Crypto’s Cryptic Texas Takeover
State regulators don’t want you to know about the 60-plus Bitcoin mines guzzling public water and electricity—even though consumers are already paying the price.
Featured Stories
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Postcard ⋆
At Barton Springs, Trans Existence Becomes Resistance
Following a transphobic incident earlier this year, community members gathered to “protect trans joy.”
News ⋆
Prosecutors Drop Only Criminal Cases from Hays County Airbnb Raid
Pending drug charges have been abandoned from the multi-agency April operation that supposedly targeted Tren de Aragua and led to multiple deportations.
Politics ⋆
Texas’ Top Voucher Vendor Taps Abbott Allies in Contract Bid, Program Rollout
The New York firm Odyssey is now running the state’s lucrative voucher scheme with a little help from the governor’s friends.
Pro-Life, Anti-Death Penalty
Nan Tolson is the face of the conservative movement against capital punishment in Texas.
Jane Goodall, the Natural World, and Why I Track Skunks
Whenever I see one, I think: fashion show. Something from Chanel. A bit of art deco. That black and white aesthetic.
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Politics
Why the City of Austin Wants Voters to Hike Their Property Taxes
And what Prop Q could mean for the future of local governments in Texas
‘Failures and Grift’: Gina Hinojosa Wants to Stop Greg Abbott from Making History
The five-term Austin state representative will wage an underdog campaign to deny the powerful Texas governor an unprecedented fourth term—and the chance to further entrench his “corruption.”
Inside the Rift Between Texas Dems and a Soros-Backed PAC
The Texas Majority PAC is the latest deep-pocketed initiative meant to turn Texas blue. But have its dollars just brought more discord?
Border and Immigration
ICE Still Won’t Answer Questions About Prosecutor with White Supremacist X Account
Congressman Marc Veasey arrived at an ICE facility Monday in his latest attempt to follow up on the Observer’s reporting.
Trump’s ICE Arrested a Whistleblower Who Exposed Sexual Assault in Detention. Now, He’s Left the Country.
Douglas Menjivar is a survivor and activist. He’s also married to a U.S. citizen, but he was caught up in the president’s mass deportation agenda anyway.
Border Barriers to Harm Reduction
Militarization is making it harder for healthcare workers to reach people who use drugs.
Culture
Black Bookstore Owners, Government Spies, and Murder
Authors bring new insights to complex stories in nonfiction featured at the 2025 Texas Book Festival.
A PRAYER for Brody & Rhys
& for Bruno Schulz, shot and killed by Gestapo officer Karl Günther in 1942 while walking home through the Aryan quarter with a loaf of bread
A Night at the Screamo Bookstore
An Austin literary shop has branched out into loud concerts, cementing a place in the city’s DIY music scene.
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November/December 2025
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