Best of 2016
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘Just Like Every Other Kid’
Under attack from Texas politicians, trans kids and their parents talk back.
Editor’s Note: If there was a collective “Person of the Year” for the Texas LGBT community in 2016, it was undoubtedly the parents of transgender chil...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘Above the Law’
Pamela Elliott was the new sheriff in town. But instead of law and order, she brought chaos.
Editor’s Note: Rural America is too often forgotten or ignored by the media. Journalists and major media outlets are in the big cities. Reporters usually ...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘Company Town’
How big business turned a Gulf Coast beach town into an industrial zone.
Editor’s Note: Many environmental stories rely on familiar tropes, the scrappy locals standing up to the big, bad polluter. The unlikely bedfellows of env...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘The GOP is Gaslighting America’
Today's GOP leaders aren't playing politics as usual. They're using abusive tactics to manipulate the public.
Editor’s Note: Open a browser tab for this fiery analysis of one of President-elect Donald Trump’s most odious rhetorical habits — we’re going to ne...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘No Place for Old Men’
Texas prisons are filling up with the old and the ill — at enormous expense.
No Place for Old Men By Dick J. Reavis Published February 15 The state of Texas operates 109 prisons holding about 148,000 inmates. Some 27,000 of them are, l...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘The New Migrants’
In the harsh post-2008 economy, builders like my father live on the road.
Illustration by Rebekka Dunlap Editor’s Note: Sarah Smarsh plays Studs Turkel to her father, a country carpenter from Kansas whose native intelligence and...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘Who Guards the Guardians?’
Texas counties have stripped thousands of elderly and disabled citizens of their rights — and then forgotten about them.
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘Who Guards the Guardians?’ Texas counties have stripped thousands of elderly and disabled citizens of their right...Read More
Texas’ 10 Worst Social Media Moments of 2016
It was a year of fake news, nonsensical tweets and non-apologies galore.
If 2016 taught us anything, it’s that one late-night Twitter outburst can leave the entire country reeling for days to come. But President-elect Donald Trump ...Read More
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘Isn’t It Iconic?’
The price tag on a new public sculpture in San Antonio renews a 20-year debate over whether a city program creates art — or just controversy.
Editor’s Note: Robyn Ross’ story on “Liquid Crystal,” a San Antonio art installation that has been called both a bold, progressive sculpture and a ...Read More
