A proposed $300 tax hike from Austin, a $200 tax hike from Travis County, another $64 from Central Health. With several entities asking the same taxpayers for more dollars, why aren’t they talking about their cumulative impact on taxpayers? My latest for Statesman: www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

The Austin City Council is slated to vote Oct. 9 to buy a site at I-35 near Oltorf St for a homeless services center, but officials still lack key details of the safety plan neighbors deserve. American-Statesman Editorial Board urges a delay to get things right: www.statesman.com/opinion/edit...

"And that's what I've been warning my fellow Democrats for the past decade," Jonathan Zimmerman writes in the Statesman. "We have fueled our own brand of censorship, via social media mobs and public shaming. ... People walk in fear and bite their tongues." www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

"Enough is enough. Texas must allow faculty and college students to explore freely the breadth of human knowledge, and administrators must support us in that time-honored quest," a UT professor writes in the Statesman re: recent firing of Texas A&M professor: www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

She made it loud enough for y'all in the back.

We are loath to give Valentina Gomez the attention she craves. But we must say clearly: Her hateful stunts are not welcome here. Latest from the Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board: www.statesman.com/opinion/edit...

Texans deserve real health care solutions, not DIY drug policy from lawmakers. My latest for the Austin American-Statesman, on the Texas Legislature deciding (FDA notwithstanding) that ivermectin will be available at pharmacies without a prescription: www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

"To be certain, her death was heroic. But it was also 100% preventable," John and Andrea Ferruzzo write in the Statesman about their 19-year-old daughter Katherine, a Camp Mystic counselor who died in July 4 floods. They urge #txlege to make camps safer for kids: www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Brilliant piece right here.

Cost of culture wars? Extrapolating from study data, Texans spent a staggering $112 million last year to manage culturally divisive conflicts in schools — money that should go toward supporting students and teachers, UT professor Rachel White writes in Statesman: www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

I have good news! There is a painless way out of Texas' redistricting fiasco. A way in which almost everyone wins. My latest for the Statesman: www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

We are 5 weeks removed from the deadly Hill Country flooding, but this has it backward. We are 5 weeks into a disaster that will be felt for generations, and we are 5 weeks closer to the next great flood, the Statesman and @expressnews.com editorial boards write: www.statesman.com/opinion/arti...

In the early minutes of this 2023 saga, an APD officer said the cops outside Glen Shield's home were at the “wrong frickin’ house.” A DPS SWAT unit still blew open the door 1.5 hours later. My latest for the Statesman on the new lawsuit in this troubling case: www.statesman.com/news/local/a...

"When Republicans can’t win fairly, they cheat," @bucyfortexas.bsky.social writes in Statesman. "When voters reject their agenda, they change the rules. If we let them succeed here, we’re inviting more of the same across the country." More on quorum break decision: www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Thousands of Texans turn to their members of Congress for help with veterans' benefits, Social Security checks and other apolitical issues. Reshuffling districts could create confusion and delays. My latest for the Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

A sense that an immigration court visit is synonymous with an arrest has become common knowledge for many immigrants, said an official with the immigration legal aid group American Gateways. The Statesman's Emiliano Tahui Gómez documented the scene in San Antonio: www.statesman.com/story/news/p...

"I think the vast majority of Americans sense that our political system is really not being used to its maximum potential." Excellent piece by @johnniemo217.bsky.social about San Antonio billionaire Daniel Lubetzky's efforts to improve politics via Builders Movement www.statesman.com/story/news/p...

"Republican lawmakers, so loath to utter the words 'climate change,' nonetheless must enact policies and fund infrastructure that not only respond to the July 4 flooding but anticipate future disasters," the Statesman and @expressnews.com editorial boards write: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

The first breath of the bagpipes rose like smoke into still air. They wailed the notes of “Amazing Grace” as mourners honored a man lost to the Central Texas floods: Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Phillips. Via the Statesman's Bayliss Wagner: www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

For the late Bill Spelman, “it wasn’t about collecting lines in a résumé, it wasn't about making money, it wasn’t about personal accolades, it was about making the world a better place. About being open and fair and compassionate,” his wife told the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

"Apparently it’s not enough, in a state where 56% of the voters backed last year’s GOP presidential nominee, that 66% of the congressional seats are drawn to assuredly elect Republicans. It must be 80%." Latest per Statesman Editorial Board on TX redistricting farce www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"To talk about what is needed going forward implicitly entails acknowledging what has been needed and neglected all along. And that’s never comfortable for the neglecters." A call to action from Austin American-Statesman & San Antonio Express-News editorial boards: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"Yet while we’re craning our necks looking backward, the lesson may be right in front of us. We failed to think ahead. We failed to imagine the consequences of a budget directive or the contours of a worst-case scenario." My latest for the Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Texas is Hearst land. The Dallas Morning News agrees to merge with Hearst www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/07...

"In times of crisis, we expect our elected officials to show compassion, clarity and humility — not swagger." Powerful op-ed in Austin American-Statesman about Gov. Abbott's retort that assigning blame for flood response "is the word choice of losers": www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

As bad as Abbott’s financial calculation is — who walks away from an opportunity to bring in $7.50 for every $1 spent? — his human calculus is worse. Millions of Texas kids will go hungry because their governor won’t fight for them. My latest for the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"Here in Austin, many queer Jews are already asking themselves if they'll feel safe or truly welcome at our own Pride events in August," Rabbi Denise L. Eger of @awiderbridge.bsky.social writes in the Statesman, pointing to the troubling rise in antisemitism: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Elizabeth Winkler was riding her bicycle recently on Southern Walnut Creek Trail when an e-bike whipped around the corner at high speed, hit her and sent her flying off her bike. How do we ensure these trails are safe for everyone to enjoy? via American-Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

What would unraveling birthright citizenship entail? About 10,000 babies are born in the U.S. every day. Investigating all parents' citizenship would require a sizable bureaucracy at taxpayer expense — while just 7% of babies have undocumented parents: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Foreigners are forbidden from donating to American political candidates but can right now give the president's meme coin company as much money as they want. 19 of the top 25 Trump coin holders are probably foreign. One Chinese crypto billionaire owns $20M worth www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

"The recent delays at Austin’s airport — and across the country — are symptomatic of larger infrastructure gaps in our nation’s aviation system. Federal lawmakers can’t afford to wait" to pass funding, head of Center for Transportation Policies writes in Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

This week the Statesman & @expressnewsopinion.bsky.social editorial boards spoke with a united voice against the devastating Medicaid cuts and reckless additions to the national debt in the "Big, beautiful bill" that's anything but. Now the bill heads to the Senate. www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

This is absolutely terrible news. With the shifting regulatory climate (i.e., antivax ratfuckery), Moderna has withdrawn their application for their eagerly anticipated COVID-flu combo vaccine. This vaccine offered better protection than getting each shot separately. h/t @merz.bsky.social

With the Texas Senate’s recent passage of SB 2880, which incentivizes lawsuits against anyone prescribing or providing abortion pills to Texans, "the desperation of Texas legislators is palpable," legal expert Laura Hermer writes in the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"This law, I fear, isn’t intended to be uniformly enforced, but used only as a weapon against disfavored social and political beliefs. That’s a bad use of law," University of Texas government professor Lorraine Pangle writes in the Statesman about SB 37: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Taller buildings in West Campus would make the best use of the limited remaining parcels, but they are not a silver bullet, resident Joseph El Habr writes in the Statesman. Here's why he argues Austin should expand housing options in North Campus, too: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Texas conservatives are rightly fed up with political bias in banking, but the Texas Legislature's answer to "debanking" (SB 946) is a misfire, Vance Ginn writes in the Statesman. Here's why he argues the remedy should come from Washington: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

@austinisd.bsky.social already faces daunting challenges. A $110 million deficit. High-stakes turnaround plans for three middle schools. The district deserves proper resources from the state — not AG Ken Paxton's culture war sideshows. My latest for the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"Zoning decisions disparately impact a relatively small group of people. They should have a mechanism for asking the government to be extra cautious before disturbing established land use patterns," attorney Michael Curry writes in the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"The president is disregarding due process, defying court orders and tossing out dangerous 'jokes' about third terms, mass deportations and elections. This isn’t normal," @lwvaustin.bsky.social writes in an extraordinary call to action in the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"The heart of the school isn’t just in the classroom. It’s in the roar of crowds during games, the harmony of the choir," SMU CORE & TXPOST authors write in the Austin American-Statesman. Why it's time to count extracurriculars toward Texas schools' ratings: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Deborah Beck is one of the best teachers I ever had; she taught me ancient Greek, but also how to read carefully and how to articulate and defend my ideas clearly in writing. She knows what she's talking about here. We strangle the liberal arts at our peril.

"Texas already has the highest uninsured rate in the country — with 1 in 8 Texas children having no coverage, more than double the national average. Let’s not make things worse" by cutting Medicaid, Austin-area pediatricians write in the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"Senate Bill 37, under consideration in the Texas Legislature, would change our public universities so radically that they would no longer be first-class," @utaustin.bsky.social Professor Deborah Beck writes in the Austin American-Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"In a system with life-or-death stakes, overwhelmed judges and clear educational and economic benefits from existing clinic programs, a categorical ban isn't fiscal responsibility. It's self-inflicted harm," @uh.edu law professor Seth Chandler writes in Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"In a democracy, important decisions belong to the people we elect, not a handful of property owners acting in private." How a pair of bills would address that in Texas law, via the Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

“Democracy is something that we have to keep alive every single day.” The clear message of ZACH Theatre's “What the Constitution Means to Me” is that it’s up to “we the people” to find the solutions: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

"Texans shouldn’t need a lawyer to know whether they can post a meme they made on social media or make a joke about a candidate," @thefireorg.bsky.social's John Coleman writes in Statesman about pending Texas bills restricting AI images in politics — even for satire www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

👇🏻‼️”Like many, I have hesitated to speak out, but the time has come for us to raise our voices. Please make yours heard.… Demand that NEH funding be restored. Our rich cultural history crosses boundaries of race, sex, class and political ideology. Together, we must fight for it.”

"No matter how these cuts are framed, the impact remains the same: Millions losing access to lifesaving services, and a fragile healthcare system teetering on the edge of collapse," head of @utaustin.bsky.social Hogg Foundation for Mental Health writes in Statesman: www.statesman.com/story/opinio...