Innehållsförteckning för November/December 2020 från The Texas Observer

Homeless History Here is a legal argument about homelessness which few recognize: Half of the homeless are disabled Americans (“No Place to Be,” September|October 2020). The Supreme Court mandated in its 1999 Olmstead decision that all disabled Americans must be provided with adequate support services to live independently in the community. They called those support services constitutional disability civil rights. When is our nation going to respect the civil rights of homeless disabled Americans? Jake Billingsley VIA FACEBOOK HOMELESSNESS MAY BE IN THE FUTURE OF A LOT MORE folks. Rents are high. Property taxes are high. Wages are low. Jobs are nonexistent. My home state is not the friendly place it presents itself to be. Elizabeth Gallagher VIA FACEBOOK THIS STORY ABOUT AUSTIN HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING policy should be required…

The number of registered voters in Texas has surged to 16.9 million as of October, up about 700,000 since March and 1.8 million since 2016, according to the Texas Secretary of State. An analysis by the Food and Environment Reporting Network estimates that there have been at least 6,830 COVID-19 cases among farmworkers in 17 states. About 30 cases were reported from Larsen Farms in the Texas Panhandle as of this summer, according to the state health department. More than 5,000 people in ICE detention centers across the country, including in Texas, have contracted COVID-19. Texas has the widest digital divide in the U.S., with 1.8 million public school students lacking broadband access, making virtual learning during the pandemic especially challenging. Since March, the Texas Education Agency and Texas school…

THE KIOWA WORD FOR A “reporter” is Khoot piah-gyah Maw-tame-Kxee. The closest English translation is “a person who teaches with a newspaper.” I have always interpreted this word not so much as a description of the profession, but as a directive, the reason behind the work. To me, the words we use to describe ourselves matter, and the role—Khoot piah-gyah Maw-tame-Kxee—reveals that what reporters do isn’t for their own benefit, but for the welfare of others. Everything we do at the Texas Observer is guided by this notion, and it’s one of the biggest reasons I love working here. Every day, the Observer staff works to make Texas a more equitable place. We report on injustice, wrongdoing, and all forms of oppression. We work to inform and educate readers in…

Alternative Priorities AS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS HIGHLIGHTED THE CRUCIAL NEED for health services, you might think state officials would work to reduce barriers to access. Instead, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) proposed cutting funding for women’s health—a perennial target for Republicans—while leaving untouched an anti-abortion program that has offered few to no actual health services. It was only after months of public outcry that HHSC backtracked on those cuts in September. ¶ But we shouldn’t let officials off the hook. The budget isn’t finalized, and concerns over lack of transparency and oversight persist. Years of ideologically targeting women’s health with devastating results is business as usual for state officials, and this budget process is a stark reminder of their warped priorities. In May, Governor Greg Abbott,…

“[Austin has] clearly rejected the idea that public safety is locking up as many working-class people and people of color as we can.” “PROGRESSIVE PROSECUTOR” CAN SOUND LIKE A CATCHall descriptor for any district attorney willing to pack fewer bodies into jails and prisons. But one race this year seems to have redefined the term. In a July primary runoff, José Garza, a former public defender and labor organizer, resoundingly defeated Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore, the self-described progressive incumbent, by 36 points. Garza, the presumed winner in the November general election in deep-blue Travis County, is part of a new wave of progressive DA candidates in Texas this year who have argued for a more transformative change of the criminal legal system. National progressive groups call his promise…

Ramón Vásquez can’t tell you exactly how many of his relatives have been dug up. He can’t tell you how many are now stored in climate-controlled rooms at museums or universities. And he can’t tell you how many more will be unearthed when shovels hit the ground at construction sites in and around San Antonio’s historic colonial missions. Vásquez is a member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, a tribe that still calls South Texas and Northern Mexico home. When Spanish colonizers arrived in the region in the 18th century and met the Coahuiltecan tribes, they didn’t violently force them off their lands or kill them on sight—for the most part. Instead, the Spanish built missions like San Juan and Valero, more commonly known as the Alamo, and attempted to…

Deer hunting season begins November 7 in Texas. Which of the following deer-related facts are false? a. A white-tailed deer will raise its tail to signal possible mates.b. Mule deer are so named because their ears resemble those of mules.c. Last year, deer and other wildlife caused roughly 6,200 car crashes in Texas.d. Numbering 4 million, Texas has the largest herd of white-tailed deer in the nation. ANSWER A. A white-tailed deer will raise its tail to indicate danger; signaling mates is done mainly through scent.…

SLATON // In an attempt to beat the lockdown blues, a woman in the West Texas town of Slaton has taken up a new hobby: piñata-making. KLBK reports that 78-year-old Hilda Rivera started with the usual, making unicorns and characters from the video game Angry Birds. Then, in commemoration of the coronavirus pandemic, she made a piñata of a COVID-19 molecule. Rivera named it Covie. “I hope that somebody buys it and knocks the heck out of it for all it’s been doing, you know, and maybe they’ll feel better,” she said. AUSTIN // A boat parade held on Lake Travis by Trump supporters did not go swimmingly, KUT reports. As a litany of boats launched into the lake for the campaign event in early September, a large wake capsized…

If they find out, they stare like you could spurt doggerel. Your father realizes you’re worse than he believed. Your wife looks sideways— you hide a life that shocks her. You tell post office employees that letters with Poetry Editor in the address are homework you’re sending off for one of your kids. You don’t want to be known as the guy that writes a poem. People fear words could squash them. You might say something like winsome, or sojourn. You’re worse than the uncle with jail gang tattoos. They shun you as if you’d confiscate their guns. What if you read one of your poems? What if you convey an image? What if your words trouble them, or worse, ring awkward and true? Don’t let them find you’re not…