https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/alejandra-martinez/The latest news by Alejandra Martinez.enMon, 12 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/12/texas-concrete-batch-plant-new-rules/The TCEQ has proposed changes to concrete batch plant permits including lowering production limits, reducing dust coming from plants and setting minimum distance requirements from nearby communities.Alejandra MartinezMon, 12 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/12/texas-concrete-batch-plant-new-rules/A concrete truck is washed at a concrete batch plant in Gunter on March 21. The state environmental agency has proposed new rules aimed at reducing pollution from the plants.A concrete truck is washed at a concrete batch plant in Gunter, TX on March 21, 2023.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/09/texas-smog-plan-epa-lawsuit/The lawsuit claims the Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority with its plan to reduce ozone emissions that cross state lines.Alejandra MartinezFri, 09 Jun 2023 15:33:18 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/09/texas-smog-plan-epa-lawsuit/Smoke from a power plant in San Antonio on Aug. 4, 2021. Texas has sued the EPA over its federal “good neighbor” plan to reduce smog that crosses state lines.Smoke from a power plant in San Antonio on Aug. 4, 2021.Sophie Park/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/texas-houston-illegal-dumping-settlement/Houston agreed to tackle illegal dumping to settle a federal civil rights case. Neighbors alleged the city failed to respond quickly enough to dumping complaints in primarily Black and Latino areas.Alejandra Martinez and Emily FoxhallWed, 07 Jun 2023 21:43:42 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/texas-houston-illegal-dumping-settlement/Trash piles up south of Houston Gardens Park in Northeast Houston. Trash regularly appears on the road right next to a “No Dumping Allowed” sign.Trash piles up at a spot south of the Houston Gardens Park where it is regularly dumped on the road right next to a “No Dumping Allowed” sign, on Friday, July 22, 2022 in Houston.Courtesy of The Houston Chronicle/Michael Wykehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/05/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-closes/The state is now considering seizing the land to save the park after its purchase offer was rejected by a Dallas developer.Alejandra MartinezMon, 05 Jun 2023 14:12:15 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/05/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-closes/Coots dot Fairfield Lake at sunset while people fish from a boat on Feb. 27. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced the closure of Fairfield Lake State Park last weekend — the second time the park has closed since the land was sold earlier this year.Coots dot Fairfield Lake while people cast their fishing line from a boat during sunset at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/05/ken-paxton-impeachment-collin-county/The suspended attorney general’s political origins and rise to power began in the suburban North Texas county. But every House member from the county voted to impeach him.Alejandra MartinezMon, 05 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/05/ken-paxton-impeachment-collin-county/Ken Paxton supporters chat after the now-suspended attorney general spoke to a crowd at a campaign party in McKinney on March 1, 2022.Attendees of Ken Paxton’s primary election results watch party chat after Paxton spoke to the crowd in McKinney on March 1, 2022.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/02/texas-environment-climate-energy-bills-legislature/Proposals to improve energy efficiency failed. Bills that sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions in Texas were ignored, and legislation to block cities from taking action on climate change passed.Erin Douglas, Emily Foxhall and Alejandra MartinezFri, 02 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/02/texas-environment-climate-energy-bills-legislature/Wind turbines in Lyford near the Texas-Mexico border.Industrial energy-producing wind turbines cover hundreds of acres of farmland in Lyford on May 17, 2023.Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/25/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-lease-deal-tpwd/Texas parks officials said they are taking “all necessary steps” to purchase the land and save Fairfield Lake State Park from being turned into a luxury gated community and golf course.Alejandra MartinezThu, 25 May 2023 17:42:47 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/25/texas-fairfield-lake-state-park-lease-deal-tpwd/Mary Navarro's children collect shells and skip rocks from the bank of Fairfield Lake at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27. After leasing the land for the park for decades, the state is trying to buy the land after it was sold to a developer earlier this year.Mary Navarro's children collect seashells and attempt to skip rocks from the bank of Fairfield Lake at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/17/texas-house-bill-commission-environmental-quality-sunset-review/The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to focus enforcement and increase penalties on repeat violators and increase public outreach. Still, environmental advocates say the effort was too “modest” in its reach.Alejandra MartinezWed, 17 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/17/texas-house-bill-commission-environmental-quality-sunset-review/Residential properties near refineries in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Corpus Christi in 2017.Residential properties near refineries in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Corpus Christi on January 24, 2017.Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-house-bill-state-parks-land-funding/The Texas House paved the way for a billion-dollar investment in state parks, which one advocate said would create “a new golden age” for the park system. Texas now ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita.Alejandra MartinezMon, 15 May 2023 16:26:25 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-house-bill-state-parks-land-funding/A park visitor casts a fishing line at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27. State lawmakers are close to approving up to $1 billion in new funding for state parks.A park visitor casts a fishing line at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-allen-outlet-mall-mass-shooting/A mass shooting at this suburb’s community hub — the outlet mall — has punctured the sense of security that drew many to Allen. “That could have been me and my boys,” one local woman said.Alejandra MartinezTue, 09 May 2023 15:18:52 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-allen-outlet-mall-mass-shooting/People embrace at a memorial in Allen on Monday as they mourn the eight people who died in the Allen Premium Outlets shooting.People embrace each other as they mourn the eight people who died in the Allen Premium Outlets shooting at a memorial in Allen, TX on May 8, 2023.Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-itc-chemical-plant-fire-permit-hearing-tceq/In Deer Park near Houston, memories of the massive ITC fire are still fresh. Residents told state environmental regulators they should reject the company’s permit renewal, but officials said the fire won’t be part of the decision.Alejandra MartinezFri, 05 May 2023 12:23:32 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-itc-chemical-plant-fire-permit-hearing-tceq/Erandi Trevino, Houston organizer for Public Citizen, questions representatives for ITC — which is applying to renew a federal permit for its Deer Park plant that caught fire in 2019 — and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at a public hearing Thursday in Deer Park.During the public hearing regarding ITC and their renewal application for a federal permit, Erandi Trevino, Houston Organizer for Public Citizen, questions ITC and TCEQ representatives why only 1 out of 27 violations resulted in a fine. Deer Park ,TX. Thursday , May 4,2023Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-water-infrastructure-colonias/An estimated 500,000 people live in thousands of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. Largely built between the 1950s and 1980s, these communities have been promised water — but it has never come.Alejandra MartinezFri, 05 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/05/texas-water-infrastructure-colonias/Maria Martínez’s son Jose Martínez removes a makeshift cover for plumbing near a water tank on April 21, 2023. Without the insulation during the winter, the pipes are prone to burst in the colder temperatures.Maria Martínez’s son Jose Martínez removes a makeshift cover for plumbing near a water tank on April 21, 2023. Without the insulation during the winter, the pipes are prone to burst in the colder temperatures.Jorge Salgado for Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/02/texas-spacex-lawsuit-faa-environmental-pollution/Environmental groups claim the Federal Aviation Administration let SpaceX do its own environmental assessment before its rocket self-destructed above the Texas coast and debris rained down over a wide area.Alejandra MartinezTue, 02 May 2023 13:37:53 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/02/texas-spacex-lawsuit-faa-environmental-pollution/Large pieces of concrete are shown near SpaceX’s launch pad after its next-generation Starship and super-heavy rocket launched, causing damage at the company’s Boca Chica facility near Brownsville on April 22, 2023.Large pieces of concrete are shown near SpaceX's launchpad after their next-generation Starship and super heavy rocket launched, causing damage at the company's Boca Chica facility near Brownsville on April 22, 2023.REUTERS/Steve Nesiushttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/27/texas-chemical-plant-fire-itc-deer-park-benzene/The Texas Tribune analyzed previously unreported air monitoring data and records from the 2019 ITC chemical disaster near Houston and found that high benzene levels lingered in the air for two weeks after public health measures were lifted. Experts say more shelter-in-place advisories should have been issued.Erin Douglas, Alejandra Martinez and Caroline CovingtonThu, 27 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/27/texas-chemical-plant-fire-itc-deer-park-benzene/Illustration by Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/17/texas-senate-bill-commission-environmental-quality-sunset-review/The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to focus enforcement on repeat violators and increase public outreach.Alejandra MartinezMon, 17 Apr 2023 17:58:55 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/17/texas-senate-bill-commission-environmental-quality-sunset-review/State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, chairs the House Committee on Environmental Regulation during a hearing for the TCEQ sunset bill at the Capitol on March 23.State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, chairs the House Committee on Environmental Regulation during a hearing for a sunset bill for the TCEQ at the Capitol in Austin on March 23, 2023.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/17/texas-senate-bill-471-tceq-complaints-pollution/The bill would impose fines when residents make more than three complaints to the state environmental agency in a year if they don’t result in enforcement action. Critics warn the bill would discourage people from reporting pollution.Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune, and Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate NewsMon, 17 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/17/texas-senate-bill-471-tceq-complaints-pollution/Linda Hunter sits in the dining room of her home in Gunter, where concrete batch plants can be seen through the windows. “These are 9 feet of windows,” she said. “They were placed out here so that I could see outside in the country.”Linda Hunter sits in the dining room of her home in Gunter, TX where concrete batch plants can be seen through the windows on March 21, 2023. Since the first plant was built in 2017, Hunter and her husband’s quality of life has been impacted by the persistent air, noise, and light pollution generated. “These are 9 feet of windows. They were placed out here so that I could see outside in the country.”Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/11/epa-water-pollution-lawsuit/A coalition of environmental groups claims the EPA has failed for decades to update limits on the discharge of some dangerous chemicals into waterways. Most of the worst polluters are in Texas.Alejandra MartinezTue, 11 Apr 2023 13:22:52 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/11/epa-water-pollution-lawsuit/The Houston Ship Channel in February. A lawsuit filed by a group of environmental groups says the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to update its standards that control how much pollution industry can discharge into waterways.Barges float through the Houston Ship Channel on February 13, 2023.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/10/bracted-twistflower-prostrate-milkweed-texas-endangered-species-act/The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declared the bracted twistflower, native to the Edwards Plateau, a threatened species, a month after putting another Texas plant on the endangered list.Alejandra MartinezMon, 10 Apr 2023 17:58:06 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/10/bracted-twistflower-prostrate-milkweed-texas-endangered-species-act/Streptanthus bracteatus, commonly known as the bracted twistflower, grows in Central Texas and has been listed as “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Streptanthus bracteatus, commonly known as the bracted twistflowerAlison Northuphttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/21/epa-texas-particulate-matter-soot-air-pollution-joppa-dallas/Federal limits on particulate matter commonly known as soot could mean cleaner, safer air for Texans. But environmental experts worry Texas may snub rules.Alejandra MartinezTue, 21 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/21/epa-texas-particulate-matter-soot-air-pollution-joppa-dallas/Sandra Crumby, 67, sits on the front porch of her house in Joppa on March 13, 2023.Sandra Crumby, 67, sits on the front porch of her house in Joppa, Texas on March 13, 2023. Her sister, GG Garner, tends to her backyard.Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/17/mexico-voters-texas-politics-presidential-election/Mexican migrants in Texas could play a role in choosing the country’s next president next year, and Mexican political leaders are setting up outreach networks — including one in Dallas — to court expat voters.Alejandra MartinezFri, 17 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/17/mexico-voters-texas-politics-presidential-election/Marko Cortés, president of Mexico’s Partido Acción Nacional, or PAN, addresses business leaders at El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant in Oak Cliff on Feb. 6.Marko Cortés, President of Mexico’s Partido Acción Nacional or PAN addresses business leaders at El Ranchito Restaurant in Oak Cliff. The invitation only event for leaders of the Dallas Mexican business community will become the Consejo de Action Migrante which will be looking looking to expand the PAN’s voter base, specifically immigrants based in the US for the upcoming Mexican elections. Cortes views it as the template for similar networking efforts across the US.Jaime Carrero for The Texas Tribune