News

Last Year, a Corpus Christi Cryptomine Guzzled over 11 Million Gallons. Now, Its Water Usage Is Being Kept Secret.

by Candice Bernd

Can James Talarico Do Better than Beto?

by Eden Shamy

A lone figure in a white clothing, seen from behind, stands artfully framed in the glass doorway of an old-fashioned. but well cared for church in the rural countryside.

Phạm Thiên Ân: From ‘Yellow Cocoon’ to Cannes

A Vietnamese filmmaker with Houston ties reveals more about his contemplative, award-winning film.

by Nguyên Lê

Erin Zwiener, a white woman with brown hair, holds her toddler daughter, wearing a mask, as she stands with other Democrats listening to Elizabeth Warren, who is wearing a red suit jacket and out of focus in the foreground.

Texas Observer School Board Investigation Spurs Call for Reform

State Representative Erin Zwiener says Texas must improve campaign finance transparency and adopt contribution limits.

by Steven Monacelli

Texas Court Strikes Down Air Pollution Permit for Gulf Coast Oil Terminal

A judge reversed a 2022 decision by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality which involved its controversial “one-mile rule” to deny hearing requests.

by Dylan Baddour

Dec 06, 2023

A Paris to Marfa March for Reproductive Rights

A West Texas teenager says she’s only begun to fight for access to livesaving care.

by Gayle Reaves

State Sen. John Whitmire, a bald white man, shakes hands with a bearded supporter at crowded public event. Whitmire is wearing a blue suit and red tie.

Houston Mayoral Candidates Inspire Yawns As Run-Off Election Looms

Two veteran (and older) politicians in Texas’ largest city are generating little excitement among its youthful population.

by Malachi Key

Jonathan Stickland, a white man with a light beard and mustache, wearing a suit with a striped red tie, laughs in a candid portrait photo.

Texas GOP Rejects Ban on Association with Nazis

It’s the latest instance of the state party’s right-wing officialdom embracing extremism, and vengeance, above all else.

by Justin Miller

A grainy photo of two fish, each about 2-inches long, nestled among underwater greenery. They have orange and pink scales, not unlike some goldfish. This species was recently declared extinct, decades after the last sighting.

Going Extinct in Texas

Declaring an endangered species officially gone can take decades.

by Paula Levihn-Coon

A random scattering of crescent shapes from the leaves reflecting on a gray painted brick wall, with the leaves acting like pinhole cameras during the eclipse.

Strangest State: Eclipses and Flying Snakes

A young teen reporter covers the Ken Paxton impeachment on typewriter, serpents fall from the sky and more dispatches from far-flung Texas.

by Texas Observer Staff

Texas Rangers Investigation Sheds Light on Dallas Judge’s ‘Bizarre’ Behavior

Dallas County Judge Amber Givens was accused of having her court coordinator impersonate her during a 2021 Zoom bond hearing, prompting a Rangers inquiry.

by Michelle Pitcher