Texas Can’t Keep Up with Surge in Workers’ Wage Theft Complaints
State labor investigators struggle to process more and more paycheck complaints, with millions of dollars in workers’ pay at stake.
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Opinion ⋆
SNAP Shutdown Will Leave Texas Students like Me Hungry
I don’t know when this shutdown will end or when my benefits will be reinstated. But I do know we are worth more than the petty arguments of political powerhouses.
Bail Crackdown on Ballot Ignores Mental Health Crisis, Advocates Say
“The jail system is already the largest warehouse of people with mental illness in the state of Texas.”
Fort Worth ISD Parents Fear the Same Chaos that State Takeover Has Brought to Houston ISD
TEA intervention into locally controlled school districts has become increasingly common—despite mixed results.
News ⋆
Castle Hills Settles ‘Retaliatory Arrest’ Case for $500,000 in Win for Free Speech Advocates
Along with the monetary settlement, city officials agreed to send its employees to training that the Texas Municipal League will develop about Sylvia Gonzalez’s case.
Trump’s Federal Cuts Are Hitting Texas Food Banks Hard
Food pantries in the Lone Star State have lost over $50 million in funding this year, with more projected cuts to come.
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Politics
Why the City of Austin Wants Voters to Hike Their Property Taxes
And what Prop Q could mean for the future of local governments in Texas
‘Failures and Grift’: Gina Hinojosa Wants to Stop Greg Abbott from Making History
The five-term Austin state representative will wage an underdog campaign to deny the powerful Texas governor an unprecedented fourth term—and the chance to further entrench his “corruption.”
How the Bathroom Bill Weaponizes Transphobia Against Public Institutions
A legal expert called the new anti-trans Texas bathroom law “the most plainly unlawful, undemocratic legislation I’ve seen in recent history.”
Border and Immigration
ICE Still Won’t Answer Questions About Prosecutor with White Supremacist X Account
Congressman Marc Veasey arrived at an ICE facility Monday in his latest attempt to follow up on the Observer’s reporting.
In Dallas, Organizers Mourn the Immigrant Victims of Recent ICE Shooting
At a vigil outside city hall last week, advocates gathered to “center the victims” and to condemn the “dehumanization” of migrants by the federal government.
A Brazilian Carpenter’s 51-Day Detention Journey from Vermont to Texas
“On the first day, I thought they had picked me up by mistake…”
Culture
A Night at the Screamo Bookstore
An Austin literary shop has branched out into loud concerts, cementing a place in the city’s DIY music scene.
‘Make Resistance Sexy’
In Houston, actor Kendrick Sampson seeks to make a party out of political engagement.
How Scholars Lost the Culture War over Texas History
And how they could still start winning it.
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November/December 2025
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