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Sophi’s Murder and the Unanswered Calls for Justice
A version of this story ran in the July / August 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 weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”
God’s Army Gathers in Fort Worth
Self-described Christian nationalist prophets, an election conspiracist, and the wealthiest pastor in America collide for a week of right-wing politics. On the last Sunday of July, an ecstatic crowd of hundreds gathered inside the Fort Worth Convention Center. It was opening night of the Southwest Believers’ Convention, a week-long event that attracts hundreds of members of the fastest-growing Christian segment in the country. And they expected to witness miracles.
Loon Star State: Gutting
A version of this story ran in the July / August 2023 issue. To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here. The ‘Death Star’ Bill Is About Kneecapping Democracy in Texas: Senior Staff Writer Gus Bova unpacks House...
Fighting for Breaks on Multiple Fronts
Workers and activists implore Governor Greg. Abbott to consider the dire need for protections in the record-breaking heat. “A young, seemingly healthy woman fainted so soon, and yet construction workers, not just in Texas, but throughout the country, are expected to labor in this climate for eight, 12, or 16-hour days,” said Eva Marroquin, a 50-year old construction worker and business owner who participated in the strike. Her replies have been translated from Spanish. “It’s evident that extreme heat doesn’t just impact workers, but is damaging society as a whole.”
How the ‘1-Mile Rule’ Protects Big Polluters from Citizen Complaints
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,...
Not Your Everyday Snow Cone
An exploration of Bayou City's beautiful diversity through its finest shaved ice purveyors. During World War II, when American planes bombed Taiwan’s sugar mills, my grandfather stashed the sweet gold he’d saved under the floorboards. After the war ended, he took sugar and hefty blocks of ice and set up a tusa bing, or shaved ice stall, in the neighborhood’s open market. Using a machete, he flayed the ice until fine flakes lined the bottom of the bowl. Pouring over syrup made from his treasure trove and topping the frozen treat with sweet red beans, he served it to the locals on Bi Shi Tao Road in Kaoshiung looking to beat the heat.
The ‘Death Star’ Bill Is About Kneecapping Democracy in Texas
House Bill 2127 is the culmination of a years-long fight about centralizing power, not protecting small businesses. On November 3, 2020, as America watched the first results of a fateful presidential contest roll in, voters in a North Texas suburb struck a blow for workers’ rights. Euless residents approved a proposition limiting some large companies’ ability to force employees to work overtime if they didn’t want to.
The Difficulties of Tracking Maternal Mortality After ‘Dobbs’
The case of Mylissa Farmer, a Missouri woman, is one example. Last August, her water broke less than 18 weeks into her pregnancy, when her fetus was not viable. She was at risk for developing a life-threatening infection if she continued the pregnancy. Yet during three separate visits to emergency rooms, she was denied abortion care because her fetus still had a heartbeat. Doctors specifically cited the state’s new abortion law in her medical records and said they could not intervene until her condition worsened. She eventually traveled to Illinois for care.
Save the Mothers
A version of this story ran in the July / August 2023 issue. Americans have heard this before, but they don’t seem to understand or know what they can do about it. Perhaps when we realize that in the United States 20 new mothers die every year for every one Dutch mother, for instance, we can begin to grasp the scale of the problem. And for every Dutch mother who dies, 50 Black American mothers die. Researchers have found that the majority of these deaths are preventable. That means that in this country every year, hundreds of young women die needlessly, each death a tragedy for her and her family, and for her newborn. There are things we can do to change that.
Will Greg Abbott Keep Losing on School Vouchers?
A version of this story ran in the July / August 2023 issue. Since 1995, the Coalition for Public Schools in Texas has assembled a broad spectrum of religious, child advocacy, and education organizations, now with 50 groups representing some 4 million Texans. Its member organizations range from the American Civil Liberties Union to the Texas Baptist Christian Rights Commission. For 28 years, the coalition has beaten repeated efforts to privatize public schools through a voucher system. This year’s regular legislative session was no different.
Texas Workers, Congressman Launch ‘Thirst Strike’ for Heat Protections
“My brother would still be here if he just had a water break,” said Jasmine Granillo, who’s joining the call for OSHA to save workers from the Texas Legislature. Jasmine Granillo was 11 years old when her family joined other workers in a “thirst strike”—a protest in which participants decline to drink water—on the steps of Dallas City Hall in 2015. For a full day, Jasmine’s father Gustavo Granillo went thirsty to draw attention to the death of his 25-year-old son Roendy Granillo and pressure the city to pass a water break mandate to protect construction workers from heat illnesses. Roendy had died three months earlier from heat stroke after reportedly being denied a break at a residential construction job. After the action, Jasmine and her family continued their activism with the worker rights organization Workers Defense Project, protesting and speaking to city council members. By the end of the year, Dallas passed an ordinance mandating that construction laborers receive a 10-minute rest break every four hours, a policy similar to one passed by Austin five years prior.
The Trauma Waiting in the Wings
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,...
Poem: The Pantoum
A version of this story ran in the July / August 2023 issue. Editor’s note: To submit a poem, please send an email, with the poem as an attachment, to [email protected]. We are looking for previously unpublished works of no more than 30 lines by Texas poets who have not been published by the Observer in the last two years. Pay is $150 on publication. Poems will be chosen by guest editors.
After Dobbs, Native People Face a Web of Obstacles to Reproductive Care
The ruling is likely to increase already high rates of pregnancy-related mortality for Native pregnancy-capable people (NPCP) in the U.S., creating “the perfect environment for Native women to die,” Abigail Echo-Hawk, citizen of Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and executive vice president of the Seattle Indian Health Board, told Truthout.
$1M Donation to Glenn Youngkin Linked to Associates of Austin Area Billionaire Investor
The seven-figure sum was donated by a company known as Future of Education LLC on May 26, one day after the company was incorporated in Delaware. Future of Education LLC does not have an active website, is not registered as a business in either Virginia or Texas, and does not appear to have any publicly listed contact information, according to searches of public records and the web.
From Phoenix to Austin, Weeks of ‘Brutal’ Heat Stagger the Southwest
More than 113 million people in the United States are suffering under extreme heat as another massive “heat dome” expands from Texas westward toward California. Meteorologists expect the Southwest’s heat wave to intensify over the weekend, delivering some of the year’s highest temperatures and pushing California’s Death Valley near its all-time-record temperature of over 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The midday heat in cities like Phoenix, Arizona, has become so intense that ordinary surfaces such as streets and metal railings are too dangerous to touch without risking burns.
Abbott’s Billion-Dollar Barrier
A version of this story ran in the July / August 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 weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”
Texas Wastes Renewable Energy During June Heatwave
As a massive heat dome engulfed much of Texas in 100-degree-plus weather throughout the second half of June, breaking temperature records throughout South and West Texas, renewable energy output also set new records. Renewables’ contribution to the Texas grid reached an all-time high on June 28, when 41.6 percent of the electricity on the grid was coming from wind and solar power during peak hours.
Homegrown Neo-Fascist Movement Marches in Austin
Researchers have identified dozens of members of the white nationalist group—and no, they’re not “feds.”. Dozens of members of the neo-fascist, white nationalist group Patriot Front marched through the streets of Austin Saturday. The group did not announce the demonstration in advance, leaving no time for opposition groups to mount a counter-protest. It was the largest public gathering of the group’s members since they held a similar march in Washington, D.C., on May 13.
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