NEW: Texas DPS touts one of the largest drone programs in the country. Since the launch of Operation Lone Star in 2021, DPS has more than doubled its drone inventory. Now, DPS has almost as many drones as the US Border Patrol. www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-dr...

What was Lina Hidalgo? When was Lina Hidalgo? Why was Lina Hidalgo? For @texasobserver.org, I appraised Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment. www.texasobserver.org/lina-hidalgo...

"I think that we should be looking at who it is that can expand the electorate so we can win. We have spent a lot of time doing the philosophy lessons of who it is that we believe can win—and we keep losing, versus being willing to do something different." www.texasobserver.org/jasmine-croc...

New from @samrussek.bsky.social: As a Latina immigrant elected in her mid-twenties, Lina Hidalgo faced unique headwinds that can’t be ignored when reckoning with her time in office, yet what she did with the power she won must still be judged on its own merits.

On November 13, surrounded by family and listening to Guy Clark songs in the capital of the state on which he left such an enormous mark, David Richards left us at the age of 92. A memorial essay from Louis Dubose:

Hey y'all, today is GivingTuesday so please consider making a donation to the @texasobserver.org and support the one-of-a-kind independent journalism that we bring to Texas. We may be small but we are also mighty--especially with your help! texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/donate/?camp...

The company that won the contract to run Texas' new school voucher program leans on former Abbott aides for help www.texasobserver.org/texas-vouche...

New from Alexandra Edwards: There’s a particular kind of despair that comes from watching an institution abandon its principles in real time. It’s not the dramatic betrayal of a single moment. It’s slower than that.

New from Miranda Williamson: "On Nov. 1, SNAP benefits will no longer be distributed. About 11.4 % (nearly 3.5M) of Texans will lose access to healthy, nutritionally complete meals. I will no longer be able to buy meat or fresh vegetables. I will lose the only reliable way I have to eat lunch."

New from José Luis Martínez: Last year, state investigators faced the highest number of paycheck complaints in nine years and a prior internal audit noted that it typically took months just for complaints to be assigned to an investigator.

New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: It was two days before his 50th birthday and he already had plans to celebrate with his wife, a U.S. citizen. Instead, ICE placed him in a detention center he once protested against.

Out today, News & Politics Editor @byjustinmiller.bsky.social's interview with @ginafortexas.bsky.social: "I’m running to be a governor for Texans, for working families, for working Texans, for the school children of Texas. And it’s time our people had a voice."

A good lock at the rocky relationship between the Texas Majority PAC, financed with tens of millions from Gorge Soros, and some Texas Dems who question their influence and effectiveness. www.texasobserver.org/inside-rift-...

New from @samrussek.bsky.social: While some local Democratic party chapters speak effusively of their partnerships with Texas Majority PAC, others liken it to a bait-and-switch operation that commandeers the grassroots manpower of established county parties & fails to deliver on its lofty promises.

Trump hastens plan to deny domestic workers the minimum wage. www.texasobserver.org/texas-domest...

Where are the Latino statewide Democratic candidates in Texas? www.texasobserver.org/latino-top-b...

From @byjustinmiller.bsky.social in our magazine: At the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the largely unknown Julián Castro became an instantaneous political phenom and a seemingly inevitable rising party star. But the party's traveled a rocky road since then ...

NEW: TX Rs blame decamped Dems for holding up flood response. They also argue a disaster-response bill they shunned in the regular session wouldn't have gone into effect until after the 7/4 flood. Here's the climate bills they've ignored for over a decade now: www.texasobserver.org/texas-gop-sa...

Our top story, from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Advocates for police transparency say a new bill would supercharge cops' ability to shield misconduct from the public. www.texasobserver.org/secrecy-g-fi...

Can Texas Dems' quorum break halt a seemingly inevitable gerrymandering arms race? texasobserver.org/texas-house-... #txlege

#Celebration! I’ve been Poetry Editor for @texasobserver.org for a year! Please, please, share, repost and read up on the #Poetry section of the magazine! I will create a thread of the poems that have made it into the mag while I’ve been editor! #PoetrySky www.texasobserver.org/topics/poetry/

My latest from @texasobserver.org: Christian right activists have long chafed at the Johnson Amendment, contending that it makes the IRS into “speech police” and chills the constitutional rights of religious leaders. A new IRS ruling may give them a big win www.texasobserver.org/trump-irs-te...

A Hill Country native reflects on her own family's harrowing flood experience on the Fourth of July 23 years ago. www.texasobserver.org/hill-country...

Some news for y'all: I'm now the News & Politics Editor for the @texasobserver.org , leading our coverage of the Lege, elections, and other Texas news. If you've got a pitch, a tip, or anything else, email is in the bio #txlege

Some news for y'all: I'm now the News & Politics Editor for the @texasobserver.org , leading our coverage of the Lege, elections, and other Texas news. If you've got a pitch, a tip, or anything else, email is in the bio #txlege

"Q: Do you think Democrats could have stood united in withholding support for [a speaker] longer in order to try to secure actual concessions? A: Is it possible? Of course. Anything’s possible. I could suddenly turn into a fish." www.texasobserver.org/house-got-ro...

New from @byjustinmiller.bsky.social: The job of leading the minority party in the Texas House has long consisted, at best, of harm reduction and something like emergency room triage. Rep. Gene Wu tells us about trying to stop the bleeding this session.

New from @byjustinmiller.bsky.social: Without fanfare or open debate, the GOP-controlled Texas Lege just effectively halved the amount dedicated to its multi-billion-dollar border security operations—from a proposed $6.5 billion down to about $3.4 billion.

New from me: Texas quietly downsizes border security spending—mainly for state border wall—though still remains above pre-OLS levels www.texasobserver.org/texas-quietl... @texasobserver.org

The @texasobserver.org's founding editor Ronnie Dugger has passed away at age 95. He forged the publication in the '50s and 60s into an independent organ of progressive muckraking and a bulwark against prevailing conservative forces that dominated the state then—and now.

From @byjustinmiller.bsky.social: The House approved the measure with overwhelming bipartisan support on a 101-42 vote, with no debate over the wisdom of getting the state into the business of investing in highly speculative virtual coins. Opponents included 21 Republicans and 21 Democrats.

New today: Legislators have launched fresh attacks targeting gender and ethnic studies departments, programs, and courses, which some educators say threaten academic freedom and the prestige of Texas universities.

Remembering Carlton Carl: a patriot, feminist, Democrat, journalist, bibliophile, philanthropist, entrepreneur, art enthusiast, history buff, and more. He was a staunch supporter of his family and community, of organizations including the Observer, and of the town of Martindale.

Social media monitoring, cell tracking, facial recognition, and more—how Texas DPS has turbocharged its surveillance capabilities with Artificial Intelligence. Meanwhile, lawmakers offer few guardrails - by @francescadnunz.bsky.social #txlege www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-su...

New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: Under Governor Greg Abbott's multi-billion dollar border security bonanza, Operation Lone Star, the Rio Grande no longer holds back law enforcement efforts. Today's digital border reaches across Texas and beyond. With support from @pulitzercenter.bsky.social

It was one of Governor Abbott's top priorities in his first session. And for all the rhetoric around the Texas House leadership battle, it remains inert. What ever happened to ethics reform? #txlege @texasobserver.org www.texasobserver.org/ethics-refor...

“The Legislature’s current proposals put a handful of private contractors in the driver’s seat. Other states have already seen problems.” @byjustinmiller.bsky.social @joshcowenmsu.bsky.social @texasaft.org @democracymoms.bsky.social www.texasobserver.org/school-vouch...

A top private contractor for OLS has close ties with Greg Abbott—the firm's founder has given $600k to his campaign, lent their private jet for travel to border photo opps, & hired the gov's top aide. Take a look inside the Texas border contracting bonanza #txlege

New from Justin Miller: This state of disaster has been continuously renewed, even as border apprehensions have fallen precipitously. Now four years old, the Texas Legislature has allocated more than $11 billion in funding.

The base camps, migrant processing centers, & busing operations are big business for private contractors on Operation Lone Star. 2 of those firms have in turn doled out over $1.2 m to Gov Abbott's campaign, the RGA, & GOP PACs. My latest for @texasobserver.org www.texasobserver.org/abbott-opera...

A controversial federal program that permits local cops to act as roving ICE agents in their communities has been dead since 2012, as it led to racial profiling. Texas police agencies and others around the nation are bringing it back. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/local-state-...

"Now that you have a new president, that wall will go up so fast," Trump said while praising Abbott's border policies. The governor has (accurately) boasted that he has built more wall in Texas than Trump did in 1st term. Background on that here: www.texasobserver.org/abbotts-bill...

Best of 2024, from @byjustinmiller.bsky.social: The Paxtons lent an air of prestige and legitimacy to James Frinzi’s otherwise obscure company. Frinzi wasn’t shy about boasting of his cozy ties to the powerful Paxtons. “He loved to talk about his buddy Ken.”

We've been publishing stories all year related to our 70th anniversary, but today marks the actual date that the @texasobserver.org published its first issue in 1954, with the top story dedicated to a retail workers' strike in Port Arthur: archives.texasobserver.org/issue/1954/1...

TEA’s report on Third Future Schools, overlooks the charter’s compliance with federal tax laws while revealing new out of statement payments on the watch of now- HISD superintendent Mike Miles. @genefortexas.bsky.social @menendez4texas.bsky.social @texasaft.org www.texasobserver.org/mike-miles-t...

NEW: X has become a hotbed of neo-Nazi content under Elon Musk. We identified the operators of four anonymous accounts that share racist, antisemitic, and neo-Nazi content. Three live in Texas. Musk has replied to two of them. One works for the Navy. www.texasobserver.org/revealed-ope...

Y'all, it was such an honor to celebrate our 70th anniversary together on Tuesday. Here's to another 70 more years of “hewing hard to the truth” 🤠🎉

Greg Abbott creates new Small Business Freedom Council w/ DOGE-esque deregulatory mission, chaired by Texas' Big Bidness lobby group and its mini-me Smol Biz lobby group. #txlege

Hey all, I write about politics and power in Texas for the @texasobserver.org — including the upcoming 2025 legislative session. I'll be trying to post here more frequently so give me a follow #txlege www.texasobserver.org/author/justi...