Austin-based VA Claims Insider says it has helped hundreds of thousands of clients. It has also touched off complaints and investigations.
Austin
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Criminal Justice
State troopers will resume patrolling Austin streets in July, with some changes in response to criticism
Texas Department of Public Safety officers were criticized for the disparate number of Latino and Black residents arrested during the first iteration of a partnership to help Austin with policing duties.
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Texas Legislature 2023
As Texas swelters, local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers will soon be nullified
Gov. Greg Abbott approved a law this week that will eliminate city and county ordinances like Austin’s and Dallas’ mandated water breaks.
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Health care
After an Austin employee gave birth to a stillborn baby, she was disqualified from parental leave. Now, city leaders want change.
Two days after delivering a stillborn baby, an Austin Public Health employee was notified she would not qualify for the city’s eight weeks of paid parental leave.
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Graphics and data reporting
Almost two years since Kabul fell, a frayed refugee system creates obstacles for Afghans in Texas
The refugee system in Texas and nationally is still recovering from major cuts under the Trump administration. The latest casualty is Texas’ largest resettlement agency, Refugee Services of Texas.
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Texas Legislature 2023
In first session after Dobbs ruling, Texas lawmakers provide more support for pregnant and parenting college students
Now that Texas has a near-total ban on abortion, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are trying to make sure colleges are serving students who are pregnant or have children.
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Criminal Justice
Daniel Perry is sentenced to 25 years for killing an Austin protester. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to pardon him.
Perry’s case has become an explosive political stew of arguments over gun rights, self-defense and racist social media posts. The governor dived in early, saying he would pardon Perry even before a judge handed down the sentence.
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Criminal Justice
Progressive causes lose big in San Antonio and El Paso charter elections
San Antonio voters rejected by wide margins an effort to decriminalize abortion and require police to issue citations rather than make arrests for some nonviolent offenses. In El Paso, an effort to wean the city from fossil fuels fared similarly poorly.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas AG Ken Paxton probing Austin children’s hospital following video of social worker discussing transition-related care
On the same day the Texas Legislature is set to debate Senate Bill 14, a proposed ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids, the attorney general files a request to examine documents related to the use of puberty blockers and counseling for trans youth.
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Criminal Justice
Once again, tension builds after state police are deployed to a major Texas city
A month after the Texas Department of Public Safety began patrolling Austin streets, city officials have both praised a drop in violent crime and condemned the operation’s disparate impact on Latino and Black residents. In 2019, Dallas faced the same challenges.