Politics & Policy
April 3, 2021
Forty-seven Days Without Running Water After the Winter Storm—and Counting
In Houston’s Third Ward, where some residents’ homes were extensively damaged, a fight for repairs has reached a breaking point.
Politics & Policy
Reporting and commentary on the Legislature, campaigns, and elected officials
Politics & Policy
April 2, 2021
Natural Gas Producers Are Getting a Pass From the Lege After the Blackouts
Many industries bear a portion of the blame for the failure of Texas’s electric grid. But one seems to be escaping strict requirements to better prepare for future storms.
Politics & Policy
April 1, 2021
Meet “Big Dan” Rodimer, the Jersey Guy Who Wants to Be a Texas Cowboy (and Congressman)
You ain’t a cowboy till your stunt double’s been bucked off.
Politics & Policy
March 26, 2021
Seven Texas Lawmakers to Watch
A guide to the key players in the 87th Legislature who are trying to stuff ten pounds of “priorities” into a five-pound sack.
Politics & Policy
March 25, 2021
Briscoe Cain Has Proved Ineffectual at Chairing the House Elections Committee. So Why Does He Have the Job?
Governor Greg Abbott has identified passing “election integrity” bills as one of his priorities for this legislative session, but the man in charge of ushering such legislation through the Texas House seems not up to the task.
Politics & Policy
March 19, 2021
Why Is Dan Patrick All in on Repricing Electricity Overcharges?
The lieutenant governor has long responded to crises with more talk than legislation. But is something different this time as he deals with the aftermath of the blackout?
Politics & Policy
March 17, 2021
Dan Patrick Declares War on “Green” Wall Street Investors
The lieutenant governor wants to require state pension and education funds to divest from financial giants that are trimming their investments in oil and gas—but he hasn’t thought through the potential consequences.
Politics & Policy
March 17, 2021
Why Is Art Acevedo Leaving Houston?
Political insiders say the police chief’s move to Miami follows a turbulent year in which his hopes of being elected mayor began to look delusional.
By
Mimi Swartz
![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
March 17, 2021
They Couldn’t Show Up to Court in Person. Their Evictions Proceeded Anyway.
Houston has become a hot spot for pandemic removal proceedings. For tenants such as Evelyn Powers, relief has been hard to come by.
Business
March 16, 2021
Some on Wall Street Profited off Texas Blackouts. In a Private Call, a Top Regulator Pledged He Would Try to Protect Their Windfall.
Public Utility Commission chairman Arthur D’Andrea apologized to investors last week for the “uncertainty” around its profits.
Politics & Policy
March 14, 2021
Texan Adoptees Are Fighting for the Right to Access Their Own Birth Certificates
Fed up with DNA tests and expensive investigators, some adult adoptees are fighting the state for access to their original birth records.
Food
March 8, 2021
“A Matter of Life and Death”: Latino Food Workers Are Terrified as COVID-19 Restrictions End
They fear that the end of the mask mandate and the influx of spring break crowds is a recipe for danger.
Business
March 4, 2021
Despite Losing Power for Days, Texans Will Pay Higher Power Bills—Perhaps for Decades to Come
The bankruptcies and staggering electricity charges are beginning to arrive. Could it go from bad to worse?
Energy
March 3, 2021
The Great Texas Blackout Was Caused by a Failure to Ensure Supplies of Natural Gas
State leaders have pointed fingers at everything from windmills to the bureaucrats at ERCOT. But the real issue is the electric grid’s reliance on a lightly regulated natural gas production industry.
Politics & Policy
March 2, 2021
Greg Abbott Celebrated Texas Independence Day by Ending COVID-19 Restrictions
The vast majority of Texans have yet to receive a single dose of vaccine, but the state is done imposing public health measures.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
March 2, 2021
Ted Cruz’s Attempt to Court Trump’s Base Meets a Predictable Obstacle: Trump
In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Texas’s junior senator tossed red meat but was overshadowed by the former president.
Politics & Policy
February 26, 2021
He Rioted at the Capitol. Then for Weeks He Lived in Luxury While Hiding From the FBI.
Luke Coffee, a director and actor who appeared on NBC’s ‘Friday Night Lights,’ found QAnon during the pandemic and then spent a month trying to evade the consequences of the path it led him down.
Politics & Policy
February 25, 2021
They Accused a Man of Sexual Assault in a Small West Texas Town. That Was Only the Beginning.
When several women spoke out against a powerful man in the former ghost town of Terlingua, the backlash was fierce.
Politics & Policy
February 25, 2021
Who’s Responsible for the Texas Blackouts?
Our governor and lawmakers want to blame everyone but themselves for the February blackouts, the latest crisis of their own making.
Politics & Policy
February 19, 2021
Ed Hirs Has Been Predicting This Mess for Years
The Houston-based energy economist is our blackout Cassandra. Will state officials finally heed his advice?
By
Mimi Swartz
![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
February 19, 2021
Q&A With ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness
Texas Monthly talks to the ERCOT chief about why the blackouts happened and what needs to change now.
Politics & Policy
February 19, 2021
The Texas Blackout Is the Story of a Disaster Foretold
Those in charge of Texas’s deregulated power sector were warned again and again that the electric grid was vulnerable.
Politics & Policy
February 18, 2021
Steve and Ted’s Excellent Adventures
Austin’s mayor, Steve Adler, and the state’s junior senator, Ted Cruz, are the latest Texas politicians to take ill-considered vacations.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
February 18, 2021
13 Curses to Mutter Against Ted Cruz While You Boil Snow to Drink
May you make direct eye contact with your neighbor during your yard pee.
Politics & Policy
February 17, 2021
The Winter Storm, in Photos: How Texans Are Surviving the Historic Freeze
As multiple crises unfold across the state, photographers captured Texans doing their damnedest to keep warm and safe.
News
February 17, 2021
What Went Wrong With Texas’s Main Electric Grid and Could It Have Been Prevented?
An energy expert explains why some four million Texans suffered a barrage of winter storms without heat in their homes.
Politics & Policy
February 11, 2021
What the Newest Lone Star Secessionists Really Want
Some Texans have long argued for leaving the Union. State representative Kyle Biedermann’s recent agitating about doing so is attracting an eager audience.
Politics & Policy
February 11, 2021
Californians Could Ruin Texas—But Not the Way You Might Think
Lone Star State leaders have worried about transplants importing West Coast values and politics here. But they’ve largely ignored the more pressing challenges newcomers are bringing with them.
Politics & Policy
February 11, 2021
There’s One Thing Missing in the Biden Administration: Texans
Lone Star Democrats have almost nowhere to hang their hats in the most diverse administration in U.S. history.
By
Mimi Swartz
![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
February 10, 2021
How Republican Lawmakers Might Redraw the Texas Congressional Map
The state is expected to receive three new U.S. House seats. But those looking to expand the GOP majority in the congressional delegation won’t have an easy task.
Business
February 8, 2021
The Buc-ee’s Stops Here: Why the Iconic Chain Is Facing a Backlash East of the Sabine
Turns out not everyone loves Texas-size gas stations (or 13 varieties of jerky).
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
February 6, 2021
Ted Cruz Is Courting Trump’s Base. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says He’s Doomed to Fail.
Supporters of the 45th president might not forget his contentious history with Texas’s junior senator.
Business
February 5, 2021
Texas Payday Lenders Get Millions in Pandemic Relief Money
Many short-term lenders receive government help even as their ultrahigh interest rates trap vulnerable customers in debt.
Politics & Policy
February 1, 2021
How the Pandemic Is Affecting the First Weeks of the Texas Lege Session
State lawmakers grapple with how to make this year productive, as they lose cherished time forming relationships on the floor.
Energy
January 28, 2021
Can Biden Really Be Any Worse for the Oil Patch Than Trump?
The new president’s energy-related executive actions have stirred opposition in Texas and other oil-producing states. But Biden’s moves are dwarfed by the larger forces that have battered, and will transform, the industry.
Politics & Policy
January 28, 2021
The (Fake) Beto Diaries, Vol. 6: I’m (Thinking About Being) Back, Baby
Our hero contemplates a run for governor.
News
January 25, 2021
The Texas Lege Always Debates Abortion. This Year It Will Do So With More Vigor.
Anti-abortion advocates are getting their hopes up that the U.S. Supreme Court could undo Roe v. Wade, but some are tired of waiting.
Politics & Policy
January 22, 2021
Who Were the Texans Who Traveled to the Capitol to Challenge the Election Results?
A list of some of those from the Lone Star State who gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 6.
By
Sierra Juarez
![Sierra Juarez's Profile Photo]()
and
Peter Holley
Best Thing In Texas
January 21, 2021
The Best Thing in Texas: Bernie Sanders Travels Across the State as a Meme
He’s visited the Alamo, waited in line at Franklin Barbecue, and cheered on the Astros (virtually).
By
Rose Cahalan
![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2021
After Standing Up to Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, Congressman Chip Roy Faces an Uncertain Future in the Texas GOP
Some Republicans expect Roy to pay a political price for upholding the Constitution, and Cruz to emerge stronger than ever.
Politics & Policy
January 15, 2021
The Texas Legislature Made It Just Three Days Without a COVID-19 Scare
Fear of riots and the pandemic dominated the Legislature’s opening week, with some lawmakers venting their frustration with mask regulations, and others going into quarantine.
Politics & Policy
January 15, 2021
Amid a Spate of Late-Term Trump Pardons, Reality Winner’s Name Remains Conspicuously Absent
The president called the five-year sentence for the former National Security Agency translator, convicted for leaking documents about Russian election interference, “unfair,” but he has not granted her clemency.
Politics & Policy
January 12, 2021
The Serious Stuff, the Loud Stuff, the Money Stuff: A Preview of the 87th Texas Lege
Lawmakers will have their hands full with a budget deficit and the pandemic. Here's what else to watch for this session.
Politics & Policy
January 12, 2021
No, the Mandalorian Did Not “Dox” Ted Cruz
Pedro Pascal, star of the Disney Plus series ‘The Mandalorian,’ shared the junior senator’s office number on Twitter.
By
Dan Solomon
![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
January 11, 2021
How the Legislature Might Address the Less-Than-Dire Budget Shortfall
Comptroller Glenn Hegar projected a nearly $1 billion deficit—far smaller than lawmakers feared.
Politics & Policy
January 11, 2021
The Texas GOP Returns to Its Favorite Pastime: Infighting
With state government more firmly in Republican hands, the next year will feature a return of the Republican civil war. Here are the skirmishes to watch for.
News
January 9, 2021
Greg Abbott’s Politics Create a Vaccine Stampede
After his denying local authorities tools to combat community spread, it’s no wonder Texans are desperate for vaccinations to save us from COVID-19’s renewed surge.
Politics & Policy
January 8, 2021
American Democracy Survived Ted Cruz’s Demagoguery—This Time
Texas’s junior senator shares responsibility for inciting the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol. That’s brought him scorn from much of the country—but might win him fresh support from Trump Republicans.
Politics & Policy
January 7, 2021
These Texas Congressmen Fought off the Mob. Then They Voted With Trump.
Several members of the Texas delegation stayed on the House floor to help defend against rioters, who they say had nothing to do with the righteous case of overturning the election.
Politics & Policy
January 6, 2021
“Love Bombs” vs. “Hang Traitors”: Pro-Trump Protesters Rally for Their Man in Austin
As the president’s supporters launched a violent insurrection in Washington, D.C., about three hundred demonstrators gathered at the Texas Capitol to call for the election results to be overturned.
By
Ben Rowen
![Ben Rowen's Profile Photo]()
