AltWeeklies Wire
God, Texas and Tom Waitsnew
Tom Waits may not come from Texas, but a good chunk of his favorite music does.
Houston Press |
John Nova Lomax |
06-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The DREAM Act Might Be Dead, But These Kids' Hopes Are Notnew
They are American in everything but name. They can go to college in Texas and improve themselves. Doesn't matter. At the end of the day, they're just illegal immigrants without social security numbers or futures.
Houston Press |
Chris Vogel |
06-24-2008 |
Education
John Cornyn Doesn't Need to Sweat Over Rick Noriega Just Yetnew
As the electorate's disgust with its leadership deepens, even Texas Republicans are suiting up to defend their posts. The showdown between Senator John Cornyn and state Representative Lieutenant Colonel Rick Noriega -- and the recent seesawing polls on the race -- provide a revealing glimpse into the state's shifting political makeup and what it would take for Democrats to take ground in statewide contests this fall.
Dallas Observer |
Megan Feldman |
06-23-2008 |
Politics
Lethal Rejection: Karl Chamberlain's Execution is Overnew
On Feb. 21, Karl Chamberlain received a rare greeting card from his half-sister, Liberty Chamberlain: "Happy Death Day," it read. "Glad you're still with us." Chamberlain, the first to receive an execution date once Texas reopened the execution chamber after a Supreme Court ruling, was executed by lethal injection on June 11.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
06-19-2008 |
Crime & Justice
The Dr Pepper Bootleggers of Dublin, Texasnew
Back in the 1970s, when soft-drink bottlers across the country began sweetening their sodas with high-fructose corn syrup, the oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant, which is located in Dublin, about 20 miles south of Stephenville, refused to make the switch. Each bottle of Dublin Dr Pepper proudly bears the logo of Imperial Cane Sugar.
Dallas Observer |
Robb Walsh |
06-17-2008 |
Food+Drink
The Texas Presidential Delegate Selection Process Works Just Fine ... Without Candidatesnew
My friends from foreign states don't understand why I'm so impressed with a voting system in which you don't know the outcome for a month and a half, and the caucuses end in fights with lawyers getting called (which, in my opinion, is far scarier than calling the police). My answer is that you don't finish a good book in a day, but a blockbuster ending is so worth it.
The Texas Observer |
Susan DuQuesnay Bankston |
06-11-2008 |
Commentary
Lil Wil Takes Dallas Hip-Hop Nationalnew
With "My Dougie" in tow, he's looking to get paid.
Dallas Observer |
Pete Freedman |
06-03-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
John McCain's Phil Gramm Gamblenew
In Gramm, McCain has chosen for a campaign co-chair and adviser a former senator who espouses free market, conservative principles, but whose actions in public office served wealthy contributors and even himself, leading to economic crises like the credit crunch and skyrocketing fuel costs.
The Texas Observer |
Patricia Kilday Hart |
06-03-2008 |
Politics
How McCain Supporters Skewed the Texas Democratic Party Resultsnew
McCain supporters, our poll reveals, made up 9.4 percent of the total vote in the primary. Clinton's margin of victory was only 3.5 percent. We can't say that the McCain ringers in the Democratic primary changed the outcome, because we don't know for whom they actually voted in March. But it is clearly possible.
The Texas Observer |
Leland Beatty |
05-30-2008 |
Politics
One Man's Painful Journey Through South Texas' Addiction to Asset Forfeiturenew
In October 2005, Javier Gonzalez struck out from Austin toward Brownsville, carrying $10,000 in cash to pay for his dying aunt's funeral. He never made it. Gonzalez was stopped in Jim Wells County for a minor traffic violation, and the county anti-drug task force confiscated his cash.
The Texas Observer |
Jan Reid |
05-21-2008 |
Crime & Justice
The U.S. Supreme Court Gives New Life to the Texas GOP's Effort to Pass Voter ID Billnew
Both sides of the debate have reason to tread carefully in the upcoming legislative battles. Although the Court gave Indiana -- and any state wishing to follow its lead -- the go-ahead to enact stringent voter identification laws, the Court left open the possibility of legal challenges to such measures once their actual effect on the voting public can be assessed.
The Texas Observer |
Anthony Zurcher |
05-21-2008 |
Politics
Texas Needle Exchange Activists Discuss The Charges They Facenew
The state Attorney General's ruling that legislation authorizing a pilot needle-exchange program doesn't protect participants from being arrested for distributing drug paraphernalia kicked the case against three activists into gear. They face charges that threaten up to a year in jail and $4,000 in fines.
San Antonio Current |
Elaine Wolff |
05-14-2008 |
Science
In Texas, Grassroots Homesteaders Tighten Ranks to Fight Urban Encroachmentnew
The mobilization of what may best be called the Hill Country Militia is an event with water at its heart -- but there are also prized historic roads and farmhouses and ranches threatened by development-driven eminent-domain seizures and an increasing awareness of the value of the region's ecosystem, cedars and all.
San Antonio Current |
Greg Harman |
05-14-2008 |
Housing & Development
Putting a Face on Texas' Death Row Populationnew
Shooting through the glass of interview cubicles, photographer and investigator John Holbrook has made eloquent portraits of some of the men -- and one of the women on Texas' Death Row.
Fort Worth Weekly |
Gayle Reaves and John Holbrook |
05-08-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Four More Years for Gov. Rick Perry?new
The soon-to-be longest-serving governor in Texas history says he wants to extend his run. If Perry wins again in two years, his administration will be on track to last 14 years -- longer than the lifespan of most dogs. Every dog has its day. Let's hope Perry has had his.
The Texas Observer |
Editorial |
05-07-2008 |
Commentary
Tags: Texas, Rick Perry
