Energy development capitalizing on the high winds in West Texas has injected sluggish rural communities with new economic lifeblood. The “windfall” has bestowed hundreds of millions of dollars — an embarrassment of riches — on mostly tiny schools.
Kiah Collier
Kiah Collier was a reporter for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigative initiative from 2020 through 2023. She previously worked at the Tribune as a reporter and associate editor, covering energy and the environment through the lens of state government and politics. Kiah has reported for numerous other publications across Texas since 2010, including the Austin American-Statesman and the Houston Chronicle. Her beats also have included government and politics, public education and business. Kiah’s work has been honored with numerous prizes, including a George Foster Peabody Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism, the National Edward R. Murrow Award for best investigation and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. A seventh-generation Texan, she grew up in the Austin area and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in journalism and philosophy.
Posted in
Energy
SLIDESHOW: Texas Windmills — and Windmillers
Windmilling — the art of fixing old water windmills — is difficult and dangerous work, and now it faces competition from solar pumps. But long-time windmillers in the Panhandle wouldn’t trade their job for any other.
Posted in
Energy
Drought’s Economic Impact Spreading From Rural to Urban Areas
Despite the record dry stretch, most Texans are still far from running out of water. But the drought’s economic impact is beginning to extend beyond agriculture and into tourism, real estate and other staples of urban economies.
Posted inState Government
Group Hopes to Dispell Stigma of Stem Cells
A group supporting stem cell research in Texas held a symposium in Austin today, weeks after Gov. Rick Perry’s adult stem-cell therapy thrust the issue into the spotlight. Reshma Kirpalani of KUT News and ReportingTexas.com reports.
Posted in
Environment
Something in the Air
The Clean Air Force of Central Texas is warning a five-county area that it’s in danger of failing to meet federal requirements for ground level ozone. New EPA standards that went into effect this past January, and this may be the most challenging ozone season in the region’s history. Julie Moody of KUT News filed this report.
Posted inState Government
Liz Carpenter Obit
Remembering the life and legacy of political speechwriter and humorist Liz Carpenter, who died today at age 89.