Inner-city neighborhoods face limitations on resources as ‘urban heat islands’ contribute to rising temperatures

Nearly 600 households in Galveston lack any air conditioning, and many others struggle to afford to use it. Local aid groups are grappling with growing calls for help. This is the third installment in...

The planned cuts sent immigrants scrambling for last-minute dental care. Now, many remain unclear about whether they still have dental coverage, or firmly believe it will end next year.

Summer heat is becoming more deadly for the elderly in South Texas with record-breaking temperatures and rising costs for electricity. This is the installment in an ongoing series, "Powerless."

Summer heat is becoming more deadly for the elderly in South Texas with record-breaking temperatures and rising costs for electricity. This is the installment in an ongoing series, "Powerless."

Survey finds costs, access and timely treatment are putting people at risk.

This is the first installment of “Powerless,” a series from Public Health Watch examining how rising temperatures and skyrocketing electricity costs are placing Texans in danger.

The end of federal aid pushed millions off Obamacare, but Mississippians have been hit especially hard.

Provider shortages, insurance barriers and uneven access leave many Central Texas mothers struggling to find care.

New work requirements, more frequent eligibility reviews and other policy changes will reshape Medicaid for many Hoosiers beginning in 2027.

Parents, patients and disability advocates say Indiana's Medicaid renewal process has left many eligible families struggling to navigate paperwork requests, meet deadlines and maintain essential healt...

Three years after enrollment peaked during the pandemic, Indiana's Medicaid rolls continue to decline as eligibility reviews reshape the program.

The state’s air monitors are often miles from its biggest polluters and residents have little way of knowing what they’re breathing. That’s no accident.

The state's Home and Community-Based Services for people with disabilities could be on the chopping block this year because of Medicaid cuts. One reason is that Medicaid isn’t required to cover the se...

Largest U.S. paint maker among those selling high-level lead paint across the border … Nearly half of U.S. kids live in unhealthy areas for air pollution … and more.

Officials warned the abrupt loss of federal funding would force ‘massive’ layoffs, possible shutdown

County social service agencies in North Carolina are bracing for a surge of low-income people confused over the work requirements and other changes. Will residents get enough help?

Quirks in its permit give the Oxbow facility leeway to operate as usual, even with the new equipment.

Quirks in its permit give the Oxbow facility leeway to operate as usual, even with the new equipment.

Investigative podcast explored petrochemical encroachment into a once-placid Texas community.

Three patients died and others were injured as inspectors cite the San Antonio psychiatric facility for ongoing problems.

Three patients died and others were injured as inspectors cite facility for ongoing problems.

A state board is considering the drastic move, which could come as soon as May, after an outbreak of the lung disease silicosis among countertop fabricators

Scarcity of mental health resources, prevalence of guns and stigma attached to seeking help contribute to high suicide rates.

Scarcity of mental health resources, prevalence of guns, and stigma attached to seeking help contribute to high suicide rates.

Public Health Watch’s inaugural podcast, Fumed, has won two Best in Business awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW).

Residents, experts, elected officials and journalists convened in Channelview, Texas, last week to discuss a large and underappreciated source of air pollution.

Over a decade, an average of seven U.S. workers a day suffered workplace accidents that caused or led to amputations. Those numbers are expected to go up with reduced federal oversight under the Trump administration.

Attendees gathered February 19 in the Houston-area Highlands community, home to a notorious toxic waste site. They wanted to know why a state agency refused to provide details on high cancer rates in the area — and what they could do in response.

Retired NPR correspondent Howard Berkes and political strategist Cliff Walker become board chair and vice chair, respectively.

A January vote to begin preliminary engineering and design work jump-started the controversial “Ike Dike” project, meant to protect against increasingly fierce hurricanes. But not everyone is celebrating.

Jim Morris was interviewed on the Houston Public Media talk show February 12 about health threats associated with an infrastructure boom in Texas

San Jacinto: What’s in the Air and WaterTwo upcoming environmental town halls in East Harris County hosted by Public Health Watch  Register here! We want to hear from you! Public Health Watch will host two community town halls in early 2026 focused on environmental health reporting, government accountability and community right-to-know issues in East Harris County. We hope you will join us for these community conversations about the most pressing environmental issues facing your community.

The number of mental health providers in Bexar County has soared over the past five years, but the growth was heaviest in more affluent northern areas.

The number of mental health providers in Bexar County has soared over the past five years, but the growth was heaviest in more affluent northern areas.

As more people are caught in the economic squeeze of rising cost of living, many are looking for ways to make extra money. A growing number are turning to selling their blood plasma - an essential ingredient in making many life saving medications. In a new series "Blood Work: Inside America’s Plasma-for-Cash Economy," Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies investigates and asks why Texas leads the nation in blood plasma donations.

As more people are caught in the economic squeeze of rising cost of living, many are looking for ways to make extra money. A growing number are turning to selling their blood plasma - an essential ingredient in making many life saving medications. In a new series "Blood Work: Inside America’s Plasma-for-Cash Economy," Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies investigates and asks why Texas leads the nation in blood plasma donations.

As more people are caught in the economic squeeze of rising cost of living, many are looking for ways to make extra money. A growing number are turning to selling their blood plasma - an essential ingredient in making many life saving medications. In a new series "Blood Work: Inside America’s Plasma-for-Cash Economy," Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies investigates and asks why Texas leads the nation in blood plasma donations.

From federal rulemakers all the way down to Kentucky lawmakers, 2025 was full of regulatory wins for mining companies. Meanwhile, health researchers confirm that deaths from black lung disease are rampant in the mine industry.

Public Health Watch’s podcast highlighted residents’ lack of protection from industrial facilities moving into their neighborhoods — even when deed restrictions were in place. Three months later, the Houston Planning Department addressed the underlying problem.

Public Health Watch chronicles, in 13 scenes, a fossil-fuel infrastructure boom that could worsen air pollution in some areas and exacerbate climate change.

People who live on the San Jacinto fear chemical releases and explosions from the vessels. It’s unclear who’s policing the buildup.

Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

Univision 45’s 10-minute report, “Bombarded by Benzene,” expanded on a 2024 Public Health Watch investigation based on previously uncovered data recorded in Channelview, a majority-Latino community outside Houston.

A state amendment addressing rising rates of dementia in Texas passed with overwhelming approval from voters last week, a key victory for Alzheimer’s advocates and the millions of Texans suffering from the disease. Sixty-nine percent of voters cast their ballots in favor of Proposition 14, marking the end of a years-long effort to create the Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas, or DPRIT — a fund that will provide $3 billion in research grants to medical and educational institutions over the next decade.

4:00 - 7:00 PMNovember 18, 2025Austin Winery 440 E St Elmo Rd A1, Austin, TX 78745 Join us on Tuesday, November 18 for a happy hour benefiting Public Health Watch at The Austin Winery! Come raise a glass with award-winning journalists and help support nonprofit investigative reporting that holds power to account. Twenty percent of all proceeds…

Some experts believe CKD is the first chronic illness directly linked to climate change.

With Medicaid cutbacks on the horizon, millions in the U.S. are expected to go uninsured. In the Mississippi Delta region — one of the poorest places in the U.S. — people are stressed and mad.

Just this week, the president froze billions in funding for renewable-energy projects in Democrat-led states amidst a wider government shutdown, demonstrating why grassroots climate initiatives are increasingly building in resilience from heat, storms, and the government itself.