Garland restaurants and bars reported more than $2.4 million in alcohol sales in March as COVID-19 restrictions across the region were eased. The 19-county region that includes Dallas County was required to lower restaurant capacity to 50% and close all bars from December through mid-February. Those restrictions were rolled back when hospitalizations dropped below 15% of the region’s total hospital …

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott faced only tough choices after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick early Wednesday demanded an overtime session next month. With Patrick stirring up outrage among the Texas GOP’s staunchest conservatives, none of three options before the Republican governor was appealing. Initially, Abbott stalled for time. Two hours after Patrick’s tweet demanding a special session, Abbott responded with …

Dallas County reported eight more COVID-19 deaths and 145 new coronavirus cases Wednesday. The latest victims were three Dallas men in their 50s and 60s; a Garland man and woman, both in their 80s; a DeSoto man in his 80s; a Mesquite woman in her 80s; and a Rowlett woman in her 70s. All had underlying, high-risk health conditions. Of …

Flower Mound police were working early Thursday to make contact with a man inside a house after he shot three officers responding to a call about a suicidal person Wednesday evening, the deparment says. Paramedics cleared one of the officers at the scene, and the two others were taken to the hospital. Sgt. Jason Rachal said shortly after 11 p.m. …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Investigators believe a man was in the process of disposing evidence in the alleged murder of his girlfriend when he was arrested two hours away from where the victim’s body was found at a northwest Houston apartment. Charging documents for 28-year-old Isac Marrugo stated the suspect’s mother found Yajaira Alvarez’s body on May 22 when the …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Police are still looking for two of four robbers who held up a CVS Pharmacy before going on a high-speed chase. Around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Houston police say four men barged into the CVS on Washington Avenue near T.C. Jester. They forced one of the workers into a safe and grabbed stacks of cash and coins, …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Mathews moved from Arizona to Fort Bend County early this year. It was not long after their journey across the country that Heather Mathews and her husband Beau became sick with COVID-19. Beau had a more mild case. “He was achy. He had a fever and he was just truly lethargic,” said Heather. That was …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — It’s the time of year for mosquitoes, and the Harris County Health Department is actively out in the county, surveying. “We trap the entire county and bring those back and test them for diseases,” said Chris Fredregill, the director of the Mosquito and Vector Control Division at Harris County Public Health. After recent heavy rains, the …

HOUSTON, Texas — The recent Houston deluge is a sobering reminder of the constant potential of flooding here, especially in at-risk areas. To that end, a local university has devised a new tool to tackle high water threats in vulnerable spots. Engineers at Rice University have crafted a new radar-based flood assessment, mapping and early-warning system to help planning for …

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — After major backlash, Texas is reversing its decision that left the city of Houston along with Harris County without any money for flood mitigation following Hurricane Harvey. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush took to Twitter Wednesday night and said he has asked the federal government for $750 million for flood mitigation projects related to Hurricane …