Personal/professional news: Effective today, I am the Interim Editor-in-Chief of the
@TexasObserver
.
For now, this is a three-month position. This comes on the heels of losing three editorial staff as the Observer invests in its business team.
Yesterday, families from Uvalde marched from the Texas Capitol to the Governor's Mansion carrying an altar, demanding "21 por 21" -- increasing the age-of-purchase for assault rifles to 21 in honor of the 21 lives lost at Robb Elementary on May 24:
Nothing to see here.
Just the federal government suing *an orphanage* for the right to survey its property, in preparation to build Trump's border wall, during a global pandemic
Ok y'all, if you haven't seen many stories from me lately, it's because I've been working really hard on this piece.
It's about a man named Antelmo Ramirez, who died working on Tesla's Gigafactory construction site, and the American issues he represents:
Rep.
@DanCrenshawTX
: "I worry that we are becoming a culture that is more and more inclined to ask for things and ask what our government can do for us instead of asking what we can do for our country."
You see, the troublesome thing about college students is that some of them possess strong moral compasses, a youthful capacity for outrage, and not a little bravery
After an open letter came out, largely from prosecutors and police, urging people not to come to Uvalde from out of town on the one-year anniverary of the Robb school shoting, a Uvalde families-led group posted an invite for a vigil to people "from all over the world": (1/2)
Radical right-wing activist John Guandolo says "screw you" to anyone criticizing MAGA activists for storming the Capitol, praising them for showing incredible "restraint" by not summarily executing lawmakers.
Uvalde families once again make their way to the Capitol, now to testify on bills including one by Uvalde state Rep. to raise AR purchase age to 21.
#txlege
Some of my coverage of this families movement here:
Heard of this minutes before story pub'd b/c Trib asked for comment. I suppose I will be arguing tomorrow for this not to happen. Assuming that's in vain, I will need fairly urgent help from people who have worked with me or liked my work figuring out freelance and a new job.
EXCLUSIVE: The Texas Observer, the crusading liberal magazine founded in 1954, which Molly Ivins edited in the โ70s, is closing down and laying off its staff. The board voted on Wednesday, and again today, to proceed with the shutdown.
From report on Austin police academy:
"Multiple former cadets" said training staff denigrated the homeless & instructed that "if they are 'having a slow day,' they could seek out someone experiencing homelessness as an easy target for various citations"
The Uvalde shooter did not kill those children with his purported mental health struggles. He did not shoot them with estrangement. ... He killed them with a goddamn assault rifle, and high-capacity magazines, designed for the precise purpose of human annihilation.
It occurs to me that some percentage of these could be former UT students. I asked the spokesperson how many were, and he replied that answering would violate FERPA...
A lot of "rallies" at the Texas Capitol are rallies in names only, with a smattering of professional activists and a bunch of TV cameras. This ain't that. This is thousands. Don't see many reporters or elected officials though
Yesterday in Uvalde, I saw 500 marchers turn out in a city of only 15K. In 104-degree heat.
The grief over those lost--and the rage over the police response and Texas gun policies--is still so palpable:
Ok y'all, I put a lot into this story, which is the cover for our new issue. It's about the powerful movement for accountability and gun reform that's emerged in Uvalde since May 24, the town's civil rights history, & the people & places that connect them:
Ken Paxton, who is suing school districts over their mask mandates, blames school districts for wasting money that could go to teacher raises on legal fees to defend themselves from lawsuits filed by Ken Paxton
Eight months ago, in the runup to Super Tuesday, pundits and Biden surrogates frenziedly pushed the idea that Texas Dems needed to pick Biden--not Bernie--in order to help *downballot* candidates.
Here's what I said at the time:
โThereโs less than 30,000 votes in Georgia and Arizona dividing Biden and Trump. And if those two states turn, if they do, then the Supreme Court could make the decision on Pennsylvania. And then Trump is president." โ Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
All the charges have already been dropped. I guess
@UTAustin
wants to give police unilateral ability to exile students from campus with no due process.
New protest rules form today:
@UTAustin
says those who have previously been arrested for trespassing arenโt allowed on campus. I asked if it matters if charges were dropped, a UT spokesperson said it doesnโt.
@statesman
This "rapid unscheduled disassembly" joke re: a rocket blowing up has been made repeatedly by Musk before.
The cheeky attitude can be jarring if you've spent time talking to people concerned about Boca Chica Beach and the surrounding environment/habitat.
The tale of two Austin police oversight propositions ends with an overwhelming majority apparently knowing what they were voting for and voting accordingly:
New from me: An exclusive interview with a Brownsville environmental activist arrested in force last week for alleged anti-SpaceX graffiti, then targeted by the mayor on social media.
Her lawyer calls it an "extreme, targeted attack":
Ok y'all, here's a story I worked really damn hard on.
It's about sanctioned homeless camps, kind of, but really it's just about some people I was lucky enough to get to know over the last 8 months:
โIย loved Garrett Foster. I thought we were going to grow old together. He was the love of my life. He still is. I am heartbroken by this lawlessness.
@GregAbbott_TX
has shown that, to him, only certain lives matter. He has made us all less safe."
Watson parters with DPS. *One second later*: Sorry, DPS arrested basically exclusively brown and Black residents.
Watson partners with DPS again. *One second later*: Sory, DPS pointed a gun at an elementary schooler.
A really embarassing saga here.
Hey y'all, please forgive any unresponsiveness over the last few days or the following few months.
I am officially going full-on Father Mode for the one and only(?) Eugene Jay Bova, born 7/27/23:
48 percent of voters in Cuellar's district voted for a congressional candidate backing M4A & Green New Deal.
Sanders won all 3 major counties w/in the district.
Despite Cuellar's win, folks who call the district "conservative" seem to be on shaky ground.
Ramirez died of hyperthermia while working construction on a 96-degree day. Government officials recorded that he was working in direct sun, without shade. OSHA fined his employer, a Tesla contractor, but the fine is being contested.
For the 5th straight legislative session, state Rep Mary Gonzalez has introduced a bill that would create a public database of employers who've committed wage theft.
Maybe 5 times will be the charm.
Background:
Y'all. Please understand: You've just saved
@TexasObserver
staff from imminent crisis.
The Observer itself is *not saved yet*.
#s
aren't 100% sure but we have maybe 2 months in that GoFundMe.
If you're in this to rly try to save the place, keep giving!
Ok y'all, my latest.
Basically, the year-long backlash over homeless policy in Austin got me real worked up.
So I messed around & wrote about the history of homeless criminalization; the emergence of Austin as we know it; capitalism itself; etc.
Link:
Uvalde superintendent says school board will consider resolution Monday night to urge Greg Abbott to call special session to raise AR-buying age from 18 to 21
#txlege
In this case in particular, the facts seemed to undermine Abbott's rhetorical distractions in real time--whether it was prematurely lionizing police, inventing mental health diagnoses, or fabricating a legislative record--the gap yawned absurdly:
But, overall, the story is mostly about Ramirez himself--through the eyes of his oldest daughter.
It's about the gaping hole that preventable workplace deaths leave behind.
Tesla came to to the Austin-area with the help of tax incentives, over opposition from local labor and progressive advocates.
According to its tax agreement with Travis County, the company was to report any injuries or deaths that occurred during site construction...
It's a long piece, and I know there's other major news to follow right now, so you might have to bookmark it. But I really hope y'all can find the time for it:
Anyhoo,
@JoeBiden
's platform still does not include a clear day-one plan for the border wall.
Truly opposing the wall would mean cancelling construction contracts immediately and stopping eminent domain proceedings.
But the company did not report Ramirez's death, or other injuries, in 2021.
The company also did not apply for for an OSHA "voluntary protection program" it had said it would make "its best efforts" to be approved for.
Again, I will update tomorrow.
But regardless I'm a journalist w/about 7 years of experience in magazine & investigative journalism. I actually just won a nice award for a piece in the Observer.
I also, while I don't do personal stuff on here a lot, have a child on the way.
There are 3 blue counties in TN and you're moving to one of them.
Just like right-wing Californians coming to Austin, y'all don't really want to live in red America.
You just want to be reactionaries in blue cities, opposing locals' efforts to improve their state governments.
If you're a Texan looking enviously at last night's election results in Ohio, I've got an explainer up for you today.
Headline: The Reason Texans Canโt Vote on Abortion and Weed
"There is no grand principle of justice that the governor is expressing. There is only this: the law must bind my enemies and not my friends, and it must protect my friends but not my enemies."
New York City, a growing town known for the size of its apples and its renowned "bodega," a local turn of phrase meaning supermarket
(how some of y'all sound writing about texas even when it's austin)
Ok y'all, I had the privilege of spending a day with Pamela Rivas, a South Texas nurse who just won a 14-year fight to save her land from the border wall.
Despite her victory, the land still brims with border militarization built up over decades:
Ok y'all, I have made my entry into the SpaceX discourse.
I tried to home in on two things: the corporate takeover of a public beach and the possible catastrophic outcomes of space colonization.
At this point, Texans just need the Legislature to allow citizen-initiated ballot measures, so people can make their own damn policies while the GOP gerrymanders themselves into safe seats.
I believe we'd have legal weed and a higher minimum wage in no time.
Former Senate candidate MJ Hegar is selling the motorcycle that was a key component of her political persona and ads.
"Mint condition, very low miles."
Here's the mayor of Brownsville going out of his way to post about the arrest of a local environmental activist for alleged involvement in spray-painting the words "gentrified stop spacex" on the mural pictured below:
Feels like time for a Molly Ivins classic:
"The Texas Legislature consists of 181 people who meet for 140 days every two years. This catastrophe has now occurred [87] times."
Austin's BookPeople--the state's only union bookstore (per
@TexasAFLCIO
) and Texas' largest independent bookstore (per BookPeople)--strikes a blow against the
#txlege
and for the 1st Amendment:
NEW: In an open letter, Uvalde officials ask that as the anniversary of the Robb Elementary shooting approaches, โthat if you feel compelled to support the residents of Uvalde, please host something in your hometown in our honor.โ
Ok y'all, last story from me for a good while.
Please attribute any flaws to my rushing to get it done before my wife birthed our child (see: prior tweet).
TTYL friends
Hey y'all, I went semi-deep on why Texas nurses are making labor organizing history, focusing on a couple of nurses' stories and the strike earlier this week: