Gus Bova

Texas

Senior Writer and Assistant Editor at The Texas Observer

Kansas-Texas transplant. Editor-in-Chief @TexasObserver. Tips: [email protected], or DM for Signal.

Articles

Legislature Mandates Sheriff-ICE Cooperation in Jails or Streets

5 days ago | texasobserver.org | Francesca D’Annunzio |Gus Bova

Over the weekend, the state House and Senate ironed out lingering differences in Senate Bill 8, a measure that will—assuming the governor’s signature—mandate previously voluntary agreements between Texas county sheriffs and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As passed, SB 8 will require all Texas sheriffs to apply for so-called 287(g) agreements, “or a similar federal program,” with ICE.
Three years later, an uncle in Uvalde searches for solutions on school board

2 weeks ago | sacurrent.com | Gus Bova

This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet and magazine. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and X. Three long years ago, in a southwest Texas town now almost synonymous with the tragedy, something happened in an elementary school so horrifying that it nearly defied meaning altogether, challenging any sense of a guiding plan or greater judiciousness in human affairs. Nineteen children. And two teachers. Gone.
Three Years Later, an Uncle in Uvalde Searches for Solutions on School Board

2 weeks ago | texasobserver.org | Gus Bova

Three long years ago, in a southwest Texas town now almost synonymous with the tragedy, something happened in an elementary school so horrifying that it nearly defied meaning altogether, challenging any sense of a guiding plan or greater judiciousness in human affairs. Nineteen children. And two teachers. Gone. Uvalde—a place name to be forever followed by a fraught pause.
Introducing Our May/June 2025 Issue

1 month ago | texasobserver.org | Gus Bova

Texas Observer readers,Three months into a second Trump administration, nearly a decade into the Trump era, more than a decade into the Greg Abbott era, and 22 harrowingly long years into the GOP’s unilateral control of Texas government, the forces of political progress in our state find themselves somewhere between stasis, retrenchment, and the abyss. There just isn’t much right now to prop up either cheap short-term optimism (backlash midterm) or grander narratives (demographic destiny).
Editor’s Letter: Introducing Our May/June 2025 Issue

1 month ago | tspantx.com | Gus Bova

Texas Observer readers,Three months into a second Trump administration, nearly a decade into the Trump era, more than a decade into the Greg Abbott era, and 22 harrowingly long years into the GOP’s unilateral control of Texas government, the forces of political progress in our state find themselves somewhere between stasis, retrenchment, and the abyss. There just isn’t much right now to prop up either cheap short-term optimism (backlash midterm) or grander narratives (demographic destiny).
ICE Raids on Beloved Bakery Reverberate Through Rio Grande Valley

Mar 6, 2025 | ourcommunitynow.com | Gus Bova

Share In recent years, Los Fresnos has changed, much like the rest of the Rio Grande Valley. More retail chains are coming to the town of around 8,400, mostly along Highway 100—called Ocean Boulevard in town. Suburbs expand from that road toward Olmito or Bayview, with the oldest neighborhoods being rural colonias or collections of craftsman homes.
Introducing Our March/April 2025 Issue

Feb 28, 2025 | texasobserver.org | Gus Bova

Texas Observer readers,A half-century ago, Molly Ivins penned one of her many famous lines about the Lege in a special Texas issue of The Atlantic Monthly. “The Texas Legislature consists of 181 people who meet for 140 days once every two years,” she wrote. “This catastrophe has now occurred sixty-three times.”The number of lawmakers, the frequency of sessions, and the catastrophic nature of their work all remain unchanged.
Sylvia Garcia Holds the Line on Immigration

Feb 26, 2025 | texasobserver.org | Gus Bova

Throughout her political ascent, Sylvia Garcia has been followed by the word “first.” In 1987, she became the first woman and first Hispanic to preside over Houston’s municipal courts. Fifteen years later, after a stint as city controller, she broke those same barriers upon her election to the Harris County Commissioners Court. And yet again, in 2018—following five years in the state Senate—she became one of the first two Latinas ever elected by Texans to the U.S. House.
Introducing Our January/February 2025 Issue

Jan 6, 2025 | texasobserver.org | Gus Bova

Texas Observer readers,Last month, we at the Observer officially celebrated our 70th year of continuous publication. Some 200 supporters gathered at Scholz Garten, the historic downtown Austin watering hole that nurtured the liberal social scene around the Observer for decades. In a bleak time for Texas and the country, I know that I felt heartened.
Our Most-Read Stories of 2024

Dec 26, 2024 | texasobserver.org | Gus Bova

Web traffic is a fickle thing, somewhat subject to the whims of tech overlords. And an overemphasis on traffic is also a path to sacrificing journalism’s higher callings, as sensationalism and even misinformation tend to sell rather well. Still, online readership data is one useful tool for us to figure out what you, the Texas Observer audience, want from us and what we should consider doing more often.