https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/kayla-guo/The latest news by Kayla Guo.enTue, 25 Mar 2025 15:18:54 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/25/texas-senate-budget-approval/Next step will be action in the state House, where budget writers have different plans for distributing property tax help.By Jasper Scherer and Kayla GuoTue, 25 Mar 2025 15:18:54 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/25/texas-senate-budget-approval/Senator Joan Huffman, R-Houston, speaks with Senator Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, during a Texas Senate meeting on Budget Day, March 25, 2025.Senator Joan Huffman, R-Houston, speaks with Senator Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, during a Texas Senate meeting on March 25, 2025.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/19/texas-senate-hemp-ban-thc-dan-patrick/Patrick says the measure will shut down the dangerous THC products business. The House’s proposal would tighten oversight of the industry without a full ban.By Kayla GuoWed, 19 Mar 2025 15:03:05 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/19/texas-senate-hemp-ban-thc-dan-patrick/The backers of the THC ban approved by the Texas Senate said they support an expansion of the medical marijuana program in the state.A flowering cannabis plant at Texas Original cannabis farm on Sept. 26, 2024.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/16/christian-menefee-congress-sylvester-turner/The district has been a Democratic stronghold, held for decades by Sheila Jackson Lee and most recently by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who died March 5.By Kayla Guo and Pooja SalhotraSun, 16 Mar 2025 21:21:42 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/16/christian-menefee-congress-sylvester-turner/Christian Menefee speaks at the Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso on June 7, 2024.Harris Co. Attorney Christian Menefee speaks at the first general session at the Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso on June 7, 2024.Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/13/texas-sylvester-turner-memorial-state-house/Turner, who spent nearly three decades in the Texas House and died last week, was remembered as a passionate Democrat committed to working across the aisle.By Kayla GuoThu, 13 Mar 2025 16:36:44 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/13/texas-sylvester-turner-memorial-state-house/Rep. Sylvester Turner was honored with a memorial service on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives where he served for nearly three decades before becoming mayor of Houston and then a Congressman.Two men embrace after Congressman Turner’s memorial service on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives on March 13, 2025.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/12/keith-self-sarah-mcbride-transgender-congress/On social media, Self later wrote “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.”By Kayla GuoWed, 12 Mar 2025 09:57:25 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/12/keith-self-sarah-mcbride-transgender-congress/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/06/texas-legislature-energy-renewables-power-grid/The Legislature has tried to clamp down on renewable energy resources in the past, but many lawmakers are recognizing the need to support all types of generation to meet record demand growth.By Kayla GuoThu, 06 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/06/texas-legislature-energy-renewables-power-grid/Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant.Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant opened its doors to media on October 15, 2021 to show the plant’s weatherization process. The Midlothian plant managed to avoid freezing during the Winter Storm Uri in February, and Vistra’s plants provided 25-30% of electricity on the grid during the storm despite its approximately 18% share of generation capacity in ERCOT.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/25/texas-power-grid-ercot-mobile-generators-centerpoint-energy-san-antoni/All Texans connected to the state grid will now pay for the generators rather than just CenterPoint customers.By Kayla GuoTue, 25 Feb 2025 14:37:24 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/25/texas-power-grid-ercot-mobile-generators-centerpoint-energy-san-antoni/The ERCOT Board of Directors convene for a meeting at the organization's headquarters in Austin on Dec. 3, 2024.The ERCOT Board of Directors convene for a meeting at the organization's headquarters in Austin on Dec. 3, 2024.Noah Devereaux for the Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/20/texas-technology-blockchain/Crypto mining facilities make up the bulk of new power demand on the grid, which is projected to nearly double by 2030.By Kayla GuoFri, 21 Feb 2025 09:30:43 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/20/texas-technology-blockchain/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/19/texas-robert-roberson-appeal-death-penalty-case/The appeal includes new testimony from experts who say Roberson’s daughter died of natural causes, and cites the court’s exoneration of a man in another shaken baby syndrome case out of Dallas County.By Kayla GuoWed, 19 Feb 2025 13:54:36 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/19/texas-robert-roberson-appeal-death-penalty-case/Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at the state prison's Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023.Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Projecthttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/18/texas-electricity-grid-virtual-power-plants-bandera-coop/Some Texans who install residential batteries, solar panels and smart thermostats can now send power back to the grid and get a credit on their bill.By Kayla GuoTue, 18 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/18/texas-electricity-grid-virtual-power-plants-bandera-coop/Employees at the Bandera Electric Cooperative tech campus in Boerne on Jan. 30, 2025.A monitoring room at the Bandera Electric Cooperative tech campus in Boerne, Texas on January 30, 2025.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/13/texas-power-grid-ercot-energy-forecast/Some experts are skeptical the grid would see as much demand growth as ERCOT predicts, and other ERCOT models showed things getting tight but not tipping into a deficit.By Kayla GuoThu, 13 Feb 2025 16:15:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/13/texas-power-grid-ercot-energy-forecast/The state's power grid manager says one of its forecast scenarios shows electricity demand exceeding supply in Texas as soon as next summerAir conditioning units at the Oak Timbers apartment complex in Fort Worth on Sept. 9, 2023.Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/texas-data-center-boom-grid/As energy demand surges, largely due to crypto mining facilities, data centers and industrial electrification, Texas officials are looking at how to increase supply and shore up the grid.By Kayla GuoFri, 24 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/texas-data-center-boom-grid/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/20/texas-legislature-committee-robert-roberson-death-row-testify-paxton/Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson.By Kayla GuoFri, 20 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/20/texas-legislature-committee-robert-roberson-death-row-testify-paxton/State lawmakers want death row inmate Robert Roberson, seen at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston in 2023, to testify about his case at the state Capitol, but Attorney General Ken Paxton's office continues to object to the effort.Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Projecthttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/robert-roberson-ken-paxton-texas-house-testimony/The motion escalates a tense standoff between Paxton and a bipartisan Texas House committee, which had subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the Capitol on Friday.By Kayla GuoThu, 19 Dec 2024 20:38:52 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/robert-roberson-ken-paxton-texas-house-testimony/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention in San Antonio on May 23, 2024.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/texas-public-utility-commission-performance-credit-power-grid/The Public Utility Commission found that the performance credit mechanism, a financial tool the Legislature capped at $1 billion, would only marginally improve reliability of the state power grid.By Kayla GuoThu, 19 Dec 2024 14:35:17 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/19/texas-public-utility-commission-performance-credit-power-grid/Public Utilities Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson speaks during a meeting on July 11, 2024. The PUC on Wednesday shelved the performance credit mechanism, which aimed to increase the power grid's reliability, saying it would fall short of that goal.Public Utilities Commission Chairman Thomas Gleeson speaks during a meeting on Thursday, July 11, 2024.Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/17/texas-robert-roberson-subpoena-ken-paxton/The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in “shaken baby” case.By Kayla GuoTue, 17 Dec 2024 13:30:01 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/17/texas-robert-roberson-subpoena-ken-paxton/Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023.Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Projecthttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/11/texas-exxon-clean-air-act-penalty-affirmed/A 2021 ruling found the oil giant committed more than 16,000 violations of the Clean Air Act at its Baytown refinery and plant.By Kayla GuoWed, 11 Dec 2024 18:29:59 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/11/texas-exxon-clean-air-act-penalty-affirmed/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/03/texas-power-grid-ercot-winter-forecast-extreme-cold/ERCOT says conditions this winter could spark extreme cold, but additional power supply and continued weatherization efforts will lower the risk of power outages.By Kayla GuoTue, 03 Dec 2024 14:53:31 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/03/texas-power-grid-ercot-winter-forecast-extreme-cold/The ERCOT board of directors meet at the organization's Austin headquarters on Dec. 3, 2024 to discuss the grid's readiness for the coming winter.The ERCOT Board of Directors convene for a meeting at the organization's headquarters in Austin on Dec. 3, 2024.Noah Devereaux for the Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/25/robert-roberson-joe-moody-jeff-leach-texas-death-penalty/The Criminal Jurisprudence Committee plans to issue a new subpoena to the death row inmate for a Dec. 20 hearing if Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office does not cooperate.By Kayla Guo and Terri LangfordTue, 26 Nov 2024 10:14:54 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/25/robert-roberson-joe-moody-jeff-leach-texas-death-penalty/From left: Texas Tribune reporter Kayla Guo moderates a conversation with State Reps. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Joe Moody, D-El Paso, in Austin on Dec. 6, 2024. Moody, who is chairman, serves with Leach on the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.John Jordan/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/25/texas-cryptocurrency-mining-registration-public-utility-commission-er/The Public Utility Commission of Texas adopted the rule amid surging demand for power across the state and a growing crypto mining industry in Texas.By Kayla GuoMon, 25 Nov 2024 14:40:19 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/25/texas-cryptocurrency-mining-registration-public-utility-commission-er/Pods of computers are submerged in fluid that keep them from overheating at a crypto mining facility in Helios in 2022.Pods full of computers that are submerged in fluid at the crypto mining facility, Helios, near Afton, on Sept. 15, 2022. The fluid keeps the computers well under manufacturer-designed temps to avoid overheating.Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune