G.W. Schulz

News, News, The Issue

Tracking DPS Across the Sky: How We Did It

Wed, May 23, 2018 |

Tracking DPS Across the Sky: How We Did It To find out where the Texas Department of Public Safety flies its two surveillance aircraft, the Texas Observer and the Investigative Fund teamed up to analyze commercially available flight data that … Read More

Border

The Surge

Wed, May 23, 2018 |

How Texas’ decade-long border security operation has turned South Texas into one of the most heavily policed and surveilled places in the nation. Read More

Border

After Observer Story, Congressman Questions DEA’s Secretive Surveillance Partnership with Texas National Guard

“I want to know why a federal law enforcement agency is working with a military unit,” Congressman Joaquin Castro said in an interview.

Tue, Dec 5, 2017 |

Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro is asking the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to explain its role in the use of controversial cellphone spying devices on surveillance aircraft owned by the Texas National Guard, after the Observer first reported on the partnership … Read More

Border

Documents: Texas National Guard Installed Cellphone Spying Devices on Surveillance Planes

“There are really big privacy and constitutional due-process concerns with the use of this technology,” a state lawmaker said.

Mon, Nov 6, 2017 |

The Texas National Guard last year spent more than $373,000 to install controversial cellphone eavesdropping devices in secretive surveillance aircraft.   Maryland-based Digital Receiver Technology Inc., or DRT, installed two of its DRT 1301C “portable receiver systems” in National Guard … Read More

Culture, Featured Stories, Investigative Projects, The Issue

Fare Game

Lessons I learned from hustling for a living in the brave new ‘gig economy’.

Tue, Jan 17, 2017 |

What one ridehailing driver learned after Austin voters gave Uber and Lyft the boot. Tips are still lousy and passengers are still, well... Read More