Topics
Construction Workers Labor on, Vulnerable and ‘Essential’
COVID-19 is Buying Time for Gulf Coast Towns Fighting Oil and Gas Projects
In Surfside Beach, Port Aransas, and elsewhere, contentious new infrastructure projects may be stalled by the accelerating pandemic.
Surfside Beach, a village of 560 people an hour south of Houston, is known for a few things: It has one of the state’s handful of drive-on beaches, attracting...Read More
A ‘Stay-at-Home’ Order by Any Other Name
At a time when clear and decisive action is paramount, Governor Greg Abbott has delayed, deferred, and equivocated, likely costing lives.
Twenty-six days after an elderly Fort Bend man became the first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott convened a press conference...Read More
Migrants and Advocates Call to Close Detention Centers as COVID-19 Spreads
A new lawsuit argues that an outbreak in detention could overwhelm local health care systems.
As COVID-19 cases begin to permeate the immigration system nationwide, detainees in Texas are calling for better conditions and release. Their pleas became more...Read More
The Future of Fair Housing in Texas
John Henneberger has spent 45 years advocating for Texans’ right to have a safe, affordable place to live.
In 1974, while he was an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, John Henneberger started volunteering with a community group in Clarksville, a form...Read More
A New Book on the Sutherland Springs Shooting Explores Resilience, Forgiveness, and Grace
Long after other journalists had packed up, Joe Holley stayed in the devastated town, getting to know survivors. He tells their stories with empathy and tact.
On November 5, 2017, “a country church in the middle of nowhere,” in the words of Joe Holley, became the site of the worst mass shooting in Texas history an...Read More
Loon Star: ‘Let’s Get Back to Work’
To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here. Read more from the Observer:...Read More
Families of Sick Prisoners Plead for Compassionate Release as Coronavirus Spreads Behind Bars in Texas
Advocates for incarcerated people are urging Governor Abbott to release parole-eligible people who are elderly or have chronic illnesses.
Justin Phillips’ health started deteriorating soon after police arrested him on drug charges in 2016. He grew gravely ill while waiting for his court date at ...Read More
Scientist Peter Hotez on Why Vaccine Development is ‘Critical to the Security of Our Nation’
Several years ago, Hotez and his colleagues developed a vaccine that may have prevented the new coronavirus—but they couldn’t get it funded.
Peter Hotez has spent his career studying infectious diseases that others weren’t paying attention to, developing vaccines that “no one else will make.” F...Read More
In a Pandemic, Poor Defendants Could Pay With Their Lives
COVID-19 lays bare the fundamental inequalities that a cash bond system creates, and highlights the unsafe conditions our jails and prisons have designed.
I arrived at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office before 7 a.m. on Friday, March 13. The calls for action to stop the spread of COVID-19 had been buildi...Read More
