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The Latest Breaking News from Texas Observer

Editor’s Letter: Introducing Our May/June 2025 Issue

A note from the editor-in-chief

Texas Observer

Abbott’s Bail Agenda Could Swell Texas Jails, Test U.S. Constitution

Republicans want to double down on a system that can keep Texans in jail for years without a trial, while attacking bail funds that try to help.

Texas Observer

In Booming Central Texas, Wastewater Is Polluting Rivers and Streams

A bill in the Texas Legislature would protect the last 21 pristine watersheds. But for years, previous attempts have been defeated by powerful homebuilders.

Texas Observer

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Texas Shouldn’t Legislate Censorship

Public libraries are for the public—and that means access for all.

Texas Observer

What connects us

is invisible. A natural gas pipeline. Cables above the eyeline, carried from pylon to pylon, past the horizon...

Texas Observer

The Lege’s ‘Big Government Intrusion’ into University Academics

Expanding on last session's anti-DEI campus crackdown, Republicans are now going after gender and ethnic studies programs and faculty independence.

Texas Observer

Texas Police Are Slowly Joining What Could Be a ‘Giant ICE Army’

New 287(g) task force agreements are trickling in as the Lege considers mandating ICE cooperation and some counties await federal training.

Texas Observer

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It’s a Long Way to the Top (if You Wanna Oust the Pols)

The Texas GOP’s dominance of the 21st Century has been marked by entrenchment in the highest offices. Is that changing?

Texas Observer

A White School Officer Pepper-Sprayed and Kneed a Black Beaumont Student, Complaint Says. Will Feds Act?

Trump's gutting of the Education Department could stymie justice for 17-year-old Ja’Liyah Celestine.

Texas Observer

Moises Mendoza to Be Third Person Killed by State of Texas This Year

“We oppose this execution as we do every execution. Capital punishment is an act of state sanctioned violence that violates the sacred dignity of every human life.”

Texas Observer

Son of a Gun: What to Do with a Legacy of (Unwanted) Firearms

I love my dad; I don’t love his guns.

Texas Observer

Ending 30 Years of Resistance, Trump and Abbott Break the ‘People’s House’

The Legislature’s lower chamber has finally blessed school vouchers—and denied ordinary Texans the chance to weigh in.

Texas Observer

Opposition to Abbott’s Vouchers Plan Includes Conservatives

The governor crushed anti-voucher Republicans in the Texas House, but there are still plenty of party activists who are opposed.

Texas Observer

Who’s Paying for Public School Vouchers? (1998)

"Somebody had to eat the first oyster." With that salty metaphor, Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock makes the argument that elected officials shouldn't be afraid to try new ideas—in this case, vouchers that would shift taxpayers' moneys from public to private schools.

Texas Observer

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Texas Observer

AI Is Dead

A Texas author earned a certificate in AI—but there’s no way he’d ever use it to write a book.

Texas Observer

The Winds of Willacy: Inside Texas’ Largest Wind Farm

The coastal gales of the Rio Grande Valley have helped rejuvenate this small farming community.

Texas Observer

Slowly and Painfully, House Passes $337 Billion Budget

The chamber deliberated until 3 a.m.

Texas Observer

Forgotten Crossings at the Edge of Texas

A new book from late author Richard Parker brims with El Paso pride, teasing out the small stuff that makes the city unique.

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Texas Observer

El Paso’s Still-Untold Story

A new revisionist history lays out an urgent task that it does not accomplish.

Texas Observer

Texas House Weighs How to Get Harsh on Hemp

Industry advocates warn against bills that would ban or otherwise restrict many legal THC products.

Texas Observer

The Sordid, Unscientific Story Behind Lethal Injection

A new book by a national expert explores the failures of the United States’ favored execution method.

Texas Observer

Texas’ First Black Woman Poet Laureate Spreads Poems of Praise

In tough times, Amanda Johnston is creating a community of gratitude with contributions from poets all across the state.

Texas Observer

House Committee Passes ‘Texas Two Step’ of Vouchers and Public Ed Funding

Dems could do little but sound the alarm on vouchers—and warn the $7.7-billion school-finance package is still not enough.

Texas Observer

The Lawless Border Wall

The application of waivers and the interpretation of their scope has repeatedly expanded, such that border walls are now privileged over all potential legal constraints short of the U.S. Constitution.

Texas Observer

‘It’s About Censorship, Erasure, and Control’: the GOP’s Push for Parental Rights

It’s part of a new right-wing project to control public schools.

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