News
Strangest State: Everybody Loves Whataburger
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
ARANSAS PASS // A small alligator with a big appetite sauntered into an Aransas Pass Whataburger expecting a late-night meal, KRIS 6 News reports. The ravenous ...Read More
Bringing the Dead Home
Thirty years after Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, only a fraction of human remains held by Texas’ museums and universities have been returned.
Thirty years after Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, only a fraction of human remains held by Texas’ museums and uni...Read More
How We Got Here
Texas’ health system has been underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for years. Here, COVID-19 found the perfect place to spread.
Texas’ health system has been underfunded, understaffed, and unprepared for years. Here, COVID-19 found the perfect place to spread. By Sophie Novack November...Read More
Austin and America’s Thirty-Year War on the Homeless
Cities have spent three decades criminalizing homelessness. Last year, Austin bucked the trend—and sparked a firestorm that still hasn’t gone out.
No Place to Be Cities have spent three decades criminalizing homelessness. Last year, Austin bucked the trend—and sparked a firestorm that still hasn’t gone...Read More
Portraits of the Pandemic
There are people who lost their jobs, who miss their family, who worry about their kids. These are the stories of ordinary Texans dealing with extraordinary circumstances.
By Texas Observer Staff Illustrations by Lindsay Mound August 31, 2020—Nearly six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 600,000 Texans have been infect...Read More
From Boom to Bloodbath
The Permian Basin’s shale revolution is over and renewable energy is surging. What does that mean for Texas’ future?
From Boom to Bloodbath The Permian Basin’s shale revolution is over and renewable energy is surging. What does that mean for Texas’ future? By Justin Miller...Read More
Back to the Wall
A border wall is headed for Laredo—unless opponents can run out the clock.
Back to the Wall A border wall is headed for Laredo—and the only thing likely to stop it is time. By Gus Bova July 20, 2020 It starts at sunrise. Two line...Read More
Texas Nursing Home Residents Were Already at Risk. Then COVID-19 Hit.
A management company with a poor record of infection control is linked to COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes across Texas.
When Gary Blake launched Creative Solutions in Healthcare in 2000, he started small, opening a single modest nursing home in Granbury. Now Blake runs a nursing ...Read More
The Traveling Midwife
In far West Texas, some women have to travel hours to give birth, endangering themselves and their babies. Could midwives help fill in the gap?
The Traveling Midwife In far West Texas, some women have to travel hours to give birth, endangering themselves and their babies. Could midwives help fill in the...Read More