Political Intelligence
Lawmaker on State Tax Committee Also Works for Texas’ Corporate Welfare King
How a Texas Mom Fought to Restore Daughter’s Therapy After State Cuts
Years of legislative funding cuts to therapy for special needs kids has led to interrupted services and changes in behavior for some.
Amanda Crouse watched helplessly as the words began to slip away from her daughter Haylee. It had taken Crouse and a team of therapists months to help Haylee, t...Read More
The Olive-Green Ceiling: Why Are So Few Women in the Border Patrol?
Women make up less than 5 percent of the Border Patrol's workforce, dead last among federal law enforcement agencies.
During his first week in office, one of President Trump’s first moves was to sign an executive order calling for the hiring of 5,000 more Border Patrol agents...Read More
Compassionate (Ab)use: Family Battles Texas over Medical Marijuana
The Zartlers have gone through a veritable pharmacy of prescription drugs, but they say medical marijuana is the only thing that stops Kara from hitting herself.
Mark Zartler measures how well his 17-year-old daughter, Kara, is doing by what he calls a “hit test” — counting the number of times she hits herself on a...Read More
Trump’s New Immigration Lockup Draws Local Opposition in Conroe
A private prison company is building an immigrant detention center in the seat of Montgomery County—whether residents like it or not.
The people of Conroe are getting a new, 1,000-bed immigrant detention center whether they like it or not. The GEO Group Inc., one of the largest private prison ...Read More
Getting Wise to Bad Air: North Texans Take Smog Monitoring Into Own Hands
After TCEQ refused to place smog monitors in Wise County, a local environmental group decided to take action.
How bad is the smog problem in Wise County? Situated just west of the Dallas-Fort Worth sprawl, Wise County is in the heart of the Barnett Shale gas patch and s...Read More
Austin Abortion Clinic Reopens After Supreme Court Ruling. Will Any More Follow?
Whole Woman’s Health is accepting appointments in Austin this week while about two dozen other clinics remain closed in the wake of HB 2.
Nearly one year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck two major provisions from Texas’ sweeping anti-abortion law, the clinic at the center of the case is emerg...Read More
Texas Demographer Has Given the Same Speech for 25 Years. Is Anyone Listening?
'Unless we reverse the trends that we’re seeing now, we will be a poorer, less-educated state,' the former state demographer says.
“Unless we reverse the trends that we’re seeing now, we will be a poorer, less-educated state,” the former state demographer says....Read More
High on the Hog
Texas' Republican ag commissioner spent $55,000 outfitting his office with taxidermy and other bits of Wild West ephemera.
The Republican spent $55,000 outfitting his office with western-themed decor and various iterations of taxidermied wildlife....Read More