Economists don't think price gouging is a problem. But what about our social values?

Sep 1, 2017
High prices limit hording and increase supply. But that's bad for business, one expert argues.
People wait in line to buy water at the Coastal Industrial and Specialty gas welding supplies store yesterday after the water supply to the city of Beaumont, Texas, was shut down from the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

After Harvey, Houston's faith community develops plans for aid

Sep 1, 2017
Local congregations know the neighborhoods and have a built-in system for collecting and distributing donations.
A flooded street is seen after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 31, 2017 in Port Arthur, Texas. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Congress should have seen the signs that a Harvey-like event was coming

Aug 31, 2017
Politico's Michael Grunwald discusses a decades-old report about repetitive losses in the Naional Flood Insurance Program.

After shelters, some Harvey victims will move to vacant Houston apartments

Aug 31, 2017
Just over 10 percent of the apartments in Houston are sitting vacant. As the storm clears, survivors can get money to help them move in. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Harvey’s honor roll of heroes has lots of ordinary folks

Aug 30, 2017
Many of the first responders in Houston have been civilians organized into rescue squads. Their work has the support and approval of government agencies, who have realized that local volunteers can move faster than any bureaucracy. It’s an approach to disaster management that has become codified into policy. Click the audio player above to hear […]

Schools open their doors to young flood victims

Aug 30, 2017
More than 120 school districts remain closed Wednesday as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey, according to Texas education officials. In Houston, public schools aren’t expected to open until after Labor Day at the earliest, affecting more than 200,000 kids. Meanwhile, dry schools in nearby towns and cities are opening their doors to evacuees.  Click […]

Thousands of Texans are still in the dark

Aug 30, 2017
First, Tropical Storm Harvey knocked down power lines in the Corpus Christi area, then flooding hit the grid in Houston. Thousands of workers are trying to get the lights back on, but it’s complicated. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

For public good, not for profit.

Federal flood insurance program nears its limit in time and money

Aug 29, 2017
Harvey’s damage taxes an already debt-ridden program.
A person waits to be rescued from his flooded home yesterday after Houston was inundated with rain from Hurricane Harvey.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Houston officials reassure immigrants, who are valuable to the local economy

Aug 29, 2017
“For flood recovery, that's an important group of people for sure,” a university professor says.
People take shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston today after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Where to house people during a natural disaster?

Aug 28, 2017
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and officials in Texas don't want to use massive structures to house people, but sometimes that is the best option.
Flood victims gather for food at a shelter in the George R. Brown Convention Center during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey today in Houston.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images