Two years ago, the AAN member biweekly attempted to obtain security tapes to confirm that multimillionaire James Leininger was secretly lobbying for school vouchers at the state capitol. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) immediately blocked the release of the tapes, saying it would compromise "homeland security." The Observer appealed to the state attorney general, who agreed that the DPS was obligated to release the videos. But the story doesn't end there. Instead of complying, DPS filed suit in state court, lost, and appealed the court's decision. Now documents obtained by the Observer and posted online show the department has spent more than $160,000 on the suit. "Beyond this being a frivolous lawsuit, what I find a little depressing is the DPS is proceeding like there is this bottomless bag of money from which to draw," Observer editor Jake Bernstein tells the Austin American-Statesman. "It just never occurred to us that they would carry this as far as they have."
The Observer joined the Innocence Project and other groups in asking a Texas judge to stop local officials from destroying a hair they say could exonerate a man executed for murder, Reuters reports. Claude Jones was put to death by lethal injection in 2000, when President George W. Bush was governor of Texas. "If the state of Texas did execute an innocent man, the people of Texas deserve to know what was done in their name," executive editor Jake Bernstein says. "This case begs for further examination."
Nate Blakeslee was formally recognized by the Texas House yesterday for his investigation that helped expose sexual abuse at a state youth correctional facility. The Texas Youth Commission has been rocked by the scandal, with the board resigning and a special rehabilitation plan put into place.
The Texas Data Exchange (TDEx) was created by Gov. Rick Perry's Homeland Security office as a way to coordinate data from all of the state's law enforcement agencies, News 8 Austin reports. The database, brought to light by an Observer investigation, may already include information on at least a million Texans. "What is most striking, and disturbing, about the database is that it is not being run by the state's highest law enforcement agency," the Observer's Jake Bernstein writes. "Instead, control of TDEx, and the power to decide who can use it, resides in the governor's office." According to News 8, the governor's office originally claimed that the database was under supervision by state law enforcement.
Last week, the new board of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) began freeing young inmates as part of the reform ushered in by the Observer's February investigation of sexual abuse at TYC prisons. TYC spokesman Jim Hurley tells the Dallas Morning News the agency plans on releasing 473 juveniles to family members or guardians. In what could be a sign of things to come, the attorney for one of the released prisoners plans on suing the state agency, the News reports.
Today, the six board members of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) became the latest to resign in the wake of the Observer's February story on sexual abuse at a state youth correctional facility and its cover-up, the Dallas Morning News reports. The board resigned two days after the State Senate voted for their ouster, but not before they approved a rehabilitation plan for the TYC. Meanwhile, the Observer has uncovered yet another disciplinary report relating to the scandal that was altered with the apparent approval of the TYC's leadership.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and lawmakers continued to take action Monday on sexual abuse and cover-up at a state youth correctional facility, the Daily Texan reports. While the governor did not put the Texas Youth Commission under conservatorship, as recommended last week by the legislature, he approved a rehabilitation plan that included naming a "special master" of the commission. In addition, the governor yesterday declared two bills related to the scandal "emergency items," allowing them to be quickly passed through the state legislature.
A Feb. 23 Observer investigation detailing a 2005 sex abuse scandal and subsequent coverup at a youth correctional facility in West Texas led to the recent resignations of a charter school principal and the executive leadership of the Texas Youth Commission, the oversight authority for youth correctional facilities, according to the Odessa American. Meanwhile, the Observer reports on its blog that the state legislature is also getting involved, with the Senate voting Wednesday to begin the process of appointing a conservator to oversee the agency while its board and staff executives are replaced.
Steven G. Kellman, a contributor to the Texas Observer and San Antonio Current and professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was named the winner yesterday of the National Book Critics Circle's (NBCC) 2006 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, which is awarded to "the most accomplished reviewer," from within the NBCC membership. "Texas is lucky to have Steve Kellman," writes Celia McGee on the NBCC's blog. "His range is open to the most extreme elements, in the writers he considers, but also in himself. That takes guts, and keeps reviewing fresh."
The syndicated political columnist passed away Wednesday evening at her home in Austin. Ivins, whose column was syndicated in over 400 newspapers, including several alt-weeklies, served as co-editor of AAN member Texas Observer from 1970 to 1976. Even after leaving the Observer for a larger stage, she remained an ardent supporter of the perpetually insolvent bi-weekly, donating speaking fees and book royalties and continuously helping to raise money for the not-for-profit magazine. For the time being, the Observer has dedicated its entire Web site to remembering Molly.
