Many Texas mothers are ready to return to work, but a lack of child care is keeping them at home. Alicia Reed worries how she will provide for her four children after her federal unemployment benefits are cut at the end of June.
Jackson Barton
Jackson Barton was a 2021 multimedia fellow at the Tribune. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Jackson worked as a politics intern at Austin TV station KXAN and reporting intern at the Lawrence Journal-World, and was the editor of the video department at The Daily Texan. He also has experience as the video and photo director for Longhorn Gaming, a professional student gaming organization.
Watch: Texas’ small-business owners balance service and safety after end of mask mandate
Three Austin business owners describe how the end of the state’s mask mandate affected them and how they have navigated the crossroads of service and safety.
Watch: Texas farmers start to replant after winter freeze left “total devastation”
Johnson’s Backyard Garden, an organic farm near Austin, lost almost its entire crop during February’s devastating winter storm.
Rural Texas communities face long recoveries and stretched budgets without federal aid
Debbie Gosnell, city manager of Cross Plains, said it could take months for her community to recover from the winter storm. Without approval for federal aid, Gosnell worries the town’s budget will not cover the numerous broken pipes and damaged buildings.
“We are resilient people”: Texans share how they weathered the winter storm
From a new mom in Pflugerville who struggled to keep her baby warm to a Houston teacher worried about her students, listen to what some Texans endured in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.
Up for the task: Younger Texans are helping older family members get COVID-19 vaccine
Jackie Tidwell, a sixth-generation Texan living in Seattle, made it her mission to get her 90-year-old grandfather in Corpus Christi vaccinated for COVID-19 and hopes others “have persistent grandkids like me.” Listen, in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.
Volunteers stepping up in hard-hit Laredo to administer COVID-19 vaccine
The virus has overwhelmed hospitals in the border town. One medical worker says the COVID-19 vaccine is giving people hope. Listen to her story in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.
Watch: How Texas lawmakers are conducting a session during a pandemic
The 2021 Texas legislative session will be unlike any other, as lawmakers work to get the people’s business done in the midst of a pandemic that shows few signs of slowing.

