Articles by Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas Tribune

Texas Lawmakers Zero In on Exploding Hemp Industry

Austin hemp entrepreneur Shayda Torabi is looking at a year filled with uncertainty. For the six years they’ve been in business, Torabi and her two sisters have operated Restart, their hemp dispensary, in a modest neighborhood in North Austin within …

Family Says Medical Neglect Caused Texas Congresswoman’s Death

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson died a “terrible, painful death” from an infection caused by negligence at her Dallas recovery facility following a September back surgery, according to a statement Thursday from Johnson’s family outlining their intention to file a lawsuit. …

Texas Comptroller: State Revenue Driven by Increasing Insurance Premiums

When Texas lawmakers meet next month for a special session on funding public education, they will have more money available to them to spend than they anticipated when they passed the state’s $321.3 billion budget earlier this year, Texas Comptroller …

Staffing Crisis Hits Texas Hospitals as Burnout Depletes Workforce, Virus Surges

Texas nurse Jenna Price gets half a dozen solicitations a day from hospitals and staffing agencies that want to pay her four times her current salary to leave her job at a suburban Central Texas emergency room and take a …

Texas Gov. Signs Bill to Punish Businesses Requiring COVID Vaccination Proof

Texas businesses that require customers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be denied state contracts and could lose their licenses or operating permits under legislation Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law. “Texas is open 100%, and we want to …