The Texas Tribune: Vianna Davilahttps://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/vianna-davila-the-texas-tribune-and-propublica/The latest news by Vianna Davila.enTue, 06 Jun 2023 18:03:38 -0500After a week’s delay, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick signs bill to increase transparency in public records lawhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/06/texas-dan-patrick-transparency-bill/Patrick said he had always intended to sign the measure but pulled it aside in response to the House playing “games” at the end of the regular session.Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaTue, 06 Jun 2023 18:03:38 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/06/texas-dan-patrick-transparency-bill/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke at a media briefing at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick discusses property tax cuts for homeowners during a media briefing at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, June 6, in Austin, Texas.Joe Timmerman/The Texas TribuneTexas bill to increase transparency in public records law left in limbo despite passing Legislaturehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/03/texas-transparency-records-bill/The bill would close a long-standing loophole in state law that allows officials to withhold law enforcement records if no one was convicted in a case. The measure was the only bill sent to the Senate that did not get signed and sent to the governor.Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaSat, 03 Jun 2023 17:45:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/03/texas-transparency-records-bill/Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (left) and House Speaker Dade Phelan.From left: Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan.The Texas TribuneTexas public records loophole lets cities keep suicide reports from families of dead soldiershttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-public-records-loophole-suicide-reports/Texas law allows officials to withhold police records if no one was convicted in a case. At least one city has used this rule to deny the release of suicide records. A new bill aims to close this loophole.Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaTue, 09 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-public-records-loophole-suicide-reports/The city of Killeen has used an exception to Texas public records law to withhold Army Pfc. Logan Castello’s suicide report from his family.Photographs of Logan Castello are displayed on a mantle at Patty Troyan’s home, Thursday, May 4, 2023 in Saint Clairsville, Ohio.Rich-Joseph Facun for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThe Army increasingly allows soldiers charged with violent crimes to leave the military rather than face trialhttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/10/military-army-administrative-separation/A federal watchdog called for ending the practice nearly 50 years ago, but the military pushed back. Now, soldiers leave the Army with a negative discharge, avoiding possible federal conviction and with little record of the allegations against them.Vianna Davila, Lexi Churchill and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Davis Winkie, Military TimesMon, 10 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/10/military-army-administrative-separation/Joan Wong for ProPublica and The Texas TribuneMilitary justice reforms still leave some criminal cases to commanders with no legal expertisehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/13/military-justice-reforms-pretrial-confinement/The military resisted reforming its justice system for decades. Major congressional changes passed in 2021 promised to overhaul that system — but experts say they may have just made it more complicated.Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 13 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/13/military-justice-reforms-pretrial-confinement/The deaths of several soldiers at Fort Hood, including Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, who was sexually harassed by a supervisor before being killed by another soldier in 2020, spurred calls to reform the military justice system.A mural in honor of Army Spc. Vanessa GuillÈn in the Dove Springs neighborhood of South Austin. July 6, 2020.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneTexas congresswoman calls for examination of military pretrial confinementhttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/20/veronica-escobar-military-pretrial-confinement/The Army also said its pretrial confinement rules are “currently under revision” in a statement to Military Times, which is partnering with ProPublica and The Texas Tribune to report on military justice.Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Davis Winkie, Military TimesTue, 20 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/20/veronica-escobar-military-pretrial-confinement/Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, has called for hearings over the military’s pretrial confinement system.Congresswoman Veronica Escobar speaks at a candle light vigil held in front of the U.S Capitol grounds. Washington, D.C. Jan. 6, 2022.Jason Garza for The Texas TribuneHe was accused of sexual assault, she of using drugs. The military dealt with them very differently.https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/15/army-military-pretrial-confinement-sexual-assault/Comparing the cases of Pvt. Olivia Ochoa and Pfc. Christian Alvarado provides a striking example of Army commanders’ uneven use of pretrial confinement.Ren Larson, Vianna Davila and Lexi Churchill, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 15 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/15/army-military-pretrial-confinement-sexual-assault/Joan Wong for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaIn the Army, you’re more likely to be detained for drugs than sexual assaulthttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/11/army-sexual-assault-pretrial-confinement-takeaways/A first-of-its-kind analysis reveals that, on average, Army soldiers had to face at least eight counts of sexual offenses before their commanders detained them ahead of trial as often as soldiers charged with drug or burglary crimes.Vianna Davila, Lexi Churchill and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Kengo Tsutsumi, ProPublicaThu, 11 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/11/army-sexual-assault-pretrial-confinement-takeaways/Joan Wong for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaHelp The Texas Tribune and ProPublica report on the military justice systemhttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/09/military-justice-system/We’re looking into how the military investigates service members accused of crimes, intersects with the civilian justice system and treats cases that do not make it to courts-martial. Guide us to important stories.Vianna Davila, Ren Larson, Lexi Churchill and Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Adriana Gallardo, ProPublicaTue, 09 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/09/military-justice-system/Joan Wong for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaTwice accused of sexual assault, he was let go by Army commanders. He attacked again.https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/09/army-military-sexual-assault-pretrial-confinement/A first-of-its-kind analysis reveals that soldiers in the Army are more likely to be locked up ahead of trial for drug offenses than for sexual assault under a system that gives commanders control.Vianna Davila, Lexi Churchill and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaTue, 09 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/09/army-military-sexual-assault-pretrial-confinement/Joan Wong for The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaA Texas teen driving to his mother’s house was unlawfully arrested over pandemic restrictions, lawsuit sayshttps://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/13/texas-teen-arrest-pandemic-progreso/The lawsuit cites findings from a ProPublica and Texas Tribune investigation that showed a small border town issued far more tickets for violations of stay-at-home orders in April 2020 than two major cities combined.Vianna Davila and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 13 Jun 2022 15:30:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/13/texas-teen-arrest-pandemic-progreso/Twilight in the Rio Grande Valley.Twilight in the Rio Grande Valley.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune“Power companies get exactly what they want”: How Texas repeatedly failed to protect its power grid against extreme weatherhttps://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/22/texas-power-grid-extreme-weather/Texas regulators and lawmakers knew about the grid’s vulnerabilities for years, but time and again they furthered the interests of large electricity providers.Jeremy Schwartz, Kiah Collier and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaMon, 22 Feb 2021 17:31:57 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/22/texas-power-grid-extreme-weather/Jacob Duran cooked his meals outside last week after his apartment lost power in Southeast Austin.Jacob Duran prepares wood for a grill. Duran has been cooking meals outsides after his apartment lost power. Feb. 18, 2021.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneWhen health workers at a Rio Grande Valley hospital declined the COVID-19 vaccine, a state senator and law enforcement lined uphttps://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/20/texas-coronavirus-vaccine-rio-grande-valley/So many workers at an Edinburg hospital declined the new COVID-19 vaccine that it offered doses to other medical workers in the region. The vaccine ended up going to nonmedical personnel as well.Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas TribuneSun, 20 Dec 2020 20:39:25 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/20/texas-coronavirus-vaccine-rio-grande-valley/State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, received the COVID-19 vaccine Saturday at the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance conference center in Edinburg.State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, received the COVID-19 vaccination at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg on Dec. 19, 2020.Jason Garza for The Texas TribuneSouth Texas restrictions were meant to protect people from COVID-19. Then the handcuffs and ticket books came out.https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/19/coronavirus-south-texas-enforcement/Governments along the Texas-Mexico border took a hard line to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Police were key to the public health response, resulting in hundreds jailed and nearly 2,000 people ticketed.Vianna Davila and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaSat, 19 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/19/coronavirus-south-texas-enforcement/Twilight in the Rio Grande Valley.People walk down a road in Donna before nightfall. Dec. 7, 2020.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneHow a local Texas politician helped a serial entrepreneur use COVID-19 to boost his businesshttps://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/25/texas-hays-county-coronavirus/In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when testing supplies were limited, local politicians went to great lengths to help a businessman with a criminal past try to sell telehealth and COVID-19 services across Texas.Jeremy Schwartz, Lexi Churchill and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 25 Sep 2020 10:30:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/25/texas-hays-county-coronavirus/From left: Tommy Calvert, Bexar County commissioner; Alex Villalobos, Hays County Commissioners Court chief of staff; Kyle Hayungs, an entrepreneur; and Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra were featured in a video where they spoke about the value of partnering with private companies to get access to COVID-19 tests.Video StillImmigration policies hang in the balance as U.S. Senate prepares for fight over Ginsburg's successorhttps://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/25/ruth-bader-ginsburg-supreme-court-immigration-laws/President Trump hopes to quickly appoint a replacement for the liberal justice, and immigrant and civil rights groups are bracing for what could be years of losses in the high court.Julián Aguilar, The Texas Tribune, and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaFri, 25 Sep 2020 06:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/25/ruth-bader-ginsburg-supreme-court-immigration-laws/Coronavirus hot spots in Texas homeless shelters highlight challenges unsheltered residents face social distancing, staying cleanhttps://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/24/texas-homeless-shelters-coronavirus-houston-austin-dallas/Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said officials there are spreading out homeless shelter residents after dozens tested positive in one day.Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaSun, 24 May 2020 12:21:22 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/24/texas-homeless-shelters-coronavirus-houston-austin-dallas/A large homeless camp near downtown Houston in 2019. Mayor Sylvester Turner said homeless shelters have become a hot spot for coronavirus. Health officials advise against moving homeless encampments during the pandemic, though they suggest homeless people have 144 square feet of space per person.A large homeless camp near downtown Houston on June 23, 2019.Michael Stravato for The Texas TribuneGov. Greg Abbott is limiting enforcement of COVID-19 orders, but many cities already took a lax approachhttps://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/14/texas-coronavirus-enforcement/Texas cities and counties have dramatically different interpretations of the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders. Complaint data from a dozen cities shows that disparate approaches to enforcement, particularly among businesses, have been incredibly common.Lexi Churchill, Kiah Collier, Vianna Davila and Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 14 May 2020 13:30:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2020/05/14/texas-coronavirus-enforcement/Gov. Greg Abbott announced a strike force in charge of laying steps to reopen the Texas economy at a press conference in the Capitol on April 17, 2020.Gov. Greg Abbott announced a strike force in charge of laying steps to re-open the Texas economy at a press conference in the capitol on April 17, 2020.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneTexas still won't say which nursing homes have COVID-19 cases. Families are demanding answers.https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/30/coronavirus-nursing-homes-families/Citing a state medical privacy law, Texas is refusing to release the names of long-term care facilities where residents have died from COVID-19, even as those case numbers soar and families plead for information.Lomi Kriel and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, and Edgar Walters, The Texas TribuneThu, 30 Apr 2020 13:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/30/coronavirus-nursing-homes-families/David Aguirre’s mother, Estela, died March 28 after becoming ill at The Waterford at College Station, an assisted living facility in Texas. His brother, Art Aguirre, has been fighting for Texas leaders to disclose the locations of long-term care centers where COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred.David Aguirre’s mother, Estela, died March 28 at The Waterford at College Station, an assisted living facility in Texas. His brother, Art Aguirre, has been fighting for Texas leaders to disclose the locations of long-term care centers where COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred.Mark Felix for The Texas TribuneDespite coronavirus risks, some Texas religious groups are worshipping in person — with the governor's blessinghttps://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/02/texas-churches-coronavirus-stay-open/COVID-19 has spread rapidly in Texas, and many congregations closed their doors and moved religious services online. But there are some religious groups who say it’s their right to remain open because they believe they provide an essential service to their communities.Kiah Collier, Perla Trevizo and Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune and ProPublicaThu, 02 Apr 2020 17:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/02/texas-churches-coronavirus-stay-open/Worshippers arrived for a service Wednesday at City on a Hill Church in Houston. Rubber gloves were handed out, and a sign on the door asked people to sit 6 feet apart.Worshippers arrive for a church service at City on a Hill Church in Houston. Rubber gloves were handed out as people arrived and a sign on the door asked people to sit six feet apart as a precaution. April 1, 2020.Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune