"Every map since the 1970s has been challenged or redrawn in part because they were racially discriminatory or violated the Voting Rights Act. ... Whether #Democrats drew the maps or #Republicans drew the maps, Texas has struggled for decades to draw maps that fairly represented communities of color."
The Texas Observer
The Texas GOP’s ‘Unprecedented,’ Risky Gerrymandering Scheme
A redistricting expert discusses Tom Delay, ‘dummymanders,’ and the long history of racial gerrymandering in the state.
 #Texas #democracy #elections #politics #USpol #TXlege #Trump #news
From our magazine: Since 1980, the U.S. federal courts have overseen a secretive system that allows judges to investigate and sanction their own peers under a law called the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. Nationwide, only a handful of these complaints are ever investigated.
The Texas Observer
Rules of the Robe
A sharp-eyed retiree uncovered evidence of judicial misconduct by the chief judge of Houston’s busy bankruptcy court. The unusual story highlight...
 \ #news #law #HumanRights #politics #USpol #ethics #corruption #Texas #Houston #GulfCoast
Earlier: Trapped between the treaty and the drought, many Conchos Valley residents find themselves in an increasingly dire situation. As one Mexican farmer told me, “When the #water goes down, everything goes down with it.”
The Texas Observer
‘With What Water?’: Texas, Mexico, and the Disappearing Rio Conchos
Drought has hollowed out Chihuahua’s Conchos Valley and bred civil unrest as South Texas demands the water it’s owed.
 #news #Mexico #border #politics #USpol #Texas #drought #environment #ClimateChange #agriculture #news
New today: We Texans keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. We are not going to change this narrative until we change our view of climate change and of living and developing in the floodplain. Our climate is changing and our rainfall patterns—and drought patterns—are proving it repeatedly.
The Texas Observer
Floodplains Belong to the Rivers
From Houston to the Hill Country, we Texans keep doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.
 #environment #ClimateChange #drought #flooding #Texas #TexasFloods #weather #news #politics #USpol #sustainability
The #Texas Parks and Wildlife Department remarked that the company had done insufficient work to determine the impact on “important rare or protected species and their associated habitats”—including alligator snapping turtles and other creatures that live in or near the reservoir—along the more than 100-mile route proposal.
The Texas Observer
Proposed Transmission Line Threatens Texas’ Largest Reservoir
If approved, opponents warn that a massive new utility project could disrupt toxic sediment, and more, in Lake Livingston—Houston’s “most cri...
 #environment #ClimateChange #pollution #politics #USpol #news #GulfCoast #Houston
From David Brockman: The ban on churches endorsing candidates is overwhelmingly supported. 77% of Americans surveyed oppose houses of worship endorsing political candidates and 67% say houses of worship should keep out of political matters altogether.
The Texas Observer
How Trump’s IRS May Unshackle Churches from Their Political Restraints
As if everyday life in these United States wasn’t politicized enough, your local house of worship could soon become a part of the campaign battle...
 #religion #economy #Trump #news #politics #USpol #extremism
Death penalty update, from Michelle Pitcher: “We as a legislature actually created a way for people like Mr. Roberson to challenge convictions based on science that later turns out to be wrong. ... The courts simply aren’t engaging in that process.”
The Texas Observer
Robert Roberson Faces New Execution Date in Controversial ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case
The new date comes after Ken Paxton took over the case that could lead to the nation's first execution based on the contested diagnosis.
 #DeathPenalty #news #politics #USpol #HumanRights #prison #law #Texas
Farmers, #water managers, fishermen, river advocates, and everyday residents told me they would fight for their water to the very last drop. Others have already begun asking the existential question: Where will we go when the river runs dry?
The Texas Observer
‘With What Water?’: Texas, Mexico, and the Disappearing Rio Conchos
Drought has hollowed out Chihuahua’s Conchos Valley and bred civil unrest as South Texas demands the water it’s owed.
 #Mexico #politics #USpol #border #environment #ClimateChange #news #weather #drought
From Gus Bova, in our magazine: The majority of U.S. states enacted forced-sterilization laws that targeted the non-white and the disabled, leading to more than 60,000 coerced operations. But #Texas, perhaps surprisingly, never passed such a law.
The Texas Observer
The History of Eugenics in Texas Isn't What You Think
A new book unearths a chapter of the state’s story when anti-intellectual fundamentalism was put to good ends.
 #history #politics #USpol #ableism #racism #books #bookstodon @bookstodon group #science
From @npub1j3fa...mqxd: County officials have continued to deflect questions at press conferences about what actions they took after #NWS warnings came out when many were asleep, saying they remain focused on search and rescue operations.
The Texas Observer
'I Think We’re Gonna Stay': Texans Hang On in Tragedy-Stricken Hill Country
The Richardsons are among the lucky in Kerr County, at the epicenter of “flash flood alley,” who narrowly survived the river’s sudden rise.
 #politics #USpol #weather #flooding #flood #CentralTexas #Texas #Kerrville #KerrCounty #environment #ClimateChange