they are shaping the future of Texas and Texans, in the long and short term. Alexa started at the Tribune as a reporting intern before graduating from the University of Texas at Austin and joining the staff full time. Originally from Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border, she is a native Spanish speaker and is based in Austin.
Past Contributions
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![Representatives from Austin Community College speak with community members during an event in early October, ahead of a vote on expanding the college's reach to the region.]()
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Family legacies and the state’s Jim Crow past underlie a fight over mineral rights on a stretch of South Texas scrubland
Descendants of a prominent white family and a formerly enslaved couple are fighting over ownership — and the oil and gas royalties that would come with it — of an 147.5-acre tract that has bound and divided generations of their families. Full Story
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![An array of pumpjacks operate along Texas State Highway 80 Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 in Karnes County.]()
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In federal trial, Galveston County challenged on efforts to undo Black and Latino voting power
The coastal county faces a drawn-out trial over claims of intentional discrimination in its 2021 redistricting of commissioners court precincts. The only district in which Black and Latino voters could meaningfully influence elections was dismantled. Full Story
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![A statue of a returning Confederate soldier on Thursday, April 21, 2022 in Galveston, TX. Known as The “Dignified Resignation,” the monument has stood in front of the Galveston County Courthouse since 1911. Commissioner Stephen Holmes made a motion to have the statue removed in 2020 but it was not supported by any other commissioners.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Extreme heat and the toll of climate change on Texas
In this week’s episode, we speak with The Texas Tribune’s climate reporter Erin Douglas about why it’s been so hot in Texas and examine the long-term implications as climate change shifts the entire range of Texas heat upward. Full Story
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![Jackson Maniradukunda, 20, runs sprints while working out in the early morning at Yellow Jacked Stadium at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on June 28, 2023.]()
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As race-neutral college admissions begin, Texas counselors work to convince students of color they still belong
Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of Texas’ public schools. But they are vastly underrepresented at its top universities, and Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling will shake up an already complicated application process. Full Story
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Hispanics officially make up the biggest share of Texas’ population, new census numbers show
White people had been the state’s largest population group since at least 1850. Sometime in 2022, the Hispanic population surpassed them, new data shows. Full Story
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![Luisa and Antonio Perez danced to the band Tigrillos at the Festival Viva Mexico in Corpus Christi on Sept 8, 2013.]()
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Where Texas redistricting lawsuits stand after U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alabama case
The high court left intact a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act in a case many feared would go the other way. The decision’s importance in ongoing litigation over Texas’ political maps will largely be felt in what didn’t happen. Full Story
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![The newest drafts of the statewide congressional districts in Texas outside the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol in Austin on Sept. 30 2021.]()
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At the fringes of Houston’s prosperity, the city’s eviction machine is running full throttle
Houston has seen eviction rates soar since pandemic protections for renters lapsed. At one apartment complex, ejecting people from their homes is a ritual part of the business model. Full Story
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![Property management and a constable enter an apartment complex at the Life at Jackson Square apartments on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Houston, TX.]()
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At session’s end, Houston language access advocates clung to one last hope that their voices had been heard
Their dream of passing a bill to improve access to state services for Texans who don’t speak English or Spanish was dashed. Woori Juntos activists fought until the end seeking at least a study of their ideas. Full Story
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![Nicole Ma, Steven Wu, and Quỳnh-Hương Nguyễn of Woori Juntos set up their laptops to catch up on emails and online meetings at the Capitol Grill while they wait for the Senate to convene after trying to meet with the office of Dade Phelan, the House Speaker, and various senators in the state Capitol in Austin on May 22, 2023. The Woori Juntos organizers have shifted focus for the remaining time in the Legislative session, to begin cultivating potential alliances for next session and by trying to get an Interim Charge for their main issue, relating to increasing language accessibility for Texans in state health programs. An Interim Charge, in the Texas House, is a directive to study a certain issue during the interim that is issued by the lieutenant governor to a Senate committee or by the speaker of the House to a House committee.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Lawyer currently leading Texas attorney general’s office has been swept up in Ken Paxton’s legal challenges
Brent Webster came to the Texas attorney general’s office in 2020. His work as Ken Paxton’s top aide was quickly mired in controversy. Full Story
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![First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster speaks during a press conference in the William Clements Building in Austin on June 9, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune
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