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Gulf Coast Petrochemical Buildout Draws Billions in Tax Breaks For Polluters
A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project compiled data on every U.S. plastics plant built, expanded or proposed since 2012, revealing massive growth in Texas. The report identified 50 plastics complexes built or expanded in the last 12 years, 33 in Texas. Together they have drawn a total of $1.65 billion in property tax breaks through the state’s Chapter 313 program for energy and manufacturing companies, which the state legislature replaced last year with a new but similar program.
Fort Worth’s Forgotten Lynching: In Search of Fred Rouse
A version of this story ran in the March / April 2024 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 weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”
The Specter of Disinformation Haunts South by Southwest
Artificial intelligence technologies are all the rage at SXSW. Is our democracy prepared?. Counterfeit photos created to deceive audiences have existed nearly as long as photography itself. Joseph Stalin famously edited political opponents out of the historical record. The use of deceptive photo editing by a PR flack for a British aristocrat may seem inconsequential relative to disinformation deployed to influence elections or international conflicts. Nevertheless, the emergence of generative artificial intelligence technologies that can automate the creation of bogus but convincing content pours gas on an already raging fire posing a serious threat to democratic societies. If well-resourced agencies like Reuters and the Associated Press can be duped by a manipulated image, what hope do small outlets have against deceptive generative content at scale?
‘The Queen vs. Texas’ Revisits the Battle over Lone Star Drag
Raemonn James, better known as Hermajestie the Hung, teamed up with a filmmaker to tell a moving story of activism and queer culture. In reality, The Queen vs. Texas—a new short film recently screened at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival in Austin— isn’t exactly a supervillain origin story, but it does depict the transformation Raemonn James, better known as “Hermajestie,” undergoes as she applies her drag makeup to become a queered-up version of that mischievous comic book character.
‘Puro Pinche Palestina’
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,...
Pregnant Workers’ Health and Livelihoods Face a New Threat
It is notable that while the court ruled the entire Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 violated the U.S. Constitution’s quorum requirements, the court chose only to block enforcement of the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—a landmark civil rights law included in the package that went into effect almost a year ago, on June 27, 2023. My organization A Better Balance launched and led the fight for over 10 years to pass this law, which finally guarantees millions of workers (including state employees) with known pregnancy-related limitations an affirmative right to reasonable accommodations so they’re no longer forced to choose between maintaining a healthy pregnancy and delivery and supporting their families.
The Booksellers’ Revolt
A version of this story ran in the March / April 2024 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 weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”
New Lake Will Fuel Petrochemical Expansion
Blocked in Louisiana, Formosa Plastics looks to grow around Texas' Lavaca Bay, but it and other industrial plants are waiting for water. A draft permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality authorizes the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority (LNRA) to divert up to 31 billion gallons per year from the Lavaca River. It would go into a reservoir proposed on property Formosa Plastics owns, about two miles east of its massive Point Comfort chemical complex, where the company has quietly pursued permits to expand in recent years since its Louisiana megaproject has been stalled by legal complaints.
Podcasting’s New Poirot: Broadcasting the Case of the Late Ivan Cantu
A version of this story ran in the March / April 2024 issue. Update: On February 28, Ivan Cantu was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville. Ahead of his execution, the Cousins by Blood podcast investigation helped draw in support for Cantu from high profile figures like Kim Kardashian and Martin Sheen. The original foreperson of the jury came forward to say he felt “fooled” by the trial.
A House Defeated? Abbott, Paxton, Patrick Bag Rebellious State Legislators
The heavily contested GOP primaries brought about ousters and uncertainty in the state’s lower legislative chamber and highest criminal court. In one of the ugliest and most contentious Republican primaries in Texas history, an array of insurgent challengers—sent forth into battle by the governor and his school voucher allies and a vengeful attorney general with his radical right-wing base—got what they wanted: change, turmoil, and unease.
Houstonians Force Anti-LGBTQ Democrat into Runoff with Progressive Challenger
Meanwhile, a long-term incumbent who backed a controversial state school takeover easily secures renomination. Democratic state Representative Shawn Thierry’s list of political contributors reads as a who’s who of Republican mega-donors and Christian nationalist public school defunders. The Houstonian received $28,000 from the Charter Schools Now PAC, $25,000 from conservative Dallas billionaires Darwin and Douglas Deason, $10,000 from the pro-voucher Family Empowerment Coalition, $10,000 from the powerful pro-tort reform PAC Texans for Lawsuit Reform, backed by the Republican establishment, and $50,000 from the Texas Sands PAC, which was created to push for the legalization of casinos and bankrolled largely by Miriam Adelson, widow of Trump mega-donor Sheldon Adelson.
Colin Allred Easily Wins Chance to (Not Easily) Beat Ted Cruz
The Dallas Democrat will now feature prominently in his party’s hopes to hold on to a razor-thin margin in the Senate this fall. On Tuesday night, Dallas Congressman Colin Allred bested San Antonio state Senator Roland Gutierrez in the Democratic primary contest for the right to challenge U.S. Senator Ted Cruz in November. In what was seen as a two-way race between the pair, Allred—always the frontrunner—trounced Gutierrez by a margin of more than 40 points as of late Tuesday. By around 9 p.m., networks called the race for Allred, calculating he’d won the nomination without the need for a May runoff. Allred will now feature prominently in national Democrats’ hopes to hold on to a razor-thin margin in the U.S. Senate this fall.
In the Ogg House: Harris County DA Ousted in Primary
Challenger Sean Teare handily took out the embattled two-term incumbent Kim Ogg. Back in 2016, Kim Ogg became the first Democratic district attorney in Harris County in nearly four decades—and was celebrated as a champion of progressive reform. But it didn’t take her long to become an embattled figure among reformers and party faithful alike. Today, voters ousted Ogg, overwhelmingly backing her primary opponent, political newcomer Sean Teare. He took home about 78 percent of early votes, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Office.
Uninsured Country: Affordable Health Care Eludes Many Family Farmers and Ranchers
Super glue and animal antibiotics are in the medicine cabinets of many farmers and ranchers in Texas — tools of the trade they sometimes use on themselves to avoid a trip to the doctor. It’s not that they have anything against physicians. It’s because they either lack health insurance or their coverage is so limited that a doctor visit could saddle them with a hefty bill.
Will Cornyn Take McConnell’s Place atop Senate GOP?
A version of this story ran in the March / April 2024 issue. In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, U.S. Senator John Cornyn bucked his party’s base by leading the passage of a minor reform to federal gun laws. He tried to make his case in a speech to a hostile crowd at his own state’s GOP convention, persisting through 20 minutes of boos. After the bill was signed into law, Cornyn rode the high with a promise to strike a deal on another political third rail: immigration.
Texas Mother-Daughter Books Are More a Shot of Whiskey than a Sip of Tea
I’m going to admit something to all y’all: the best thing that has ever happened to me—becoming a mother—is also the absolute worst. When my daughter was born, I was unprepared for the overwhelming scope of motherhood, the endless fulfilling of needs, the simultaneous busyness and boredom, the crushing psychic pressure of being responsible for a new human being, and the stretch marks that blessed my ever-expanding heart. I resented her and I adored her. My precious girl.
The Texas Observer Loses Three Editorial Staff, Plans to Grow Business Team
Arana had led the Observer since he took over as interim editor-in-chief in 2021. He chose not to immediately comment on the board’s decision. The board did not disclose specific reasons to staff. Arana was part of a staff effort that helped save the Observer when it was threatened with closure in March 2023.
Texas-Style Money Laundering
FinCEN’s proposed real estate rule could help investigators flag dubious deals—but there’s a big loophole. For several years, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (better known as FinCEN) has required additional data on some real estate deals in Miami, Houston, San Antonio, and other places often targeted by criminals for money laundering. But those Geographic Targeting Orders missed a lot of suspect deals in other places. Our Texas Observer series, “Follow the Money,” found that prosecutors alleged that 50 pieces of Texas real estate, valued at $58 million today had been purchased by Mexican kleptocrats between 1998 and 2017. But only 11, worth less than $7 million, would have been covered by those orders, according to a 2021 Observer analysis of court records by journalist Jason Buch.
A Statement from the Texas Democracy Foundation
Independently, the board announced that the Observer has been restructured to ensure its financial stability. As part of this process, two editorial positions have been eliminated, resulting in the layoffs of two staff members. The reorganization will allow the Observer to hire audience and fundraising positions that will give the organization the expertise it must have to continue to serve as the independent voice in Texas journalism. The board believes this restructuring will allow the Observer to respond to the extreme changes and challenges the news industry faces in 2024 and anticipates naming an interim editor-in-chief within the coming week.
‘It’s the South’: Harris County Sends 15 Times More Black Men to Death Row than White
Texas’ largest county remains the state’s deadliest when it comes to capital murder convictions, a new report says. The county’s imposition of the death penalty in the 21st century is dubbed both “arbitrary and capricious”, with staggering racial disparities in sentence severity, in a report by TDS, a nonprofit legal and advocacy group dedicated to stemming the flow of “mass incarceration and excessive punishment.”
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