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Pregnant Texans Now Travel 10 Times Farther for an Abortion
Texas legislator Donna Howard plans to collaborate with allies in and out of state in the fight to improve access to reproductive healthcare. Even before the fall of Roe last summer, Texas had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. During the 87th legislative session, Texas Republicans passed Senate Bill 8, which prohibited abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy. The overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 led to a near-total statewide ban on abortion at any point during a pregnancy, except in cases where providing an abortion could save the life of the mother. The ban does not include an exception for victims of rape or incest, and doctors stress that the law’s harsh penalties and vague language make the medical exception hard to interpret.
Natural Gas Terminal Reopens After Massive Explosion
Subsequent investigations revealed a host of problems with Freeport LNG—which supercools fracked gas and loads it onto seafaring tankers—from overworked staff to overlooked engineering reports, which contributed to circumstances that led highly combustible methane to leak from a pipe and catch fire last June. These are high times...
Defense Denied
Public defender Donnie Yandell walked into a West Texas courtroom for the arraignment of defendants facing misdemeanor charges one day and witnessed some odd negotiations that deeply disturbed him. “I was flabbergasted,” said Yarnell, an attorney with the Caprock Region Public Defender’s Office in West Texas. “The judge asked this person if they wanted a court-appointed attorney. Before the person responded, the judge cut in and said, ‘Well, if, if you want a court-appointed attorney, you can talk to the prosecutor first and see what the offer is. And if you don’t like the offer, then you’re more than welcome to have a court-appointed attorney.’”
A ‘Fairy Tale’ Trip to 1980s Houston
In between a trip to Scotland, Local Hero lets viewers glimpse a bygone Bayou City of 40 years ago. Back when he was covering movies for the long-gone Houston Post, Leydon met writer-director Bill Forsyth back in 1981, when his film Gregory’s Girl played the city’s WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. “As I recall, Forsyth was sort of the whimsical little character that you would expect,” Leydon told the Texas Observer. “He was really impressed by the size and the muscle of Houston.”
Photo Essay: The Dignity of Work
Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story:. This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”. Articles cannot be rewritten,...
Greg Abbott’s ‘State of the State’ Was a Weird, Alarming Infomercial
“I’m speaking to you from the manufacturing floor of Noveon,” announced Texas’ fearless leader to a limited audience before laying out yet another right-wing agenda. On Thursday night, GOP Governor Greg Abbott used his fifth State of the State speech, a biennial address mandated by the Texas Constitution, to cut an ad for a large television conglomerate and a corporation that manufactures “rare earth magnets.” The three-term governor, fresh off an easy reelection, also took the chance to snub the Capitol press corps and unveiled a list of policy priorities that, while soundly regressive, was perhaps a touch less vicious than it might have been.
‘One of the Most Mentally Ill’ Inmates in Texas Is About to be Executed
‘One of the Most Mentally Ill’ Inmates in Texas Is About to be Executed. The idea that someone can be too mentally ill to be executed is gaining traction in Texas, where the legislature is considering HB 727, which would exempt people with severe mental illness—including schizophrenia or bipolar disorder—from being sentenced to death. But while signaling a more clear-eyed view of mental health and the criminal justice system, the bill would not provide retroactive relief for some Texas prisoners, including one man whose execution date looms.
The Governor’s Grid Gambit
Texas utility regulators are hawking a convoluted and costly policy for grid reliability—despite strong resistance from energy experts and even big business. It’s now been two years since Winter Storm Uri sank Texas into a deep freeze and brought the state’s electric grid to the brink of total collapse. Upon signing into law a series of legislative changes at the end of the 2021 session, GOP Governor Greg Abbott infamously declared mission accomplished on Texas’ response to the energy disaster. “Bottom line is that everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas,” he said. That line hung over his head like a political anvil as the state’s grid operator ERCOT has faced repeated close calls in the face of subsequent extreme weather, struggling to meet record-level electricity demands.
$3 Million Whistleblower Settlement Is Cheap Getaway for Ken Paxton
In his most serious and sordid legal scandal yet. the most talented political escape artist in Texas pulled off yet another act. Late last week, Paxton’s office announced it had reached a settlement for $3.3 million with the ex-senior AG officials who claimed Paxton had illegally retaliated against them for their actions. While Paxton maintains the group’s bribery allegations are false, the attorney general agreed to apologize for calling them “rogue employees.”
The Border Patrol’s Power Grab
A high-ranking U.S. Border Patrol official traveled from Laredo to Austin late last year to ask the senators overseeing Texas’ $4 billion border security operation to let his agents enforce state laws—highlighting the federal government’s involvement in a problem-riddled policy Texas officials are using to flog President Joe Biden.
The Lost Reservoir Inside Our Water Infrastructure
Texas could meet much of its future water need simply by plugging leaks. Water is shaping up to be a priority during the 88th Legislature. Texas weathered its fourth-most intense drought on record last year and entered 2023 with half the state still in drought. Spurred by this precarious situation, a group of House lawmakers recently formed the first bipartisan caucus on water issues. Among other options, they’re eyeing expensive proposals to try and expand the water supply by constructing new reservoirs or building desalination plants.
Texas Set to Execute John Balentine Despite Racist Trial
Lawyers for Balentine, who was convicted of killing three teens in an Amarillo home, had also filed appeals raising questions about juror misconduct and racial prejudice at his trial. The Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed those efforts as well, according to his lawyers, leaving them to pursue a last-ditch appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as the execution loomed.
Breaking the Brazos
A version of this story ran in the January / February 2023 issue. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story:. This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their...
Pawns in the Voucher Scheme
Texas legislators seem to be following Arizona’s playbook by exploiting vulnerable students in the latest efforts to privatize public schools. Like many other typical teenagers, James’ favorite periods in school are P.E. and lunch. During our phone call, he turned the tables on me, politely asking about my children and work. A 15-year-old student who was born with a tumor and has autism, James actively seeks engagement with others, especially his peers. But for two years, he learned at home in isolation. Arizona’s voucher educational savings account program, called the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA), granted him $40,000 of public funds to pay private school tuition. But even with that money, private school after private school denied him admission.
Right-wing Reps Promote Racist Conspiracy Theories In ‘Border Crisis’ Hearing
GOP lawmakers accomplished nothing substantial except create a platform for nativist propaganda and debates about the Pledge of Allegiance. After securing a slim majority in the House of Representatives, Republicans held an hours-long hearing of the House Judiciary Committee focused on “border security, national security, and how fentanyl has impacted American lives” on Wednesday. The February 1 hearing was but the first of a series of hearings focused on the border organized by the new Republican majority, who are intent on using it as a political weapon to repeatedly cudgel their opponents.
A Tree Grows in Texas
Huizache, the premier Chicacnx literary magazine, was born in Texas but had to flee the state to find a home. After eight years and under new leadership, the university asked Gilb to teach two more classes. Gilb sued for breach of contract and discrimination in state court, characterizing this as part of a campaign to “bully and force [him] into either retirement or a complete alteration of his agreement with UHV.”
Bingeworthy Shows from a Red State Star
Taylor Sheridan’s macho streaming universe may get “repetitive” at times but it’s not as obviously conservative as some suggest. Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and raised in Texas (where he hung with the fam on a ranch in Cranfills Gap), Sheridan spent the ’90s and the aughts doing guest shots on various primetime dramas, landing steady gigs on Veronica Mars and Sons of Anarchy. He later turned his talents to screenwriting, scripting such bullet-riddled, testosterone-fueled crime yarns as the Sicario movies and Hell or High Water (which got him an Oscar nod for best original screenplay).
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