Texas Signal

31/07/2024

The ripple effects of Kamala Harris emphasizing reproductive freedoms are being felt in Texas as she enters into her second full week campaigning for President.

On Monday, a six-week abortion ban went into effect in Iowa. The Midwest state is now the 22nd to enact some form of an abortion ban since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Following the newest state abortion ban, the Democratic National Committee convened a press call to discuss

22/07/2024

Biden’s decision comes with less than a month until the Democratic National Convention. The Texas Democratic Party is holding a call for Texas delegation members to go over the next steps on Monday evening.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he was ending his re-election bid in a statement published to social media. He quickly followed up the stunning announcement with his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President. The Chair of the Texas Democratic P...

12/07/2024

Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, is essentially a blueprint for running the government under a new Trump presidency. Before we examine how it would impact several government agencies, a brief overview of the policy manual that absolutely leads back to the former president.

While the drama surrounding President Biden appears to have reached a fever-pitch, with no clear sign of what’s to come, Donald Trump’s campaign churns along. And as the former president looks to reclaim his past position, Project 2025 has emerged as a visceral siren for what another Trump

03/07/2024

Republicans in Texas are on the cusp of finally reaching a pro-voucher consensus. With the runoff elections in the rearview mirror, Greg Abbott has moved to continue promoting major voucher allies, including some big-pocketed donors of his own.

With the runoff elections in Texas over, Greg Abbott has been touting school vouchers as a major priority for the state. Earlier this year, the pro-voucher agenda received a boost after several rural Republicans lost to school choice candidates. Before that Abbott had called four special elections t...

27/06/2024

Every year, thousands of people will enter an anti-abortion center and not even realize it. In Texas, anti-abortion centers continue to peddle misinformation – with taxpayer dollars.

At twenty, Maleeha found herself with an unplanned pregnancy. She had come to America just a year before and was a college student in north Texas. Maleeha had been on birth control and didn’t think it was possible for her to be pregnant. After eight pregnancy tests, though, she

17/06/2024

The ramifications of ending new enrollees into DACA has been acutely felt in Texas, which has the largest number of undocumented high school graduates at 18,000.

Over the weekend the Biden Administration celebrated the twelfth anniversary of DACA with a poignant video highlighting several Dreamers who have benefited from the policy. The acknowledgment of the anniversary arrives as the Obama-era program has been hobbled by a hostile court system and faces a p...

14/06/2024

A resolution passed last month at LULAC’s state convention highlights the attacks on the birds and trees in Brackenridge Park — and their connection to civil and ceremonial rights for local Indigenous and Latine communities.

(A full version of this article originally appeared on Deceleration)

A full version of this article originally appeared on Deceleration A resolution passed last month at LULAC’s state convention highlights the attacks on the birds and trees in Brackenridge Park —and their connection to civil and ceremonial rights for local Indigenous and Latine communities. The C...

14/06/2024

While many are lauding this specific ruling from the Supreme Court, reproductive rights advocates are still cautioning that mifepristone could remain in danger.

Earlier today the Supreme Court, in an unanimous decision authored by Brett Kavanaugh, tossed a lawsuit that was seeking to revoke the FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in a medication abortion. Kavanaugh’s opinion made it clear that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a conservative ...

10/06/2024

Though many Republicans lawmakers in Texas are downplaying any threats to IVF in the state, there are warning signs that the procedure could be in danger. Especially if the Texas Supreme Court hears a dispute between a divorced Denton couple over frozen embryos.

Ever since a surprise ruling in Alabama, advocates for IVF have been apprehensive that the procedure could be threatened in states like Texas, which is under essentially a total abortion ban. Though many Republicans lawmakers in Texas are downplaying any threats to IVF in the state, there are warnin...

07/06/2024

An Irish terror leader. A plot to move weapons on the southern border. And the truck driver who acted as an FBI informant between run-ins with Laura Bush's secret service detail. Learn more about this forgotten chapter of Texas history:

A Forgotten Texas History EL PASO – The most militant offshoot of the Irish Republican Army had plans to move weapons south across the Texas-Mexico border and to smuggle its leader north from Mexico into the United States. This fact came out in testimony in the 2003 Dublin trial of Mickey

06/06/2024

By several metrics, Texas is one of the worst states for affordable housing. A lot of that stems from the agency tasked with expanding affordable housing in Texas.

Republican leaders in the state, especially Governor Abbott, love touting the economic successes of Texas. Despite drastic positions like banning abortion, enacting permitless carry, and implementing a host of other ‘cultural’ issues like banning Diversity and Inclusion programs on state campuse...

04/06/2024

Climate change and the related concerns sit at the forefront of Sim Kern's works, exploring how the grim reality (and possible grim futures) overlaps and intersects with queerness, poverty, race, gender, and other socioeconomic factors.

Carbon credits allow the wealthy to continue polluting while poor Black neighborhoods continue suffering the continuing effects of climate change. A child and his mother must don respirators to find the ingredients for a simple birthday cake. Houston suffers a hurricane more devastating than Harvey....

03/06/2024

In a unanimous decision, the Texas Supreme Court rejected a challenge brought forth by several plaintiffs that were seeking to clarify the medical exemptions to the abortion ban in the state.

On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court finally issued a ruling in a widely anticipated case concerning the state’s strict abortion laws. In a unanimous decision, the Court declined to uphold a challenge brought forth by several plaintiffs that were seeking to clarify the medical exemptions to the abor...

01/06/2024

With many cities kicking off their festivities this weekend, we thought we could take the time to look back at some of the most important moments in Texas Pride History.

With many cities kicking off their June Pride festivities this weekend, we thought we could take the time now to look back at some of the most important moments in Texas Pride History. The June Pride month commemorates what is now known as the Stonewall uprising, an important moment in

29/05/2024

Every May, thousands hike into the woods to live in what is essentially a small, constructed city where conservation is a core tenet, and no one is allowed to sell t-shirts.

Outsiders call Burning Flipside an art festival; people who actually go there call it a burn. Set in the hill country around Central Austin, Burning Flipside is the Texas take on the Burning Man global phenomenon. Every May, thousands hike into the woods to live in what is essentially a

24/05/2024

Meet the major organization investing in outreach to ensure that rural counties in Texas can have a fighting shot at electing the best candidate, regardless of party.

For years, it seemed almost a given that numerous races in rural Texas would go uncontested, and whatever candidate had Republican on the ballot would automatically win. Now, a major organization is trying to challenge that dynamic, and pouring in resources to ensure that rural counties can have a f...

14/05/2024

Even before a deeply damaging report showing taxpayer dollars going to a Colorado charter school he helped found, Mike Miles was already facing widespread calls for his resignation as HISD Superintendent

Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles was already feeling the heat from teachers, school workers, and community members over a myriad of issues at the state’s largest public school district. And that was before a deeply damaging report emerged that showed the top education official was allegedly f...

11/05/2024

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10/05/2024

After a traumatic, but ultimately cathartic appearance in the documentary "Quiet On Set," Fort Worth native Christy Stratton is ready to show the world her newest project, a short she wrote and directed inspired by the roller rinks of her childhood.

To say that the last few weeks for Christy Stratton have been overwhelming is likely an understatement. When I simply asked the longtime television writer, and Fort Worth native, how she was doing, she sounded almost philosophical as she pondered her answer. That’s not surprising because it’s on...

08/05/2024

Comic Couture is a competition between Houston Community College design students for an opportunity to showcase their talents at the comic and pop culture convention. Designers are encouraged to draw from popular superheroes, anime, and other geek properties to create couture outfits.

The line between a superhero costume and a fashion statement is razor thin and, at Houston’s Comicpalooza, it will disappear entirely thanks to a joint venture between Houston First and Houston Community College. Comic Couture is a competition between HCC design students for an opportunity to show...

06/05/2024

Last week Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit over newly-announced gun safety legislation from the Biden Administration that would require any individual who sells fi****ms outside of sporting or gun stores to conduct a background check on a potential purchaser.

Last month the Biden Administration announced new gun safety legislation that would require any individual who sells fi****ms outside of sporting or gun stores to conduct a background check on a potential purchaser. This rule, which amends legislation from the Bureau of Alcohol, To***co, and Safety,...

30/04/2024

After the Biden Administration announced new guidelines about Title IX, the landmark 1972 legislation that bans discrimination based on s*x in education, both the Governor and Attorney General of Texas made it clear they will not comply.

After the Biden Administration announced new guidelines about Title IX, the landmark 1972 legislation that bans discrimination based on s*x in education, both the Governor and Attorney General of Texas made it clear they will not comply. Last month, the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona unveiled...

28/04/2024

Walking into the Rosewood Enchantikal Cottage feels like stepping into another world where there are fewer missiles and more fairies. It’s a place to make friends, and that’s how most people have learned about Rosewood.

There has been a mini renaissance of paganism in Houston over the last decade, a movement accelerated by the trauma of COVID and political unrest. Walking into the Rosewood Enchantikal Cottage feels like stepping into another world where there are fewer missiles and more fairies. “I want to have a

23/04/2024

Days after a story from the AP detailed how pregnant patients in states with abortions bans, like Texas, were denied care at emergency centers, the Supreme Court will be hearing a case involving the federal law that is supposed to guarantee that protection

Last week the Associated Press detailed several shocking examples of pregnant patients being turned away from emergency centers in states with abortion bans. The reporting is a stark reminder about the ramifications of these strict state laws, like the ones currently in place in Texas. The AP obtain...

21/04/2024

“The storms have been devastating over and over again,” says Houston Center for Photography director and curator Anne Leighton Massoni. “These photos highlight the repetition of the devastation. The mangroves are used to brackish water, but now they’re dying because the saltwater is completely taking over.”

There is something unsettlingly medical about Deborah Jack’s exhibition at the Houston Center of Photography. Intertidal Imaginaries: The Resistant Geographies of the Shore(coast) in the Aftermath of Saltwater(storm) surges an exploration of the devastation that hurricanes wreak on the environment...

19/04/2024

The unveiling of this project marks another chapter in Texas when it comes to renewable energy. Geothermal energy comes from the heat energy of the earth, and it’s a source that emits no greenhouse gases and is often cheaper than fossil fuel counterparts.

Earlier today, Bedrock Energy announced the completion of a new geothermal project at Penn Field in Austin. The energy company worked with the developer CIM Group to create a geothermal borefield as well as a heating and cooling system for the campus that houses several technology and media companie...

16/04/2024

Prince may be gone, but his legacy lives on through albums, film, iconography, and a college level course taught by Marc Newsome at the University of Houston this semester.

Music legend Prince may be gone, but his legacy lives on through albums, film, iconography, and a college level course taught by Marc Newsome at the University of Houston this semester. “He is the perfect poster kid for any type of study,” says Newsome. “Like Michelangelo, he did all these

15/04/2024

Here is what you should know about the Comstock Act of 1873 and how it could lead to a de facto national abortion ban in a potential next Trump administration.

As abortion continues to play a major role in Texas and national politics, a law from the nineteenth century keeps getting mentioned: the Comstock Act of 1873. And ever since the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an abortion ban that dates back even earlier to before it was even a territory,

10/04/2024

Texas’s premiere gathering of indie comic and tabletop creators, STAPLE!, is returning to Austin after a five-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic. As the mainstream comic industry becomes more of a pipeline to Hollywood success, events like STAPLE! are important in helping independent creators make connections and share trade secrets to survive in the current environment.

Texas’s premiere gathering of indie comic and tabletop creators, STAPLE!, is returning to Austin after a five-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic. It will be open April 13 and 14 at the Malbee Ballroom of St. Edward’s University. Tickets and more information can be found at their

10/04/2024

Earlier this month the Fifth Circuit upheld the approval of the permitting for Sea Port Oil Terminal, a proposed deepwater oil-export facility that would be built just off the Gulf Coast near Brazoria County in Texas.

This week a proposed deepwater oil-export facility that would be built just off the Gulf Coast near Brazoria County in Texas took major steps forward, against the wishes of several environmental groups. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. originally filed for the permits to start building the Sea Port...