Tag Archives: Donald Trump
With Trump’s Infrastructure Plan, Rural Texas Could be Left in Disrepair
The president’s proposed budget cuts billions in federal aid for residents of the state’s sparsely populated areas.
Arnie Amaro, the city administrator of La Villa, knows Hidalgo County’s sprawl will eventually reach his town. In the last decade, the border county’s popul...Read More
Will Hurd’s Guide to Running as a Republican in 2018
During a tour of Dairy Queens in his district, the West Texas congressman offered a master class in the rhetorical skills many Republicans are going to need this cycle.
It’s the best of times and the worst of times to be Will Hurd, the Republican who represents the 23rd Congressional District of Texas, a giant swath of Texas ...Read More
Santa Ana’s Last Stand?
Wildlife biologist Ken Merritt lost his job trying to save the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge a decade ago. Now the “jewel” of the national wildlife refuge system is under threat again.
Ken Merritt, 65, knows what it’s like to stand between a threatened wildlife habitat and a border wall. In 2007, the Bush administration wanted to construct a...Read More
The Rising Storm
A new book on climate and migration predicts a future of "guards, guns and gates" unless we act soon.
In Todd Miller’s prescient new book, Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security, the Tucson journalist and author travels the glo...Read More
Introducing the Texas Observer’s Rural Reporting Project
Texas has the biggest rural population in the nation, yet many journalists treat much of the state as flyover country.
To keep up with the new project, sign up for our weekly newsletter: Trump’s election taught the nation many painful lessons. Among them: the traditional div...Read More
National Butterfly Center Founder: Trump’s Border Wall Prep ‘Trampling on Private Property Rights’
Staff discovered workers with chainsaws on the center's private sanctuary clearing the way for Trump’s border wall in South Texas.
On July 20, Jeffrey Glassberg discovered that the Trump administration planned to build a wall through the National Butterfly Center in South Texas — a 100-ac...Read More
Texas Warbler Suit Could Test Trump Administration’s Handling of Endangered Species
A little Texas bird could become a test case for the Trump administration’s willingness to defend Obama-era endangered species decisions.
Several prominent environmental organizations are citing the Trump’s administration’s hostility toward the Endangered Species Act as the reason for stepping...Read More
Why Aren’t More Texas Democrats Running for Office at the State Level?
There are a boatload of Democrats running for Congress in Texas, but the slate for statewide offices and the Legislature is awfully barren.
The hottest new trend in Democratic politics these days is running for Congress — everybody’s doing it. So far, more than 200 Democrats have filed to challe...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