As we prepare to close out 2021 and look ahead to 2022, it is important to take stock of the year that we have had together. To do that, we thought we’d count down the articles and op-eds that generated conversations across Texas – and in some cases, nationwide – this year.
While the reality of COVID was ever-present, and many were discouraged about the direction things are going, our work generated more than 1,200 mentions in publications and broadcasts.
The top 21 stories this year were:
#1 Climate change is making Texas hotter, threatening public health, water supply and the state’s infrastructure | The Texas Tribune | Erin Douglas | Oct 7
#2 Modeling paints sobering picture for COVID-19 hospitalizations | KHOU.com | Brandi Smith | Aug 6
#3 Covid-19 changed education in America — permanently | Politico | Marcella Bombardieri | Apr 15
#4 Poll shows Texans won’t tolerate incivility and inaction | The Dallas Morning News | Dallas Morning New Editorial | Jan 26
#5 Millions of Texans still don’t have broadband access. Some lawmakers are trying to change that. | The Texas Tribune | Juan Pablo Garnham | Mar 8
#6 Thanks but no thanks: States are wary of President Joe Biden’s offer to help them expand Medicaid | USA Today | Maureen Groppe | Apr 10
#7 Texas will continue to get hotter | The Dallas Morning News | Margaret Spellings and John Nielsen-Gammon | Oct 9
#8 Surprise! Voters are unhappy with state’s direction | San Antonio Report | Robert Rivard | Sep 16
#9 Mendez/Spellings/Kopra/Holt: Without a Lone Star space plan, Texas will lose its advantage | Rio Grande Guardian | Trey Mendez, Margaret Spellings, Tim Kopra, and Maynard Holt | Nov 5
#10 Some Valley cities among least connected to broadband in US | MyRGV | Juan Pablo Garnham| Mar 8
#11 What to expect from Texas legislature’s new session | The Economist | Jan 14
#12 Volatile Texas oil and gas industry threatens billions in school funding, study says | Houston Chronicle | Cayla Harris | Mar 3
#13 The post-pandemic plight of Texas schoolteachers: a bad situation made worse | San Antonio Report | Robert Rivard | May 9
#14 COVID drove a wedge between parents and schools, and Texas must pull them back together | The Dallas Morning News | Margaret Spellings | Nov 14
#15 Opinion: Texans united on using stimulus funds for big-impact projects | Austin American Statesman | A.J. Rodriguez | Sep 26
#16 Legislature can prepare Texas against gray swan events | Austin American Statesman | Tom Luce | Mar 7
#17 Opinion: Imagining a day without water isn’t hard for many Texans | Austin American Statesman | Jeremy Mazur | Oct 21
#18 Opinion: Texans are concerned about the future. Government should respond. | Austin American Statesman | Marc Watts & Ron Kirk | Jan 29
#19 Telemedicine is saving lives, new bill will expand coverage to more RGV residents | ValleyCentral.com | Mike Jimenez | Apr 15
#20 Commentary: Beneath the Twitter spats, Texans share many concerns | San Antonio Express-News | A.J. Rodriguez | Sep 19
#21 Opinion: Energy transition? Texans should plan expansion.| Houston Chronicle | Tom Luce, Jeremy Mazur, and Rob Orr | Dec 5