texas
Texas Lawmakers Want a Charter School Network to Stop Paying Its Superintendent Nearly $900K. The School Board Says No.
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The rebuke from lawmakers and charter school leaders came after an investigation from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed that Salvador Cavazos, who oversees fewer than 1,000 students, is among the most well-paid superintendents in the country.
https://www.propublica.org/article/salvador-cavazos-valere-pay-pushback?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Introducing the July/August 2025 issue of our magazine, with reporting from Sandy West on predatory adoption agencies, Chilton Tippin on international #politics and natural resources, and much more.
Become a member of the Texas Observer and get the best of our journalism, starting at just $3/month: texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/join
#journalism #Texas #nonprofit #culture #news #USpol #environment #water #children
The Way Texans Elect School Board Members Plays a Key Role in What Students in Diverse Districts Learn
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In six Texas districts that used at-large voting systems, ideologically driven conservatives successfully helped elect school board members who have moved aggressively to ban or remove educational materials that teach children about diversity.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-school-boards-richardson-keller-at-large-voting?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #School #Education #Diversity #Race #Gender #DEI #Student
A “Striking” Trend: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage
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A new ProPublica data analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-miscarriage-blood-transfusions?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #Women #Health #Hospital #Pregnancy #Abortion #Medicine
The administration is trying to kill every program that pops up in a search for the word “climate.” In the process, the heart is being cut out of agencies that produce information that the state needs to manage its environmental threats. https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-texas-doge-cuts-disaster-aid/
#weather #Trump #FEMA #politics #USpol #news #Texas #environment #ClimateChange
Elon Musk’s lobbyists spent tens of thousands of dollars on things like gifts and meals for Texas elected officials this year.
But, in most cases, state transparency laws do not require them to disclose which elected officials they wine and dine.
https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-texas-lobbyists-influence-law?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #ElonMusk #Texas #Law #SpaceX #Tesla #Government #Business #Musk
#BREAKING “New York state court blocked #Texas from filing a legal action against a New York doctor for prescribing and sending #abortion pills to a Texas woman.
The unprecedented move catapults the interstate abortion wars to a new level, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle between states that ban abortion and states that support abortion rights” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/health/new-york-texas-abortion-shield-law.html
“I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters From the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility
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ProPublica is sharing eight handwritten letters from children who have been held at the detention center that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was recently released from. We'll let their words speak for themselves.
https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-dilley-children-letters?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #ICE #Texas #Immigration #Immigrants #Children #Family #USPolitics #Law
The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center
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ProPublica went inside the detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.
https://www.propublica.org/article/life-inside-ice-dilley-children?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #ICE #Texas #Immigration #Immigrants #Children #Trump #USPolitics #Law
Some Texas Officials Didn’t Respond to Flood Alerts, Echoing the Tragedies of Hurricane Helene
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Weather warnings predicted devastation from both the Texas floods and Hurricane Helene. But in both disasters, people were left in harm’s way.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-flooding-evacuations-hurricane-helene?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #NorthCarolina #TexasFloods #Hurricane #TX #Disaster #Emergency #Flood
Federal Investigators Were Preparing Two Texas Housing Discrimination Cases — Until Trump Took Over
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The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, only to suddenly reverse course under Trump.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-hud-texas-housing-discrimination-cases-dallas-houston?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
The Texas Observer mourns the loss and celebrates the life of Carlton Carl—longtime board member, fierce supporter, and fighter for progress—who passed away Tuesday. We'll publish more soon, but for now we hope you'll revisit this 2024 interview: https://www.texasobserver.org/carlton-carl-texas-observer-70th/
New today: It’s a different camp, different year, different creek, but the same story. This story—the one where the Hill Country experiences devastating and unexpected flash #floods following an intense period of extended drought—is a familiar one for those of us who grew up in the area. https://www.texasobserver.org/hill-country-flood-family-home-fourth-of-july-2002/
#Kerrville #KerrCounty #Texas #CentralTexas #flooding #history #environment #weather #politics #USpol #news #ClimateChange
In the five years since Texas created a $1.4 billion fund to guard against destructive flooding, at least 90 local governments turned down tens of millions of dollars in grants and loans.
That money went unused for years.
https://www.propublica.org/article/kerr-county-state-grants-flood-warning-system?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #Government #Floods #USPolitics #Emergency #Disaster
Texas Overhauls Anti-Abortion Program That Spent Tens of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars With Little Oversight
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After a ProPublica and CBS News investigation revealed that Texas’ funding pipeline for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers is riddled with waste, nonprofits in the program must now provide a detailed accounting of their expenses.
Greg Abbott's SHOCKING Statement on #Texas Flood Victims Sparks Outrage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKYd3ivtXgs&t=306s #texasfloods #usa #fema #flashfloodwarning #tech #trump #donaldtrump #maga #cruel #football #sports #news #politics #us #fascism #media #press #tv
The Texas Flash Flood Is a Preview of the Chaos to Come
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Climate change is making disasters more common, more deadly and far more costly, even as the federal government is running away from the policies that might begin to protect the nation.
#News #Climate #ClimateChange #Flood #ExtremeWeather #Texas #Trump
During this year’s legislative session in Texas, Elon Musk’s lobbyists and representatives publicly advocated for almost a dozen bills that would benefit his companies.
All but three of his priorities are now slated to become law.
https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-texas-legislature-laws-spacex-tesla?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Looking for some #positivity to end the week? I have recapped 42 notable #positive #environmental and #ClimateChange articles from past month including: the benefits of the #Ulez in #London, #Texas setting a new record for #Renewable #Energy generation and #NewDelhi creating seven new biodiversity parks on previously degraded land.
https://primonatura.co.uk/positive-environmental-stories-012/
Announcement: The MOLLY Prize Gala will be held on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at Fair Market in #Austin. Congressman Greg Casar will join us in conversation with our editor-in-chief, Gus Bova!
Don't miss your chance to attend, get your tickets today: https://www.texasobserver.org/molly-awards/
Just out from @josephinelee and Joelle DiPaolo: After three decades of fighting back against #vouchers, the governor enlisted the help of the president to destroy the last vestiges of Republican resistance this week. https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-trump-house-vouchers-pass/
#education #schools #Trump #GregAbbott #politics #USpol #news #TXlege #Texas #Republicans #democracy
We asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his and his staff’s emails with Elon Musk and Musk’s companies.
The governor’s office won’t turn them over, saying some contain “intimate and embarrassing” information that is “not of legitimate concern to the public.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-governor-greg-abbott-elon-musk-emails-foia?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #ElonMusk #Musk #Email #Journalism #FOIA #GregAbbott
Trump has reportedly urged Congress to authorize $175 billion for border security, more than 10 times what was spent during his first term.
Meanwhile, border residents in Texas and Arizona say their basic needs — like safe drinking water and hospital access — aren’t being met.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-border-security-spending-texas-arizona?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Despite having an office of hundreds of attorneys, Ken Paxton is frequently opting for private lawyers — many to whom he has personal or political ties — to argue on behalf of Texas.
One attorney cost taxpayers more than $24,000 for a day’s work.
https://www.propublica.org/article/ken-paxton-private-lawyers-texas-cases?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post