Most Recent in Politics:

1Confederate Monument Protests Draw Hundreds in Houston and Dallas

2Despite Self-Congratulation, Lawmakers Did Virtually Nothing about Maternal Mortality Crisis

3Will Hurd’s Guide to Running as a Republican in 2018

4Santa Ana’s Last Stand?

5Houston City Employees are Fighting to Uphold Marriage Equality in Texas

6Special Session a ‘Battle Royal’ for Dominionists Who Seek Christian Rule

Most Recent in Environment:

1Fanning The Flames

2Santa Ana’s Last Stand?

3The Rising Storm

4Introducing the Texas Observer’s Rural Reporting Project

5Texas Warbler Suit Could Test Trump Administration’s Handling of Endangered Species

6Gulf Coast Environmental Group Sues Plastic Company After Slow Response from TCEQ

Most Recent in Border:

1Santa Ana’s Last Stand?

2Stalking Horse

3National Butterfly Center Founder: Trump’s Border Wall Prep ‘Trampling on Private Property Rights’

4‘El Peso Hero’ is the 21st-Century Borderland Superhero Texas Needs

515 Protesters Arrested After Demonstration Defending DACA at Texas Capitol

6Trump’s New Immigration Lockup Draws Local Opposition in Conroe

Most Recent in Criminal Justice:

1In San Antonio, Cops Punch Down

2Deputies Go Unpunished for Invasive Cavity Search on Houston Roadside

3Meet the Expert Who Helps Texas Cops Justify Extreme Behavior

4Why Dallas is One of the Few Places Killer Cops Could be Held Accountable

5Compassionate (Ab)use: Family Battles Texas over Medical Marijuana

615 Protesters Arrested After Demonstration Defending DACA at Texas Capitol

Most Recent in Education:

1Loon Star State: Texas Public Schools

2Dan Patrick Accuses Joe Straus of Ponzi Scheme Ahead of Special Session

3Critics Fear New Texas Law Giving SBOE Wide Discretion Over Textbooks

4After Freedom Caucus Kills Her Legislation, Lawmaker Announces Anti-‘Lunch Shaming’ Campaign

5Texas’ ‘Lunch Shaming’ Problem and the Fight to Fix It

6CPS Caseworker: Lawmakers Are ‘Shifting the Blame’ by Privatizing Child Welfare System

Most Recent in Health Care:

1Despite Self-Congratulation, Lawmakers Did Virtually Nothing about Maternal Mortality Crisis

2Introducing the Texas Observer’s Rural Reporting Project

3Red is the New Orange: Handmaids Bring More than Just Silence to the Abortion Fight

4Compassionate (Ab)use: Family Battles Texas over Medical Marijuana

5What a Ban on Insurance for Abortions Means for Women with High-Risk Pregnancies

6Lawsuit Filed Against New Texas Abortion Law

Most Recent in The Interview:

1The Interview: Joaquin Castro Says Texas Democrats are Poised for a Comeback

2The Interview: Beto O’Rourke on Trump, the Border and How to Revive the Democratic Party

3The Interview: Tom ‘Smitty’ Smith

4The Interview: Lupe Valdez

5The Interview: Paul Quinn College’s Michael Sorrell

6The Interview: Judge John Dietz on Texas’ School Finance Crisis

Most Recent in Books:

1‘Sip’ Seeks Dystopian Depth, and Fine Dining, in the Shadows

2The Rising Storm

3Stalking Horse

4Seven Texas Indie Booksellers on Their Favorite Books of the Year (So Far)

5‘El Peso Hero’ is the 21st-Century Borderland Superhero Texas Needs

6‘The Hour of Land,’ Terry Tempest Williams’ Love Letter to National Parks

Most Recent in Postcards:

1Ride Like a Girl

6Feathering Their Nest

Most Recent in Essay:

1Dear Governor Abbott: The ‘Bathroom Bill’ Endangers Trans Texans Like My Son

2Stalking Horse

3Protecting Immigrant Families: A Call for an Economic Boycott of Texas

4Cut from the Same Cloth: Wearing Hijab in Houston, Post-Trump

5Going It Alone

6The Observer’s Founding Editor: ‘Bring the Fight Back’ to Texas Politics

Most Recent in Eye on Texas:

1Eye on Texas: Runners Take on 170-Mile Race in Big Bend

2Eye on Texas: Liberty Hill Hosts Texas Firearms Festival

3Eye on Texas: TX Open Swim

4Eye on Texas: Blessing of the Hands in San Antonio

5Eye on Texas: Austin’s Chapels

6Eye on Texas: Portico Tejas

Most Recent in Poetry:

1Parallel Planes

3Poem: ‘Resistance’

4Poem: ‘Screenplay for a Homemade Movie’

5Poem: ‘To Be One with the All’

6Poem: ‘Whitewashing’

The Magazine: August 2017

Subscribers to the print and digital editions of the Texas Observer get the first look at our in-depth, investigative reporting before it’s published online.Subscribe Today so you don’t miss out!

March 2015, Texas Observer cover

COVER STORY

The Rise and Fall of the ‘Freest Little City in Texas’

by Jen Reel

Comments Off | Tue, Jul 25, 2017

The Rise and Fall of the "Freest Little City in Texas"

How a libertarian experiment in city government fell apart over taxes, debt and some very angry people.

The abandoned cop cars sat in Trina Reyes' yard for eight months. She wanted them gone, but there were no police to come ge... Read More

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