Tag Archives: Austin
Dolores Huerta is Still Knocking on Doors and Registering Voters at 88
The iconic labor activist talks about the Latino vote, Howard Zinn and the ‘year of the woman.’
At 88, Dolores Huerta is still making you look bad. In 1962, Huerta and César Chávez co-founded the organization that would become the United Farm Workers, th...Read More
Can Beto O’Rourke Harness the Elusive Power of the College Student Vote?
Many have tried; few have succeeded. But the latest political phenom thinks he’ll be more effective at courting young voters.
With the Retama Auditorium filled to capacity, hundreds of students packed outside the entrance, hoping to get a glimpse of Beto O’Rourke as he swung through...Read More
Leaving the Gay Place Lights a Candle for the Patron Saint of Austin’s Counterculture
Tracy Daugherty’s new biography of The Gay Place author Billy Lee Brammer is part poetic ode, part oral history — and always a wild ride.
The greatest novel ever written about Austin was penned by a man from Dallas, and it did not mention the capital city by name. Still, when Billy Lee Brammer’s...Read More
How Texas Cops Turn Mental Health Crises into Deportations
Two recent cases in Central Texas illustrate how police aggression and the “sanctuary cities” ban have built a nasty pipeline to deportation.
Two recent cases in Central Texas illustrate how police aggression and the “sanctuary cities” ban have built a nasty pipeline to deportation. – by Gus...Read More
To Bag or Not to Bag: Retailers at a Crossroads after Texas Supreme Court Strikes Bag Ban
Since a court ruling nullified plastic bag bans in 11 Texas cities, some retailers have continued to voluntarily observe the law, while others are handing out bags again.
Nine-year-old Mauricio Treviño is every retailer’s worst nightmare. On a field trip that included a walk along the Rio Grande recently, his grandmother, Lare...Read More
Artist Rodney McMillian Wants Viewers to Grapple with Race — and Register to Vote
From a 2-D White House to a video juxtaposing the KKK and the Texas Capitol, McMillian’s conceptual art is symbolic yet cryptic.
The first thing you see as you walk into the latest exhibit at the Contemporary Austin is a voter registration desk. A small digital flag and the words “REGIS...Read More
Eye on Texas: Remembering Draylen Mason
Street artist Mike Johnston created this mural on a utility box in East Austin, where the teenage bombing victim was a third-generation resident.
Draylen Mason, 17, was one of two people killed by a package bomb during a string of attacks across Austin in March. The principal bassist in the Austin Youth O...Read More
Williamson County Votes to End Contract with Detention Facility Holding Separated Mothers
In the face of activist pressure, commissioners voted to end the county’s involvement in the incarceration of immigrant mothers and women at the 512-bed T. Don Hutto Detention Facility.
In a victory for immigrant advocates in a conservative, law-and-order community, the Williamson County Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted to cut ties with a d...Read More
In a Blow to Local Government, Texas Supreme Court Strikes Down Plastic Bag Ordinances
The plastic bag bans helped reduce litter, protected wildlife and cattle and made stormwater management easier, environmental advocates say.
Are you a Texan who hates having to take reusable shopping bags on your grocery run? Rejoice, for your time has come. After a new Texas Supreme Court ruling, yo...Read More