The Texas Observer

The Texas Observer is an Austin-based nonprofit news organization known for fearless investigative reporting, narrative storytelling and sophisticated cultural criticism about all things Texan.

The Texas Observer • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023

EDITOR’S NOTE

CAN TEXAS SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE KEN PAXTON? • The upcoming impeachment is guaranteed to provide a jaw-dropping spectacle of how Lone Star State politicians grapple with corruption.

LOON STAR STATE

DARK HISTORY • Once we take down Confederate statues, Texans must still grapple with monsters in the past.

THE PEOPLE’S DOCTOR • Physician and Author Ricardo Nuila thinks public hospitals could help save patients trapped in our troubled medical system.

STRANGEST STATE • NOTES FROM FAR-FLUNG TEXAS

THIS ISSUE OF THE TEXAS OBSERVER IS POSSIBLE DUE THE GENEROSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY OF SUPPORTERS AND READERS. • We are grateful to our more than 7,000 members, the more than 5,000 individuals who gave to the Save the Texas Observer GoFundMe campaign, and the 50,000 readers of our newsletter. Additionally, we would like to thank the following individuals and foundations for their support of the Texas Observer over the past 12 months.

BETWEEN TWO DEATHS: HOPE FOR THE FUTURE • A MURDER AND AN EXECUTION DATE CHANGED THOSE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BARS.

SHORT-TERM HOUSING, LONG-TERM MESS • GIANT RENTAL PLATFORMS ARE CREATING DRAMA IN THE STREETS—AND PUTTING MONEY IN THE COFFERS OF TEXAS CITIES.

THE LAST TEXAN KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN • What Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza’s death can tell us about Latinos in the military

FOR FIREFIGHTERS, A LONG AND VERY HOT SUMMER. • In Maverick County, losing a grant meant stretching crews to cover extra shifts and lots of territory.

GHOSTS FROM TEXAS’ PAST • Dispatch from a haunted—and historically fraught—building in Austin

THE ORIGINS OF WHITE CHRISTIAN SUPREMACY • Can 15th-century doctrine explain today’s culture wars?

‘DRAG IS SO HEALING’: AUSTIN’S QUEENS DEFY BAN • Capitol-area performers remain committed to their art in the face of persecution.

West Texas Sage

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