https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/joshua-fechter/The latest news by Joshua Fechter.enThu, 28 Dec 2023 15:09:26 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/28/federal-lawsuit-texas-immigration-law/The state has until Jan. 3 to say it won’t arrest people accused of unauthorized entry from Mexico. If not, the Biden administration will sue, saying immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.Joshua FechterThu, 28 Dec 2023 15:09:26 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/28/federal-lawsuit-texas-immigration-law/Texas National Guard position themselves on the banks of the Rio Grande, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in El Paso.Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers position themselves on the banks of the Rio Grande, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in El Paso. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Governor Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency.Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/19/texas-big-city-mayors-republican-leaders/Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and incoming Houston Mayor John Whitmire, two veteran Democratic legislators, are trying to repair their cities’ fraught relationships with the state’s GOP leadership.Joshua FechterTue, 19 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/19/texas-big-city-mayors-republican-leaders/John Whitmire, left, who was elected as Houston mayor last month, and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson are both former Texas lawmakers who have promised to mend their cities' strained relationship with the state.Left: Senator John Whitmire, D-Houston, speaks at a press confrence to announce legislation aimed at reforming the state’s bail system on Feb. 4, 2019. Right: Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks with the press to discuss the city's response to mass power outages after a ice storm, at the Combined Transportation, Emergency, and Communications Center in Austin on Feb. 3, 2023.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune, Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/07/austin-zoning-single-family-housing-costs/City officials hope that allowing up to three units per lot will increase supply and slow the explosive increase in housing costs. The measure was approved by Austin City Council in a 9-2 vote late Thursday night.Joshua FechterThu, 07 Dec 2023 23:32:32 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/07/austin-zoning-single-family-housing-costs/The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023. Austin officials on Thursday voted to allow multiple homes to built on single-family lots.The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.John Jordan/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/06/texas-office-space-housing-conversion/Not every downtown high-rise is a good fit for an office-to-housing conversion, but some officials and developers see benefits in turning unused space into new residential units.Joshua FechterWed, 06 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/06/texas-office-space-housing-conversion/The Santander Tower in downtown Dallas on Nov. 07, 2023. Some Texas developers are converting office space to housing units in downtowns seeing an abundance of unused workspace.The Santander Tower in downtown Dallas, on Nov. 07, 2023. Texas metros have a glut of vacant offices space driven by the rise of remote work, overbuilding and other factors during the pandemic. One option companies are doing to combat the changes, is to convert office space into residential housing.Ben Torres for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/texas-seniors-housing-costs/A new Harvard University study found an increase in the number of Texas households headed by people 65 or older spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Advocates say keeping older adults housed will require substantial public investment and reforms.Joshua FechterThu, 30 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/texas-seniors-housing-costs/Older Dallas residents eat and dance at the Jaycee-Zaragoza Recreation Center in West Dallas on Nov. 4, 2021.Seniors gather to eat and dance at the Ledbetter Eagle Ford Community Organization’s senior program held at the Jaycee-Zaragoza Recreation Center located in West Dallas on Nov. 4, 2021.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/29/texas-office-space-downtown-economy/As remote and hybrid working become the new normal, major Texas cities are facing a decline in office tenants. It’s too soon to tell what that means for the vitality of downtowns.Joshua FechterWed, 29 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/29/texas-office-space-downtown-economy/Even though Texas workers are returning to the office, many buildings in major downtowns, like Dallas, still have vacant space.Traffic on Interstate 30 passes near an area land that would have been used as pedestrian bridges leading to a bullet train terminus near downtown Dallas, on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. The entities in charge of a bullet train connection between Houston and DFW have faded despite Texas courts approving eminent domain to accomplish the massive project.Ben Torres for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/15/ken-paxton-texas-bar-discipline-2020-election/The legal battle stems from the attorney general’s unsuccessful 2020 lawsuit that leaned heavily on discredited claims of election fraud in other states. Paxton’s lawyers argue that the bar’s lawsuit is an attempt to control how he runs his office.Joshua FechterWed, 15 Nov 2023 17:03:15 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/15/ken-paxton-texas-bar-discipline-2020-election/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton steps to the podium to make a statement to the press on May 26, 2023, a day before the Texas House impeached him. The Senate acquitted him in September.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton steps to the podium to make a statement to the press on May 26, 2023, a day before a scheduled impeachment vote. Behind him, from left: Tommy Tran, executive assistant; James R. Lloyd, associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation; Austin A. Kinghorn, associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel; Ryan Fisher, director of government relations; Joshua Reno, deputy attorney general for criminal justice; and Suzanna Hupp, special adviser.Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/13/michael-burgess-congressional-district-26/Burgess, a Dallas-area Republican who comes from a family of doctors, was a key critic of Democratic efforts to overhaul the country’s health care system.Joshua FechterMon, 13 Nov 2023 15:35:21 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/13/michael-burgess-congressional-district-26/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/07/texas-proposition-4-property-tax-cut/The $18 billion property tax-cut package is aimed squarely at lowering school district property taxes, which make up the lion’s share of a Texas landowner’s property tax bill.Joshua Fechter and Karen Brooks HarperTue, 07 Nov 2023 21:13:28 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/07/texas-proposition-4-property-tax-cut/The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.John Jordan/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/07/houston-mayor-race-2024-results/The two well-known Democrats led a crowded field, but neither captured a majority of the vote. The runoff will be Dec. 9.Joshua Fechter and Alejandro SerranoTue, 07 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/07/houston-mayor-race-2024-results/From left: U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, and state Sen. John Whitmire speak at their election night parties on Nov. 7, 2023, in Houston.U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, and state Sen. John Whitmire speak at their watch parties on Election Day, Nov. 7, 2023, in Houston.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/austin-minimum-parking-requirements-housing-shortage/Affordable housing advocates, developers and climate activists say rules requiring a minimum amount of parking spaces on new projects drives up construction costs and enables a dependency on vehicles to get around town.Joshua FechterThu, 02 Nov 2023 14:05:45 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/02/austin-minimum-parking-requirements-housing-shortage/Downtown Austin in 2017.Downtown Austin on June 27, 2017.Austin Price/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/26/houston-mayors-race-election-day/Jackson Lee has sought to rally her party’s base, vowing to stand up to “MAGA Republicans.” Whitmire has relied on a more bipartisan coalition while also defending his Democratic credentials.Patrick Svitek and Joshua FechterThu, 26 Oct 2023 16:27:18 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/26/houston-mayors-race-election-day/Houston mayoral candidates John Whitmire, currently a state senator, and Sheila Jackson Lee, a U.S. representative.Houston mayor candidates State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston.The Texas Tribune | Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via REUTERShttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/24/texas-property-tax-cut-proposition-4/Proposition 4 could usher in a bevy of property tax changes. That includes using $12.7 billion from a record state budget surplus to lower school district taxes.Joshua FechterTue, 24 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/24/texas-property-tax-cut-proposition-4/Early voting has begun in the Nov. 7 constitutional amendment election. It includes a proposition that could provide property tax cuts to homeowners and businesses.The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.John Jordan/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/10/texas-housing-crisis-zoning/In cities dominated by single-family neighborhoods, local leaders across Texas want a broader variety of housing to combat the affordability crisis.Joshua FechterTue, 10 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/10/texas-housing-crisis-zoning/Homes under construction in the Mueller neighborhood in East Austin are shown on Oct. 7, 2023.Homes under construction in the Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.John Jordan/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/dallas-mayor-eric-johnson-republican/Though the mayor’s position in Dallas is technically nonpartisan, Johnson joins Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker as one of two Republican mayors to lead a major Texas city.Joshua Fechter and Brian LopezFri, 22 Sep 2023 10:47:34 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/dallas-mayor-eric-johnson-republican/Moderator Chad Hasty, left, speaks with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 22, 2023.Moderator Chad Hasty speaks with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson about his second-term agenda and partisanship at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 22, 2023.Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/19/austin-housing-affordability-zoning/The city’s decades-long battle to overhaul local rules to allow more, denser housing to be built may be reaching a turning point.Joshua FechterTue, 19 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/19/austin-housing-affordability-zoning/Protesters hold signs and gather at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in support of affordable housing on Aug. 28, 2023.Protesters hold signs and gather at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in support of affordable housing on Aug. 28, 2023.Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/16/ted-cruz-greg-abbott-texas-officials-ken-paxton/“This was the right outcome,” U.S. Ted Cruz said, while Gov. Greg Abbott said he looked forward to continuing to work with the attorney general.Joshua FechterSat, 16 Sep 2023 14:10:45 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/16/ted-cruz-greg-abbott-texas-officials-ken-paxton/Supporters cheer as former President Donald Trump steps to the podium at his 2024 campaign rally in Waco on March 25, 2023.Supporters cheer as former president Donald Trump steps off the plane to the podium at his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas on Mar. 25, 2023.Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/02/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-rally/Paxton named House Speaker Dade Phelan, a fellow Republican, in his brief remarks Saturday in North Texas. The suspended attorney general faces a trial Tuesday that would remove him from office permanently.Joshua FechterSat, 02 Sep 2023 15:55:38 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/02/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-rally/Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a Collin County Labor Day picnic in Plano, on Sept. 2, 2023, just days before his impeachment trial.Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a Collin County Labor Day picnic in Plano, on Sept. 2, 2023, just days before his impeachment trial.Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/30/texas-death-star-bill-unconstitutional/A state law backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and business lobbying groups to stop cities and counties from passing progressive policies is scheduled to take effect Friday. A Travis County judge declared it unconstitutional.Joshua FechterWed, 30 Aug 2023 12:04:09 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/30/texas-death-star-bill-unconstitutional/Members of the Fe Y Justice Worker Center hold signs to protest House Bill 2127, dubbed the "Death Star bill," during a press conference at Houston’s City Hall on July 14.A members of Fe Y Justice Worker Center holds a sign in protest to HB-2127 during a press conference at Houston’s City Hall. Friday July 14, 2023.Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/22/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-testify/Lawyers for the suspended attorney general argue that compelled testimony would violate Paxton’s rights, but House impeachment managers disagree. The issue may be settled shortly after his trial begins.Joshua FechterTue, 22 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/08/22/ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-testify/Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks after being sworn in to office on Jan. 10 at the Capitol. Behind him are state Sen. Angela Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to his supporters after being sworn into office on January 10, 2023. At left are state Sen. Angela Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott.Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune