COMMUNITY

Port Aransas’s much-loved alligator Boots finds new home at Gator Country
by Sam Cohen
animals | Beaumont | Boots the alligator | Community | CULTURE | ENTERTAINMENT | Gator Country | HARDGATE | LIFESTYLE | local | Local news | neighborhoods | News | outdoors | Port Aransas | SAFETY | TEXAS

TX home construction market could be hit hard by deportations
Arlington | Community | construction | deportation | DFW | Donald Trump | ECONOMY | homebuilding | HOUSING | immigrant labor | IMMIGRATION | JOBS | LABOR | labor shortage | LIFESTYLE | local | Local news | net zero migration | North Texas | political | politics | STATE | TEXAS | TEXAS ECONOMY | trump | Trump administration | WORK

Port Aransas’s much-loved alligator Boots finds new home at Gator Country
by Sam Cohen
| February 25, 2026
animals | Beaumont | Boots the alligator | Community | CULTURE | ENTERTAINMENT | Gator Country | HARDGATE | LIFESTYLE | local | Local news | neighborhoods | News | outdoors | Port Aransas | SAFETY | TEXAS
Boots the alligator has become a neighborhood icon in Port Aransas. He was recently relocated to Beaumont’s Gator Country.

University of Texas censors ‘controversial’ topics in class
| February 24, 2026
A new rule requires University of Texas professors to "carefully consider" their teaching material and "exclude unrelated controversial or contested matters."

TX home construction market could be hit hard by deportations
| February 24, 2026
Arlington | Community | construction | deportation | DFW | Donald Trump | ECONOMY | homebuilding | HOUSING | immigrant labor | IMMIGRATION | JOBS | LABOR | labor shortage | LIFESTYLE | local | Local news | net zero migration | North Texas | political | politics | STATE | TEXAS | TEXAS ECONOMY | trump | Trump administration | WORK
A recent study showed the construction business in Texas could be affected if the Trump administration reaches its goal of net zero migration into the United States.

Texan shot dead by ICE agent months before killings in Minneapolis, records show
| February 23, 2026
Three months into President Donald Trump’s mass deportation undertaking, an ICE officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen in South Padre Island, long before immigration agents killed another American in Minnesota that prompted outrage across the nation, according to records released this week that were not previously disclosed by the government.

Judge blocks 3 Texas school districts from enforcing DEI ban
| February 23, 2026
dei | DFW TEXED EXCLUSIVE | EDUCATION | K-12 education | public education | TEXAS | texas education agency | Texas Lead Story
Teachers and students in Texas started the 2025-26 school year under a new law that prohibits gender and sexuality alliance clubs at high schools across the state.

Spring has sprung: Pick your own flowers at this North Texas tulip farm
by Joi Louviere
| February 23, 2026
Community | DALLAS | DFW | DFW-hardgate | EXCO-Player | old texas | TEXAS | THINGS TO DO | u-pick farms
Try this u-pick tulip farm in Denton County.

Number of Texas school districts rejecting designated prayer time grows
| February 23, 2026
School districts across Texas have until March 1 to decide whether their schools will create a designated prayer and religious reading time during the school day, and an overwhelming majority are rejecting the new policy.

DHS denies tuberculosis outbreak at Texas
| February 23, 2026
DHS | EXCO-Player | HEALTH | health care | ICE | IMMIGRATION | local politics | old texas | public health | TEXAS
COVID-19. Measles. Tuberculosis. This is what's happening in ICE's Texas detention centers.

University of North Texas abruptly closes exhibit of acclaimed street artist
| February 23, 2026
At his artist talk on Tuesday, Quiñonez still hadn’t received an explanation from UNT and the university has yet to release a statement.

The North Texas Food Bank knows it takes a community to combat hunger
by Sam Cohen
| February 20, 2026
Community | CULTURE | DALLAS | DFW | DFW Lead Story | DFW-hardgate | Empty Bowls fundraiser | FAMILY | food & drink | food and drink | food assistance | food insecurity | FORT WORTH | live entertainment | North Texas Food Bank | plano
The 26th annual North Texas Food Bank Empty Bowls Fundraiser is scheduled for Feb. 26. Here are all the details.

TXST’s Wittliff Collections celebrates its legacy with ’40 Objects’ exhibit
by Sam Cohen
| February 19, 2026
Art | arts | celebrities | central texas | CULTURE | EDUCATION | ENTERTAINMENT | family friendly | free things to do | fun | HARDGATE | LIFESTYLE | LITERATURE | Local news | locals | News | recreation | TEXAS | TEXAS HISTORY | texas state university | THINGS TO DO | Wittliff | Wittliff museum
The “Spirit of the Wittliff in 40 Objects” exhibit includes items from Cormac McCarthy and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Here are all the details.

Dallas neighbors rally for community cat protections in city’s animal code
by Sam Cohen
| February 19, 2026
animal code | animals | cats | community cats | CULTURE | DALLAS | DFW | DFW-hardgate | feral cats | north dallas | pets
Dallas’s community cats are currently unprotected under the city’s animal code. Residents are trying to change that.



