Crops to cul-de-sacs: As pastoral land disappears in Central Texas, one man holds back the tide

Crops to cul-de-sacs: As pastoral land disappears in Central Texas, one man holds back the tide

From the cab of his pickup, Ron Collins gives a tour of a bygone era, when his Pilot Knob neighborhood in southeastern Travis County was a country outpost, home to his extended family, which traces its roots there back more than a century. Here is where his old...
Director’s Notes – March 2020: HCA in the era of Coronavirus

Director’s Notes – March 2020: HCA in the era of Coronavirus

Dear Hill Country Neighbors, It’s hard to start a letter addressing the unprecedented reality we find ourselves in. The Covid-19 outbreak has shown us just how critical our Hill Country community is to the work of the Hill Country Alliance. There is no replacement for...
New financial program available for Texas communities

New financial program available for Texas communities

A new financial assistance program will soon become available to assist in the funding of drainage, flood mitigation, and flood control projects. On Nov. 5, Texas voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the Flood...
Rural Texas hospitals should be staffing up to face coronavirus. Many can’t afford to.

Rural Texas hospitals should be staffing up to face coronavirus. Many can’t afford to.

At a time when most hospitals are ramping up capacity to treat a massive number of patients who may become infected with COVID-19, rural hospital administrators say financial hardships could force them to do the opposite. Before the contagious new coronavirus arrived...
Eastern monarch butterfly population plunges below extinction threshold

Eastern monarch butterfly population plunges below extinction threshold

The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released today, shows a decrease of 53% from last year’s count and is well below the threshold at which government scientists predict the migration could collapse. Scientists estimate that 6...