texas

Texas Private Schools Hire Relatives and Enrich Insiders. Soon They Can Do It With Taxpayer Money.
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An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-vouchers-private-schools-conflicts-of-interest?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#News #Education #Texas #School #Law #Ethics #Students #Teaching

Many public libraries — including the one in San Antonio — have stopped charging late fees, which is a good thing for one family. An individual based in Oregon posted "Your Child, His Family, and Friends" back to the library, 82 years after it was due, saying that they had found it in their father's possessions after his death, and that the book must have been borrowed by their grandmother. I hope there is no late fee for it because Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore," the writer said. The library said that had they still imposed fines, it would have been in the region of $900. The 1940s parenting book will now be donated for sale at a used book store. Here's more from @CBSNews.

https://flip.it/kTtZqc
#Books @bookstodon #History @histodons #SanAntonio #Texas

“This is the most massive secrecy grab in #Texas since the adoption of the Public Information Act.”

Our top story, from Michelle Pitcher: A move to "standardize" #police personnel files could have devastating consequences for transparency. https://www.texasobserver.org/secrecy-g-file-police-records-texas-legislature/

#politics #USpol #HumanRights #journalism #media #TXlege #news

"Loon Star State" is back.

Read more Texas Observer cartoonist Ben Sargent: https://www.texasobserver.org/topics/loon-star-state/

#comics #Texas #politics #USpol #democracy #TXlege #news

ALT

What happened to Harris County’s plans for criminal justice reforms? The Democratic district attorney in #Texas’ biggest county has made enemies—even among her former friends.

From the March/April 2023 issue of our magazine: https://www.texasobserver.org/kim-ogg-harris-county-democratic-revolt?utm_campaign=mastodon

#politics #USpol #CriminalJustice #prison #Houston #Democrats #election2024 #GulfCoast #news

”Dress Rebelling Against Gender (DRAG). We’re not making fun of any specific gender, we are hitting on #gender itself.”

Unlocked at my #Patreon: My interview with Raemonn James, aka the #drag queen Hermajestie the Hung. https://www.patreon.com/posts/100612676

#Politics #LGBTQIA+ #Texas #culture #art

“This is really its own illness, lots of times affecting young, healthy people.”

Millions of Texans have already come down with long #COVID symptoms, and many more could be at risk in the future if we don't make changes. For this @TexasObserver magazine feature, I interviewed both sufferers and medical experts about solutions we can take: https://www.texasobserver.org/long-covid-texas-clearing-the-air/

#news #politics #USpol #healthcare #health #disability #HumanRights #Texas #Austin #pandemic #science

”I do drag is because it's an illustration of what total human liberation would look like.”

Unlocked bonus content on my #Patreon: This excerpt from my interview with the #drag queen Hermajestie the Hung, on the philosophy of drag and #gender, as well as a response to a common criticism of drag: https://www.patreon.com/posts/100612676

#LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #culture #art #politics #Texas

Major Update: The #Texas Court of Appeals today upheld a lower court ruling blocking Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (aka CPS) from invasively investigating families with #trans children https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/texas-appeals-court-upholds-rulings-blocking-state-investigating-trans-youth-and via ACLU of Texas

#ACLU #children #LGBTQIA #trans #transphobia #healthcare

A person in #Texas is being treated for bird flu, the second human case of an illness caused by a highly virulent virus that has rampaged through sickened dairy cows in five states in recent weeks, federal and state officials said Monday - WaPo

“Fed appeals court ruled against #Texas in its bitter clash w fed govt, deciding that law allowing the state to arrest & deport migrants could not be implemented while courts wrestled w ques of whether it is legal.

3-judge panel of U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which has a reputation for conservative rulings, sided in 2-to-1 decision w lawyers for #Biden admin who have argued that the law violates U.S. Constitution & decades of legal precedent”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/us/texas-migrant-law-appeals-court.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

I’m probably the last person on earth to learn this, or at least the last Texan to learn this: lady longhorns…have long horns. I just assumed big horns = bull. There’s two longhorn cows that live on land near my neighborhood, every time I drive by I say ‘I should take their photo’. Finally, on Sunday, I drove by & saw they were out. Went back to house, grabbed camera and swung back. Looking at the photos later I was udderly amazed to see…udders on them thar #longhorns.

#cows #photography #Texas

ALT

#Texas Appeals Court Throws Out Defamation Lawsuit Against ProPublica, Houston Chronicle
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The news outlets’ 2018 investigation into famed #Houston heart surgeon Bud Frazier provided a “fair, true, and impartial account,” the court said in its ruling, potentially bringing a close to the nearly six-year legal battle.

#News #Law #Journalism

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-appeals-court-dismisses-defamation-suit-propublica-houston-chronicle-frazier

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration Monday for expanding federal sex discrimination protections under Title IX to include LGBTQ+ students.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/lgbtq/2024/04/29/484892/texas-sues-biden-administration-to-block-expansion-of-lgbtq-student-protections/

#LGBTQ #News #Politics #Texas #KenPaxton #SexBasedDiscrimination #TitleIX #TransRights

"After severe flooding in non-evacuated areas in Texas has left at least 24 dead with dozens more missing, including several young girls at a summer camp, Texas officials are blaming their failure to act on a faulty forecast by Donald Trump’s new National Weather Service gutted by cuts to their operating budget and most experienced personnel."

~ Ron Filipkowski

#Trump #weather #Texas #flooding #NWS
/1

https://www.meidasplus.com/p/texas-officials-blame-agency-gutted

In May, we reported on how an "anti-woke" energy tycoon had hijacked the #Texas State Historical Association. Now, hundreds of historians, students and educators are supporting the newly formed Alliance for Texas #History, dedicated to telling untold stories from our state. New from @josephinelee: https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-history-alliance-tsha/

#politics #USpol #news #culture #education

Any Texan, in particular, can cast propaganda aside and simply look around to see that our state is built, maintained, and improved every day by unauthorized workers.

In our magazine, Interim Editor-in-Chief @gusbova asks why #Democrats keep flip-flopping on an issue at the heart of the American experiment. https://www.texasobserver.org/border-immigration-cowardice-democrats-biden-allred/

#immigration #border #MayDay #Texas #WorkersRights #democracy #Biden

Introducing the new May/June 2024 issue of Texas Observer magazine ... with a short message from our new Interim Editor-in-Chief @gusbova: https://texasobserver.org/editors-letter-introducing-our-may-june-issue/

(🎨 Cover by Emily Joynton)

#Texas #news #politics #USpol #culture #journalism #nonprofit

ALT

The arrest of two city council members in a small #Texas town set off a firestorm of legal controversy that's reaching all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. From Correspondent Jason Buch, in our magazine: https://www.texasobserver.org/small-town-politics-national-consequences/

#news #politics #USpol #SCOTUS #police #CriminalJustice #law #SouthTexas

“The Board and the Governor have put their politics over justice and made a mockery of our legal system.”

Yesterday, Governor Greg Abbott issued a full pardon for Daniel Perry, who killed Garrett Foster, a protester at a Black Lives Matter march in 2020. Special Investigative Correspondent @stevanzetti explains all the context the governor ignored: https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-pardon-daniel-perry-garrett-foster/

#news #politics #USpol #GregAbbott #BlackLivesMatter #protest #GunViolence #Texas

Elon Musk wanted Texas legislators to create new crimes so people who fly drones or interfere with operations at SpaceX can be arrested. And he wanted to change who controlled the highway and public beach near SpaceX’s site so he can launch his rockets according to his timeline.

He got them all.

Read the full story: https://www.propublica.org/article/elon-musk-texas-legislature-laws-spacex-tesla?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

#ElonMusk #SpaceX #Texas #Law #Business

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“It certainly seems like an issue that could be ripe for litigation because it’s right on its face discriminating against people for sexual orientation or #transgender status.”

Out today, from Kit @oconnell: Emails obtained from the #Texas Department of Agriculture reveal the turmoil caused by Sid Miller's transphobic dress code, which the Observer first revealed last year. https://www.texasobserver.org/sid-miller-transphobic-dress-code-emails/

#news #politics #agriculture #transphobia #LGBTQIA+ #USpol #law

#WompWomp

Judge orders liquidation of conspiracy theorist #AlexJones′ personal assets

#Texas judge approves converting Jones’ proposed bankruptcy reorganization to a liquidation and has yet to rule on parent company to #Infowars #legal

https://www.theguardian.com/law/article/2024/jun/14/alex-jones-sandy-hook-liquidation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Of course.

“The pastor of a #Texas megachurch has resigned after a woman said he had sexually abused her on multiple occasions in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12.

Gateway Church’s board of elders said they’d accepted the resignation of Robert Morris, the church’s senior pastor and founder.”

https://apnews.com/article/texas-pastor-robert-morris-abuse-cb2c633de3a5d43538141c1736e33245?taid=667211418e738f0001244cc3&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter

“The records that we have received demonstrate that senior TDA officials were well aware of the potentially unlawful nature of their policy.”

Last year, I broke the story about the #Texas Department of Agriculture's transphobic dress code for @TexasObserver. Now, I'm back with internal emails showing the turmoil it caused, especially in the nutrition department: https://www.texasobserver.org/sid-miller-transphobic-dress-code-emails/

#news #politics #USpol #transphobia #agriculture #LGBTQIA+ #trans #homophobia #WorkersRights