Now that the dust has settled I can finally let the city know that my futile vote for Prop Q was still meant as a vote against the new logo. It's not too late to reverse course, replace it with a bat eating a taco

OK in. Prop Q toast:

don't think i've ever seen Travis Co. take this long with early vote results

NEW: The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached the Texas Department of Public Safety, raising fears of widespread racial profiling. In other words: Texas is deputizing some of its state officers to act as roving ICE agents. www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...

Big (bad) news from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...

A great review from @capaciousmood.bsky.social that's a satisfying read but still leaves you wanting to pick up the book: www.texasobserver.org/queen-mother...

A TPPF lawsuit against the City of Dallas seeks to push the bounds of what the 2023 "death star" bill applies to, validating the fears of all those who said the bill was far too vague 1. The bill author said it would not affect nondiscrimination ordinances. Yet TPPF seeks to undo:

The Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigations Division, signed a 287(g) task force agreement with ICE on 10/17: www.ice.gov/identify-and...

I feel like the alarm dial may be turned to its maximum level already. Nevertheless, it is alarming that the Texas AG is sending out cops from w/in his office to make immigration arrests so that, among other things, he can become a U.S. senator. Plus the fascist quote to boot

Check out my article in the Texas Observer about Prop Q, the Austin tax rate election. www.texasobserver.org/austin-prope...

Lots of opportunites right now for aspiring state reps in Austin. Local labor leader Montserrat Garibay announces for Gina Hinojosa's seat. I interviewed her a few years back as she joined the Biden administration, here: www.texasobserver.org/texas-labor-...

NEW: ICE remains mum regarding prosecutor exposed as white supremacist. "They want to signal to the other white supremacists...out there that under this administration things are going to be different and you’re not going to have to worry about losing your job" www.texasobserver.org/ice-white-su...

"He married an American citizen in 2017. But he was unable to obtain a green card, routinely reporting to ICE until June 10, when agents arrested him after he dutifully arrived for his appointment. That day, they took him..." www.texasobserver.org/trump-ice-ar...

Thank goodness that *both* these logos now appear in the email signature from the APD press office. This level of consistent branding has cleared up the years of confusion I experienced just seeing the logo that inscrutably said "Austin Police"

This raises the possibility of all three top-ballot Dem spots being Austin state reps. On the other hand, Hinojosa is from Brownsville and has a last name that basically shouts deep South Texas. First serious Latin@ Dem to jump in statewide so far: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rU6...

The Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed Robert Roberson’s execution, sending his case back to a lower court for reconsideration. He was scheduled to be executed in less than a week.

Behold, interesting political reporting about Texas Democrats: www.texasobserver.org/inside-rift-...

SCOOP: A Soros-backed PAC in Texas expects a massive budget—$20 million a year, each year, until 2032—but the group has been roiled by territorial disputes and allegations of "data falsification" & "systemic" voter outreach fraud. And here come the midterms. In @texasobserver.org: bit.ly/3IYSfdc

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.

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There are simply so many fires to attend to; we don't even have a story on the gov shutdown up, but I feel proud of what the @texasobserver.org did get to this week. Today's story, ICE snatches a Dallas Muslim leader known for his gentleness and humility: www.texasobserver.org/ice-marwan-m...

There are simply so many fires to attend to; we don't even have a story on the gov shutdown up, but I feel proud of what the @texasobserver.org did get to this week. Today's story, ICE snatches a Dallas Muslim leader known for his gentleness and humility: www.texasobserver.org/ice-marwan-m...

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

Robert Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween will not petition for clemency ahead of his scheduled Oct. 16 execution. "A quest for clemency would not right the wrong...It would only divert precious time and resources from the fundamental mission: obtaining a new trial for Robert at long last."

Lessons to learn from the politically motivated firing of a UT president in the 1940s: texasobserver.org/texas-facult...

A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven gang-related accusations: www.texasobserver.org/officials-tr...

as resistance mounts to one of the worst onslaughts against academic freedom and civil liberties in US history, I turned to an episode from the Texas past for the @texasobserver.org, and found both caution and inspiration. /1 www.texasobserver.org/texas-facult...

Republicans took free speech as an issue, distorted and degraded it, then finally threw it overboard entirely. It's an opportunity for Democrats, but they'll have to rehabilitate the concept, I think, rather than just deploy cheap gotchas

Petition to put this to a popular vote against ideas generated by any random Austinite. I'll put forth: a grackle eating a taco (early polls suggest vote results of 999,999-1) www.kxan.com/news/austin-...

My interview with @kendallscudder.bsky.social from our September/October issue: www.texasobserver.org/texas-democr...

From @marytuma.bsky.social, House Bill 7 attacks one of the last remaining options for reproductive care in Texas and declares legal war on blue states: www.texasobserver.org/texas-legisl... #txlege

"We’re hopeful that it means it doesn’t come back again, and that we can preserve some level of transparency for all Texans." www.texasobserver.org/police-recor... #txlege

While Texas already bans abortion, with HB 7 Republicans aim to halt the flow of abortion medication from out of state, one of the only remaining avenues for Texans to still access care. The bill now moves to the Gov's desk. My latest for @texasobserver.org: www.texasobserver.org/texas-legisl...

Just in: @stevanzetti.bsky.social & @tristanl.ee's work on open-source extremist identifications for the @texasobserver.org & @bellingcat.com has won the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, small newsroom category, from @journalists.org: awards.journalists.org/entries/open...

I'm so honored to have won the Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism small newsroom award alongside @tristanl.ee. I also have to thank @kylebazgo.bsky.social, who was a crucial partner in one of the articles, and our editor @gusbova.bsky.social awards.journalists.org/entries/open...

Love this poem from @earthtokb.bsky.social selected by @thepoetmendez.bsky.social: www.texasobserver.org/texas-no-exo...

I’m outside the Don Hutto ICE detention center in Taylor, Texas CoreCivic just denied Congressman Greg Casar access to the facility

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...

With the quorum break and likely literally back-to-back special sessions there's a fair bit of chaos, but in the meanwhile legislation on other significant issues is being developed and getting little attention: www.texasobserver.org/secrecy-g-fi... #txlege (1/3)

My latest for @texasobserver.org: After a surge of post-SB 8 + Dobbs "rage donations," Texas abortion funds – grassroots groups on the frontlines of connecting Texans with out-of-state care – now see dwindling contributions while facing rising costs and demand: www.texasobserver.org/abortion-fun...

If a Lloyd Doggett-Greg Casar primary plays out, the 78-year-old Doggett will likely be confronted with these words more than a few times: "[Biden] has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders..."

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

NEW: a federal court in DC has barred DHS from using “expedited removal” to strip those people who entered the country legally through humanitarian parole of a right to a court hearing. Full opinion here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

One underrated reason to support the @texasobserver.org is we have the best political cartoonist still working in the state: www.texasobserver.org/loon-star-st...

NEW: Nearly 1.5 million Texans now live in jurisdictions where sheriffs or police chiefs have agreed to train some of their officers to act as immigration agents in the streets of their communities. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/ice-task-for...

This came out five months ago but new people keep discovering it every few weeks and make it go viral. That's nice and all but the unfortunate part is that we still have no idea whether this guy is still actively working for ICE because ICE won't say.

Texas appellate court tosses out lower ruling against the "Death Star" bill, dismisses cities' case: search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia....

#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/

We’re proud to welcome to the Observer masthead @candicebernd.bsky.social and @marytuma.bsky.social as special investigative correspondents, joining @stevanzetti.bsky.social as freelance reporters helping us tackle the environment, reproductive rights, & extremism: www.texasobserver.org/home/staff/