‘Up Against a 500-Pound Gorilla’: Can Dems Make Inroads in Deep-Red West Texas?
With a candidate on the ballot in every state and federal race, the minority party is trying hard to gain some ground in the GOP’s electoral firewall.
Rural Texas
East Texas Rivers Could Become a Boiling Pot for Mussels
The humble bivalves may not look like much, but they act as crucial natural filters across the state's waterways—and they're severely threatened by climate change.
The Rural Health Care Crisis, Mapped
Texas is facing a rural health care crisis. How many doctors are in your county?
Driving My Life Away
As physicians leave small towns, rural Texans must travel farther and farther for health care.
Scenes from a Rural Hospital’s Final Day
Chillicothe Hospital closed its doors on July 22. Its closure reverberated through the community in both expected and surprising ways.
Potter County Criminal Defense System is Lambasted in a New Report
A 200-page report produced by the Sixth Amendment Center exhaustively shows how the long arm of the law gives poor people in Amarillo the short end of the stick.
Critical Condition
A TEXAS OBSERVER SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
A Dying Town
When a rural hospital dies, the community around it starts to follow suit.
Landowners Got One Hill Country Oil Pipeline Moved. But Can They Do It Again?
Rule No. 1 of averting pipeline routes: Always bring a high-powered, politically connected oil and gas executive to the negotiating table.
The Creature of Martin Creek Lake Won’t Die
The Martin Lake coal plant in East Texas is the biggest sulfur dioxide polluter in the nation. And unlike other regional super-polluters, this one is still chugging along.