Christopher Connelly
Christopher Connelly is a KERA reporter based in Fort Worth. Christopher joined KERA after a year and a half covering the Maryland legislature for WYPR, the NPR member station in Baltimore. Before that, he was a Joan B. Kroc Fellow at NPR – one of three post-graduates who spend a year working as a reporter, show producer and digital producer at network HQ in Washington, D.C.
Christopher is a graduate of Antioch College in Ohio – he got his first taste of public radio there at WYSO – and he earned a master’s in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. He also has deep Texas roots: He spent summers visiting his grandparents in Fort Worth, and he has multiple aunts, uncles and cousins living there now.
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Starting this month, Texans who use SNAP benefits to buy groceries will have an average of $212 less per month to buy groceries, as pandemic-era increases to the food assistance program are ended.
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Car trouble can set off a financial crisis for low-income people. In Dallas, a small nonprofit is trying to help, one automobile repair at a time.
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With a state legislative session looming, the Texas Women’s Foundation has identified nearly two dozen policy changes that can help make the lives of women and girls better.
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A letter sent to Attorney General Ken Paxton from four North Texas United Methodist ministers may lead to a lawsuit challenging Texas’ strict abortion laws.
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A new report finds that Texas courts use very different yardsticks to decide who’s poor enough to get a court-appointed lawyer. That patchwork often leaves people without the legal defense in a criminal trial that the Constitution promises.
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The banking industry took in more than $15 billion in overdraft fees in 2019, and just small number of account holders paid the vast majority of those fees.
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Surging inflation is the side-effect of a fast-recovering economy, but families without a financial cushion are eyeing the trend with trepidation. For many, fast-rising gas and food prices mean figuring out what to cut from the household budget to cover basic needs.
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The Texas Rent Relief Program will shut down its application portal at 5 p.m. on Friday. Some local governments still have money for rent help, but those funds may soon run out, as well.
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A new report from the Aspen Institute says debt collection lawsuits often upend family finances and that this "broken" system is stacked against defendants.
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The storm’s effects are still lingering for many in the state. That's especially true for low-income Texans.