Business
May 2, 2024
Robo Truckers Will Soon Roam Free on Texas Highways
Will driverless semis boost the economy and reduce the state’s traffic fatality rate—or cost jobs and lives?
Business
Reporting and commentary on Texas businesses and the trends and innovation happening in our state
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Business
May 1, 2024
Poppi Is Making Soda Cool Again
The Austin-based, better-for-you soda brand has become a hit over the last four years, especially for the millennial and Gen Z set.
Medicine
April 29, 2024
An Austin Mother’s Decade-Long Search for a Cure
After her children were diagnosed with a rare metabolic disorder, Alice McConnell founded a company to find a treatment. Despite the many setbacks, she persists in her mission.
Business
April 26, 2024
Texas Attracted California Techies. Now It’s Losing Thousands of Them.
The “Texas Miracle” loses some of its magic as Oracle announces it’s moving its new HQ out of Austin and Tesla lays off nearly 2,700 workers.
Energy
April 17, 2024
Permian Producers Will Pay You to Haul Their Natural Gas Away
Assuming you own a pipeline, that is. The region is wrestling with a glut of the fuel.
Business
April 15, 2024
The Battle of Big Taco
With their anything-goes approach to ingredients—and deep-pocketed investors—Torchy's Tacos and Velvet Taco have ambitious plans to expand nationally.
Tacos
April 15, 2024
Taco Palenque Deserves to Go National
The Laredo-based chain’s straightforward, satisfying fare stays true to its Mexican roots. I wish many more Texans, and Americans, could enjoy it.
Business
April 11, 2024
The Rich Legacy of a Bighearted Beer Guy
Carlos Alvarez, who died this week at 73, made a fortune bringing Corona to the U.S. and reviving Shiner Bock. Then, from his base in San Antonio, he cheerfully gave much of that fortune away.
Business
March 13, 2024
The Upstart JSX Versus the Airline Bullies
Dallas Love Field has been transformed into an aviation battleground again, as American and Southwest lobby the Federal Aviation Administration to change the rules that allowed the newcomer to take off.
Business
March 13, 2024
The Short-Lived Dallas Carrier That American Airlines Drove Out of Business
The aviation battle underway at Love Field has echoes of the pivotal fight over the launch of Legend Airlines.
Style & Design
February 29, 2024
“Granny Flats” Could Remake the Housing Market. Why Are They So Contentious?
Advocates say that granny flats, mother-in-law suites, cat mansions, or—as one couple built—sex dungeons can add affordable housing stock without changing the streetscape.
Energy
February 28, 2024
Crypto Miners Sue to Keep Us in the Dark
The Texas Blockchain Council aims to stop a new federal requirement that its members disclose how much electricity they’re pulling from the grid.
Business
February 22, 2024
Texas Finally Reclaims the Moon
A Houston company’s vessel returns America to the most remote portion of our state for the first time since 1972.
News
February 16, 2024
The Company Behind Fake, AI-Generated Biden Robocalls Used to Run a Singles Hotline
Last week, the novel use of AI technology to suppress Democratic voter turnout prompted investigations by federal and New Hampshire officials. The Texas company under scrutiny has a colorful history.
Energy
February 15, 2024
The Oil Industry Keeps Getting Younger
Transactions like this week’s $26 billion Diamondback-Endeavor deal signal a changing of the guard.
Business
February 13, 2024
Plastic Has Overrun the Planet. Does “Advanced” Recycling Offer a Solution?
Tyler-based New Hope Energy and the petrochemical industry are bullish on the technology, but critics say it’s a distraction from the pressing need to reduce our use of the material.
Business
January 29, 2024
Austin’s Daily Newspaper Is Being Starved to Death
Since taking over the American-Statesman in 2019, Gannett has steadily slashed staffing and budgets. Sensing opportunity, new media players are expanding into the market.
Business
January 24, 2024
In Amarillo, the Nation’s Helium Stockpile Goes on Sale
An auction this week will privatize the federal supply of the strategically important gas.
Working Life
January 23, 2024
A Texas Dinosaur Sculptor Talks About Her Jurassic Dream Job
'Everyone wants a T. Rex,’ says Casandra Sowards, lead sculptor at Allen's Billings Productions, a leading maker of animatronic dinosaurs.
In Memoriam
January 22, 2024
Farewell to One of the Fathers of Fracking
Claude Cooke loved the oil and gas business—and worked to address some of its shortcomings.
Business
January 22, 2024
Texas Hasn’t Had an Olive Harvest in Three Years. Why Do Growers Keep Trying?
Severe freezes have brought the state’s once-booming olive oil industry to its knees. But passionate farmers keep hope alive for solutions.
Business
January 22, 2024
An Austin Start-up’s (Expensive) Plan to Transform the Wireless Business
Deploying “DeWi” technology, Really Wireless will offer hosts cash, plus free service for transmitting their broadband to nearby cellphones via rooftop radios.
Business
January 10, 2024
A Hard Landing for a Houston News Nonprofit
Seven months after its official debut, a billionaire-funded media start-up just fired its editor and top investigative reporter. What’s next for Houston Landing?
Energy
January 4, 2024
German Activists Take Aim at Texas Natural Gas
An overseas nonprofit brought journalists to Port Arthur to expose their homeland to the environmental effects of our state’s fossil fuel exports.
Business
December 14, 2023
This North Texas Cannabis Farmer Gets By on His Own Supply
Eddie Velez's father went to prison for selling marijuana when Velez was a child. Now, Velez sells legal cannabis for hemp and CBD products.
Transportation
December 14, 2023
New Hopes for a Train From Dallas to Houston
With $2.5 million in federal grants, Amtrak and TxDOT will study adding passenger rail in Texas.
Business
December 1, 2023
Oxy Deal Could Yield Billions for Tim Dunn’s Political Efforts
If Occidental Petroleum acquires CrownRock, the right-wing Midland oilman could become an even bigger power broker—in Texas and perhaps nationally.
Business
November 28, 2023
What Can Public Transit Deserts Learn From Paris, Texas?
The East Texas town has maintained a reliable bus route since 2016, providing a model for rural areas with limited transportation.
Business
November 15, 2023
Is Southwest Airlines Headed for Another Holiday Mess?
After stranding millions of passengers over Christmas last year, the Dallas-based carrier has spent many millions on fixes—yet it may still have more work to do.
Business
November 9, 2023
At AfroTech in Austin, Black Workers Seek Opportunities in a “Tense” Industry
Black Texans make up only 9 percent of the technology workforce statewide. The 25,000 attendees of the nation’s largest Black tech conference hope to change that.
Energy
November 7, 2023
Should Texas Build More Nuclear Power Plants?
State leaders are bullish on new atom-splitting technologies, even as those same officials hobble wind and solar projects.
Business
November 7, 2023
These Texas Garages Turn Classic Cars Into Electric Hot Rods
What do you get when you convert a gas-guzzling muscle machine into an EV? A ride that “hauls more ass.”
Politics & Policy
October 20, 2023
The Texas Legislature Keeps Trying to Ban Vaccine Mandates for Private Businesses. This Time It Might Actually Be Successful.
Republicans need a win after a summer of infighting. But party leaders are ignoring several potential consequences in moving hastily on this issue.
Books
October 18, 2023
How Dallas Became the National Capital of International Books
Sorry, New York. The largest U.S. publisher of literature in translation, plus a thriving global books scene, resides in the Metroplex.
Health
October 12, 2023
While We Were Sleeping: The Feds Say a Price-fixing Scheme Costs Texas Patients Tens of Millions
A New York financier’s scheme “rolled up” anesthesiology practices across the state, according to a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission.
Working Life
October 10, 2023
A North Texas Couple Turns Creepy-crawlies Into Works of Art
Butterfly wings, tarantula legs, and “Frankenstein” beetles—the insect taxidermists of Pinned Ptera find the beauty in it all.
Business
September 26, 2023
Drought and Relentless Heat Push Texas Pecan Growers to the Brink
Pecan trees are dying across Central Texas during the second-hottest summer on record, prompting farmers to consider the future of the beloved state tree.
Style & Design
September 12, 2023
North Texans Are Rallying to Save a Marvel of Space-age Architecture—and a True Crime Landmark
The Como Motel, where Candy Montgomery famously met up with Allan Gore, has recently been sold. Locals are organizing to ensure it doesn’t end up as a parking lot.
Business
September 11, 2023
Why Texas Is the New Center of Gravity for Luxury Hotels
Exclusive: Auberge Resorts plans a posh new hotel in Houston, one of five properties it will operate around the state.
Energy
September 5, 2023
Hundreds of Abandoned Oil Wells Are Rotting Away in Texas Bays
Defunct companies have left behind energy facilities that leak toxins into fragile coastal ecosystems. And guess who has to clean them up?
Business
September 1, 2023
Trump’s Digital Guru Is Back, This Time With a Powerful New Texas Ally
Brad Parscale is all in on artificial intelligence, and the right-wing billionaire Tim Dunn is now his biggest benefactor.
Style & Design
August 30, 2023
How a Quiet San Antonio Company Came to Illuminate the World’s Fanciest Stores and Museums
Apple, Cartier, Tiffany, and other tastemakers in art, design, and fashion bask in the glow created by Lucifer Lighting.
Energy
August 24, 2023
Thousands of Old Wind Turbine Blades Pile Up in West Texas
Officials in Sweetwater say an out-of-state company has made their town a dump for the seldom-seen trash created by renewable energy.
Energy
August 15, 2023
We’re All Living in the World Enron Created
When the go-go Houston corporation collapsed in spectacular fashion, it became a punch line across the nation. But some of the bad guys had the last laugh.
Business
August 14, 2023
Texas Is Number One in Business! (Or Are We?)
Elon Musk is just one of the big-deal CEOs moving to the Lone Star State. But some are reluctant to join him.
Energy
August 10, 2023
Has a San Antonio Inventor Solved a Problem of Small-scale Wind Power?
Tinkering in his backyard, Dan Marsh aims to devise an efficient source of electricity for suburban rooftops and beachside barbecues.
Business
July 24, 2023
Casual Caviar Makes Its Way to Texas
Once a symbol of ultimate luxury, fish eggs are now topping everything from mozzarella sticks to sorbet, making them more accessible—and fun—than ever.
Business
July 20, 2023
A Crowdfunding Approach to Growing Texas Farms
Fort Worth–based Harvest Returns offers new investment avenues into agricultural projects.
Sports
July 19, 2023
Move to Texas, Get Rich . . . Invest in Major League Cricket?
How South Asian business leaders are turning Texas into the next global hot spot for the world’s second-biggest sport.
Business
July 12, 2023
The Queen of Highland Park
For forty years, Allie Beth Allman has ruled the glittering world of luxury real estate in Dallas. Then came a flood of coastal money, a technological revolution, a rift with a longtime partner, and the inexorable toll of time.