Politics
Environmentalists Fear Conservative Group’s Push to End Corporate Subsidies is Really Just a Hit on Renewables
Texas Has Plenty of Money, But Will Lawmakers Use it to Fix Their Years of Negligence?
State Comptroller Glenn Hegar released his revenue estimate for the 2020-2021 biennium. The upshot is: There’s money to spend, if the Legislature is willing.
Things appear to be going swimmingly for those hoping that Texas legislators will finally address two of the state’s most intractable, intertwined problems: a...Read More
The Texas Observer’s Best Features of 2018
Our favorite longreads of the year.
The Texas Observer’s Best Features of 2018 Our favorite longreads of the year. – by Rose Cahalan and Forrest Wilder December 26, 2018 Like children, it...Read More
Six Stories About Rural Texas You Should Read Before 2018 Ends
From the shuttering of Dairy Queens, driver's license offices and rural hospitals across the state to an only-in-Texas alligator tale, you may have missed this great reporting.
I understand if the wild and weird news cycle of 2018 has got your head spinning. This rollercoaster ride of state and national politics has some reporters near...Read More
Texas Senator Bob Hall Defends ‘White Nationalist’ Ally as Victim of Political Correctness
Ray Myers drew national attention for statements made on Facebook. His fellow tea partier in the state Senate said he’s a victim of “perverted extreme political correctness.”
Kaufman County tea party insurgent Ray Myers long had a reputation for extremist views, off-the-cuff bigotry and an in-your-face style of activism. But recent F...Read More
Year in Review: Loon Star State in 2018
The year in political cartoons from the strangest state in the union.
Trump’s sophomore year in the White House made for plenty of ammunition for political cartoonist Ben Sargent. In the pages of the Observer in 2018, the fo...Read More
Border Congressman Makes Last-Minute Move to Save Butterfly Center, State Park, Chapel from Trump’s Wall
The three sites, all near the town of Mission in the Rio Grande Valley, are high on the government’s list for wall construction.
As Congress and Trump eye a potential government shutdown over border wall funding, a Democratic congressman from Laredo has drawn up a last-minute play to save...Read More
Six Texas Political Players Who Lost Power in 2018
A diverse and bipartisan ensemble of politicians and groups were rudely awakened as they were wrested from or kept out of power in 2018.
Power is a funny thing. One minute you have it; the next it’s gone. Sometimes it’s taken forcefully; other times it’s given away. In Texas, the ruling Rep...Read More
In South Texas, the Catholic Church vs. Trump’s Border Wall
A charismatic priest and the local diocese hope to save a 120-year-old chapel near the Rio Grande.
In South Texas, the Catholic Church vs. Trump’s Border Wall A charismatic priest and the local diocese hope to save a 120-year-old chapel near the Rio Gra...Read More
Texas Republicans Fail to Kick a Million People off Food Stamps After Trying for a Year
As rural Americans struggled in 2018, Midland Congressman Mike Conaway was laser-focused on making it harder for the working poor to eat.
The $867 billion Farm Bill passed by Congress this week did not include stricter work requirements that would have pummeled food stamp recipients, but it wasn...Read More