AltWeeklies Wire

Tax and Divertnew

Texans pay billions in special fees and taxes for worthwhile programs. Why does the money go elsewhere?
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  05-05-2011  |  Policy Issues

The Fire Down Belownew

As a gas-drilling frenzy in North Texas continues, residents fight for the truth--and brace for the worst.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  12-08-2010  |  Environment

Texas Could Soon Have 12 New Coal-Fired Power Plants. What Gives?new

The Texas coal rush threatens to throw a monkey wrench into the nation's long-delayed efforts to stem global warming. If all 12 plants are built, they would add upwards of 80 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  11-18-2009  |  Environment

Is West Texas' Water Supply at Risk of Radioactive Contamination?new

For years, Waste Control has touted its 1,300-acre dump site as nearly geologically perfect for containing radioactive waste for tens of thousands of years. The company’s primary selling point has been what it calls the "almost impenetrable red bed clay" in which the waste will be buried. But the red bed is leaking.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  06-17-2009  |  Environment

The Strange and Scary Story of the North Central Texas Fusion Systemnew

Fusion centers arose amid post-9/11 efforts to get local and state law enforcement involved in anti-terrorism. The meteoric rise of this confoundingly complex and patchwork system has scary implications for privacy and civil liberties.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  04-08-2009  |  Policy Issues

Why a Texas County Is So Eager to Get Dumped Onnew

Waste Control Specialists LLC has spent the last 20 years pulling political, business, and regulatory strings to do what no other company in the nation has been able to do in three decades: license and build a new radioactive waste dump.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  03-12-2009  |  Economy

Ike Was Bad for Galveston's Poor, but it Might Get Worsenew

The hurricane devastated the city's North Side, an historic African-American community. Four of the area's six housing projects have been condemned and many residents have lost everything. Will the community be rebuilt or will it suffer the same fate as New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward after Katrina?
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  12-17-2008  |  Disasters

After 36 Years Without, Some Residents of La Presa, Texas, Finally Get Electricitynew

For 36 years, the people in this dusty, sweltering colonia south of Laredo, have lived without electricity, potable water, or an adequate sewage system. Now an innovative experiment is bringing power to a dozen lucky residents. While the wheels of bureaucracy turned slowly or not at all, residents suffered, despite many applications for assistance from state and local government.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  08-13-2008  |  Housing & Development

Texas is Greenlighting Massive Nuclear Waste Dumpnew

Scientists and engineers at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality stridently object to the plans, but agency upper management wants to approve the licenses.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  04-09-2008  |  Environment

Burying the Oppositionnew

A plan for radioactive waste burial is so bad even some at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality think it should be killed. Fat chance.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  12-17-2007  |  Environment

That Sinking Feelingnew

The water's rising, the island's subsiding, and Galveston, Texas, keeps on building.
The Texas Observer  |  Forrest Wilder  |  11-05-2007  |  Environment

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