The administration is terminating leases for 11 OSHA offices, including the one in Houston, home to many of the nation’s largest oil and gas companies. While OSHA officials continue to conduct inspections, Trump has cut 10 percent of its workforce and more layoffs could be coming.
The Texas Observer
Will Texas Workers Ever Get a Break from the Summer Heat?
A long-awaited hearing on a proposed OSHA heat protection rule is set for June 16, but workers are uncertain to get relief under Trump.
 #environment #ClimateChange #news #politics #USpol #workers #labor #OilAndGas #HumanRights
From 2023: What was once a way for visitors to find charming lodgings—and a way for local property owners to make extra money—has become a global business dominated by corporate investors that threatens the #safety and character of residential neighborhoods. www.texasobserver.org/short-term-rentals-airbnb-vrbo-neighborhoods/ #economy #tech #politics #USpol #Texas #AirBNB #news
"This isn’t a removal. It’s not lawful under the Immigration and Nationality Act. It doesn’t conform to anything that was previously passed in legislation ... Essentially, he was disappeared forcefully."
The Texas Observer
Shipped to El Salvador: An Austin Immigration Lawyer on Her Teen Client's Forced 'Disappearance'
“Due process hasn’t been protected. The process that is set in place in this country that is the basis and foundation of our legal system was n...
 #politics #USpol #Texas #news #TXlege #immigration #HumanRights #ICE #ElSalvador #CECOT
The latest from cartoonist Ben Sargent, in our magazine. Read more from the May / June 2025 issue:
The Texas Observer
May/June 2025
 #comics #politics #USpol #Texas #religion #education #culture #TXlege #schools image
“If biological sex were as obvious as lawmakers keep insisting that biological sex is, we wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t have to try so hard to legislate the gender binary into existence.”
The Texas Observer
Republicans Push to Define Biological Sex in Statute
“If biological sex were as obvious as lawmakers keep insisting that biological sex is, we wouldn’t be here.”
 #trans #LGBTQIA+ #TXlege #transphobia #news #politics #USpol #transgender #Texas #law #gender
One superintendent said the Senate #education bill was like “your house being on fire and the fire department showing up with a 12 ounce cup of water, throwing it at your house and saying, ‘See, look how much good we’ve done.’”
The Texas Observer
Texas School Districts Slam the Senate’s School Finance Plan
“It’s like your house being on fire, and the fire department showing up with a 12 ounce cup of water”
 #politics #USpol #TXlege #Texas #news #schools
In our magazine: Our Editor Lise Olsen takes us to the #Austin studio of Stephen Harrigan, as he explores his own religious upbringing, a famous prophecy, and the life of a child prophet in his compelling new book.
The Texas Observer
A Texas Writer Tackles a Subject ‘Beckoning in the Shadows His Entire Life’
Stephen Harrigan explores his own Catholic boyhood in Texas—and the prophecy left behind by a Portuguese prophet girl—in a compelling new book.
 #Texas #Mexico #culture #history #religion #books #Bookstodon @bookstodon group
Earlier: Approving this bill would do a disservice to the families who value their own children’s curiosity and education, including their kids’ ability to access books needed for assigned reading or for research using nonfiction sources more advanced than those found in the children’s or teen sections of the library.
The Texas Observer
Texas Shouldn't Legislate Censorship
Public libraries are for the public—and that means access for all.
 #censorship #Texas #politics #USpol #news #books #library
“The people have been left out of this thing since day one. There has been no consideration or concern for human beings at all. It’s just wrong.” Top story: Cryptomining in #Texas is devouring our natural resources, polluting the land, and filling the air with unbearable #noise.
The Texas Observer
The Crypto Racket
Bitcoin mining afflicts locals with noise pollution, threatens water supplies, and receives generous public backing.
 #pollution #politics #USpol #news #crypto #bitcoin #energy #OilAndGas #environment #ClimateChange
Top story: While #Bitcoin is designed as a decentralized payment system that bypasses banks and credit cards, its consumption of Texans’ true wealth—the state’s natural resources—is centralized in the hands of a few companies, sucking up massive amounts of #water and energy to keep hardware running 24/7.
The Texas Observer
The Crypto Racket
Bitcoin mining afflicts locals with noise pollution, threatens water supplies, and receives generous public backing.
 #energy #OilAndGas #pollution #ClimateChange #environment #crypto #Texas