Dug Begley

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Dug Begley

A series of editorials outlining the failures of railroads and state officials to protect Houstonians from the dangers and inconveniences of stopped and slow-moving trains has won the Houston Chronicle's editorial department its second Pulitzer Prize in four years. “I am proud that this shows the role an editorial board can still have in the community,” said Lisa Falkenberg, the Chronicle’s former opinion editor, now a state columnist.

1 week ago | expressnews.com | Dug Begley

Article continues below this ad "It should not be something we have to live with; it can be deadly," Falkenberg said of the stopped trains. Members of the editorial board honored, in addition to Falkenberg, are deputy opinion editor Raj Mankad, opinion photojournalist Sharon Steinmann and senior editorial writer Leah Binkovitz. Chronicle publisher Nancy Meyer credited the board for having the commitment to challenge officials and compassion to tell the community's stories.

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Dug Begley

Longer wait times on the phone and at offices that require appointments, but where applicants can still wait hours to be seen if the office is busy or crowded. Lack of experienced Social Security staff to adequately process those claims with officials planning to slash Social Security staff. Difficulty in obtaining benefits that leave some unable to tap into the help to which they are entitled.

4 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Dug Begley

Leaders of Texas ports and the companies that rely on the ports have spent the past two weeks of tariff upheaval doing what the ship captains do practically every minute of every day: Study the information and keep an eye on the horizon. The one thing they agree on is nobody really knows for sure what the conditions will be for very long at the 23 Texas ports that by many estimates generate more than one-quarter of the state's gross domestic product. A few predict calm seas.

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Dug Begley

Houston Health Department expects the Trump administration's abrupt cancelation of a federal grant program started during COVID to punch a $42 million hole in its planned spending, including $12 million for personnel, as officials assess the potential impact on local public health. In a statement, officials confirmed the loss of funding, but said they would have no further comment at this time, nor would they outline how the money was used.