Gus Bova

2 weeks 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).

2 weeks 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).

2 months ago | 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.

2 months ago | 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.

2 months ago | 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.