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Texas Democrats After Beto
Joaquin Castro? Colin Allred? Lina Hidalgo? Clay Jenkins? Anyone?. In the fall of 2021, a national reporter from Politico was in Austin writing another profile of Beto O’Rourke as the El Paso Democrat geared up to follow a failed presidential campaign with a run for governor. The reporter asked Mayor Steve Adler whether it was a sustainable political strategy for Texas Democrats for O’Rourke to keep running for statewide office again and again—in 2022 and beyond.
Trey Martinez Fischer Will Helm the Democratic Opposition
The San Antonio political pugilist explains how he'll lead the state House Democratic caucus in yet another bleak year. For what feels like the hundredth year running, Democrats in 2023 will hold no positions of structural import in Texas state government. As such, the party is left only to decide what sort of opposition it will be—loyal or defiant, supplicant or obstructionist, scheming or strident? Enter Trey Martinez Fischer.
Local Elections Pit Old Austin Versus New
This year’s municipal elections in Austin are an apt case study of a generational and ideological conflict that has become central to urban politics in America’s largest and fastest-growing cities. In races across Austin, where the median home price is now north of $600,000, younger candidates calling for changes to the city’s notoriously restrictive zoning code to allow for more housing have faced off against older challengers more reluctant to change the “character” of established single-family neighborhoods.
A Subdivision for Stargazers: Limpia Crossing Residents Look Aloft
A version of this story ran in the November / December 2022 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...
Unions Fight to Make Good Jobs Out of Texas’ Solar Boom
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,...
‘Underground Railroad’ Quilt Weaves Black Liberation History
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,...
The Guardian Angel of Laughlin Drive
A version of this story ran in the November / December 2022 issue. Joe lived on a grassy area at the edge of the parking lot of the Creative Arts Center of Dallas. All the regulars at the community arts school knew the handsome, slender, gentle man in his 70s with the gray beard, who often could be found tinkering with the tools he scavenged or resting on a cushion on top of a concrete block. Joe would greet them with a big smile and raise two fingers in a peace sign. Students and teachers would bring him something to eat or drink and hang around to talk. Joe would ask about how their children or parents were doing.
Far-Right Lawyer Drops Neo-Nazi Lawsuit, Celebrates Fascist Thanksgiving
Van Dyke recently sent a letter effectively giving up the privacy lawsuit he filed against Kris Goldsmith. Van Dyke sued on behalf of a neo-Nazi after Goldsmith spied on a large Aryan Freedom Network (AFN) gathering with an aerial drone—a conclave at which Van Dyke was an attendee, according to evidence reviewed by the Texas Observer.
Texas Wants to Save Community Colleges From Sinking
Moss often felt depressed and frustrated as a homebound high school student in Ellis County. They felt isolated from other students and spent a lot of time waiting for teachers to answer emailed questions. They also repeated the ninth grade since they were unable to finish their school work because of several health problems.
Loon Star State: The Dumpster is Full
A version of this story ran in the November / December 2022 issue. To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here. A Party Built Entirely on Lies: Correspondent Wendi Gordon digs into the immorality of the GOP. Records...
Texas Bookstores Are Writing Their Own Stories
A version of this story ran in the November / December 2022 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...
Texas Is Becoming a Bitcoin-Mining Capital. Can the Grid Handle It?
Despite the FTX crash, ERCOT continues to court the cryptocurrency industry. Enticed by relatively cheap electricity, businesses that mine energy-hungry Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been knocking on the state’s door. But after a summer of record heat and energy demand, and on the heels of Winter Storm Uri in 2021, concerns about the Texas electric grid loom large.
At Casa Juan Diego, Refugees Find An Outpost of Compassion
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,...
Denton’s Trans Pride Fest is Here to Stay
A frigid North Texas cold front whistled through Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton. Dozens of people were buzzing about the space in preparation for the second Trans Pride Fest on November 11. Musicians chatted while organizers set up tables with information about local community groups, including Denton Food Not Bombs, Denton Transit Posting, and DFW Socialist Rifle Association. A handful of artists also had tables selling wares throughout the night.
Talking is Golden
In the adaptation of Miriam Toews’ novel, Women Talking, the innocuous act of conversing determines futures and fates. When yet another member of their Mennonite community is drugged and assaulted, eight women—of varying ages, tempers, and viewpoints—see that the time to consider their next steps is here. Should they stay and, somehow, fend for themselves? Pack up and leave for the unknown? What if inaction is also an option?
Biden Is Still Separating Immigrant Kids From Their Families
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,...
Right Wing ‘Election Fraud’ Researcher A Convicted Bathroom Voyeur
The right's new "election expert"—Kevin Moncla—was once busted for illegally filming people in his home. Now he pushes the Big Lie. A video posted on the right-wing video site Rumble alleging to show evidence of election fraud in Dallas is being used to call for the delay in the certification of the midterm vote in Dallas County, which overwhelmingly supported Democrats in the election. It’s also being used to hype a fundraiser for the “Election Oversight Group”—an organization managed by a man who pled guilty to sexual voyeurism after secretly filming people in his home bathroom.
Are You OK? The Lives of Young Trans Texans
A version of this story ran in the November / December 2022 issue. In August, Freidin made his second visit to Texas. In the intervening year, legal and policy-based attacks on LGBTQ+ people in the United States have reached feverish heights. Governor Greg Abbott even launched child abuse investigations into parents who seek gender-affirming healthcare for their kids. Though nonprofits like Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union have responded with multiple lawsuits against the policy, which has been partially blocked in court, it still left many families fearing for their safety. Kai Shappley, a trans girl known for her outspoken activism, fled the state with her family a month before Freidin planned to photograph her.
Climate Activists Sit-In At Department of Transportation Over Oil Exports
“We’re asking President Biden and [Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg to step up and be climate leaders and not approve this oil export project,” said Melanie Oldham, founder of Citizens for Clean Air & Clean Water of Freeport and Brazoria County, who traveled from Texas for the sit-in but was not among those arrested. “We hope they practice what they preach, what they told us in their campaigns.”
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The Texas Observer is an Austin-based nonprofit news organization known for fearless investigative reporting, narrative storytelling and sophisticated cultural criticism about all things Texan.