Proving the skeptics wrong, the Eighty-third Legislature accomplished most of what it planned to do. Our twenty-third roundup of the Capitol’s saints and sinners reveals who we can thank—and who we needn’t.

Soldiers and their families wait desperately—and courageously—for the moment when they will be reunited. And when, for the lucky ones, it finally comes, it does not disappoint.

I was a soldier who neither loved war nor hated it, but I couldn’t ignore the fierce lure of combat. Six years after I came home from Iraq, I had a successful career, a beautiful wife, and a bright future, but one day I woke up and realized I had to go back to war.

When the local vernacular dies, what goes with it?

After more than a decade of combat, Texas soldiers are finally coming back for good. But the real journey home still lies ahead.

Offering fine advice since 2007.

Readers respond to the June issue.

The shy, edgy, friendly, shaggy, hardworking genius behind the most anticipated new Texas restaurant in years.

It’s hard out there for a turtle. Especially one that’s endangered, y’all.

Once a year, a San Antonio congregation relives Jesus’ last days—and leaves the cellphones at home.

Ministry’s Al Jourgensen almost died, repeatedly, before he decided that life was worth living. In El Paso.

Why, in books and movies (not to mention politics), we keep returning to the epic frontier struggle between the Comanche and the Texas Rangers.

“[The bakery] was our business, our living room, and our bedroom. Heck, it was even my nursery.”

Thought winning an Oscar would make Sandra Bullock take chances? Think again.

They protect you from rain and shine, sure. But they oughta look good too.

Can Austin’s trendiest restaurateur remake its most venerable establishment?

The Comal may be the shortest river in Texas, but it’s long on R&R.

When the pride of Pecos gets overripe, you don’t have to throw it out.