Josh Gravens, Subject of Observer Feature, Removed from Sex Offender Registry
The Texas Observer’s June cover story, “Life On the List,” looked at what happens when children are placed on Texas’ public sex offender registry. [...]
Tag Archives: Texas
Susan Combs Throws Cold Water on Texas Public Pensions “Crisis”
So, about that public pension crisis… According to Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, and the data-driven report she released yesterday, there really isn’t one. “We’re actually in pretty doggone good shape,” she said at a news conference yesterday. Teachers, city workers, cops and firefighters can rest a little easier.
You May Be Done with the Drought, But It’s Not Done with You
The drought that began in late 2010 (or did it begin in 2009, or 2005, or 2003 with some wet periods in between?) is intensifying again.
Payday Loans: A Pound of Flesh—Fees May Apply
Let’s be plain about what makes these businesses so profitable: usury. Structuring a loan to charge $130 in fees per $100 borrowed (that’s the average for a payday loan paid back in installments) is usury, regardless of the political contortions that keep such businesses legal.
Every Day in Texas, 93 People Lose Their Cars to Auto-Title Lenders
Naivi Garcia doesn’t think of herself as a statistic, but she’s one of the many Texans—an average of 93 each day—who have their cars repossessed by auto-title lenders, according to reports from the state Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner. It’s the first time the state has collected consumer data from the payday loan and auto-title lending industries.