Penelope Rivera
Tarrant County Accountability ReporterPenelope Rivera is KERA’s Tarrant County accountability reporter. She joined the newsroom in 2024 as an intern before becoming a full-time breaking news reporter. In 2025, she received a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her continuous coverage of North Texas church scandals. Penelope was born and raised in Fort Worth.
In her free time, she enjoys painting, creative writing and trying new local restaurants and coffee shops.
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The federal lawsuit claims the Tarrant County Commissioners Court Decorum Policy violates the First and 14th Amendments. -
John Barr's death was ruled an accident caused by drug toxicity, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office. -
EJ Carrion was charged with disrupting a meeting and hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct. -
Cindy Clemishire accused the megachurch and Robert Morris of defaming her and downplaying the abuse from Morris when she came forward. A Dallas appeals court dismissed the lawsuit. -
Diego Fuller is the lead pastor at Journey Fort Worth Church. He was arrested last Sept. 1 on a sexual assault charge and indicted March 26 with an additional charge of child grooming. -
Mack Greer died while in Tarrant County Jail custody in June. His cause of death was listed as complications of moyamoya disease, but his mother told KERA News she doesn't believe it's accurate. -
The budget includes 4% raises for law enforcement, 3% merit increases for county staff and 3% raises for county commissioners. -
Ronald Perez was pronounced dead at the scene, River Oaks police said. The two officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave while the incident is investigated. -
The 2026 Republican midterm convention will be hosted in North Texas. Why Dallas and not Fort Worth?The Republican midterm convention this year will be hosted in Dallas — a Democratic-leaning city as opposed to its more GOP-friendly neighboring city Fort Worth. -
Commissioners approved the resolution in a 3-2 vote during Tuesday's meeting. -
Dozens of residents and family members of individuals who died while in Tarrant County Jail custody this year condemned the jail and sheriff's office during a rally Tuesday. -
State Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico and Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons held a press conference Sunday, Aug. 30, criticizing efforts to reduce the number of voting locations.
