As the state’s environmental agency weighs new pollution limits on the plants, several lawmakers have filed bills that would put new restrictions on the facilities, which spew pollutants into mostly low-income neighborhoods.
Alejandra Martinez
Alejandra Martinez is a Fort Worth-based environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial complex and how the state's air monitoring system has failed Latino communities. Her work on climate change includes exploring the health effects of extreme heat and how extended droughts affect water resources. Before joining the Tribune in 2022, Alejandra was an accountability reporter at KERA, where she began as a Report for America Corps Member and then covered Dallas City Hall. She also has worked as an associate producer at WLRN in South Florida. A Houston native, Alejandra studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and speaks fluent Spanish.
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Environment
Texas’ environmental regulators need to get tougher on polluters, group of lawmakers says
The group that reviews the effectiveness of state agencies recommended several changes to how the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality operates.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Republican Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian wins reelection
Christian chairs the three-member board that oversees Texas’ oil and gas industry.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Congressman Henry Cuellar wins reelection in South Texas despite shadow of FBI raid
The 28th Congressional District race was one of three seats in South Texas where Republicans hoped to make gains in a region Democrats have long dominated.
Posted in
Texas 2022 Elections
Luke Warford tries to break the Republican hold on the Railroad Commission by focusing on the power grid and climate change
One of three seats on the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, is up for grabs this election. Democrat Luke Warford is betting his campaign on the issues of electric grid reliability, regulatory enforcement and reducing emissions.
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Uvalde school shooting
Uvalde protesters hold vigil, demand that school district suspend officers
Brett Cross launched the protest Sept. 27, joined by other Uvalde families who say the school district hasn’t held five of its officers accountable for their part in law enforcement’s delayed action during the May 24 shooting.
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Environment
In the shadow of “Shingle Mountain,” southeast Dallas neighbors fight to dismantle a legacy of environmental racism
The residents of Choate Road in southeast Dallas have seen the rise of Shingle Mountain, a more than 70,000-ton toxic waste dump that was created by a recycling company. Now they hope the city of Dallas keeps its promise to tear the mountain down.