Franklin BBQ owner, Aaron Franklin, recounts the story of the fire that almost destroyed his store in his newest book, Franklin Smoke
May 2023
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Texas Legislature 2023
LGBTQ Texans decry Capitol arrests after protests against bill banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids
Senate Bill 14, which spurred demonstrations earlier this week, is again scheduled for House debate Friday. Trans Texans consider it one of this year’s most consequential bills.
Sponsor Post
Austin to memorialize people discovered at Oakwood Chapel
The city of Austin hosts public memorial events and monument dedication to honor the 36 men, women and children discovered beneath the Oakwood Chapel in 2016.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas lawmakers won’t shake it off. A new bill aims to stop ticket grabs by bots for hot concerts like Taylor Swift’s.
A Texas lawmaker’s daughter was one of several Swift fans blocked from purchasing a ticket to the new Eras Tour due to bots. Texas lawmakers want to make it illegal for people to use bots to grab excessive ticket sales.
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T-Squared
T-Squared: Local news outlets are republishing more Texas Tribune stories than ever before
Free republishing of the Tribune’s journalism means Texas local news outlets don’t have to choose between statehouse and local news coverage. Because of this, Texans across the state win.
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Broken Pipes
Texas likely will spend billions fixing its water systems. Will it reach these forgotten colonias?
An estimated 500,000 people live in thousands of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. Largely built between the 1950s and 1980s, these communities have been promised water — but it has never come.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Alan Vera, a Republican voter-fraud activist, dies at Texas Capitol
Vera, who planned to testify on election legislation, was a regular at the statehouse. Two weeks ago, lawmakers sang “Happy Birthday” to him during a House Elections Committee hearing.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Rep. Bryan Slaton declines to discuss attendance at closed investigative hearing
The Royse City Republican, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with an employee, emerged from a room where a House investigative panel was meeting.
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Higher Education
University of Texas regents approve creation of new college to house Civitas Institute at UT-Austin
The Civitas Institute was conceived with the help of conservative donors and state lawmakers to lead research and education based on free-market principles.
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Courts
Texas billionaire Harlan Crow paid for Clarence Thomas’ relative to attend private school
Crow paid for private school for a relative Thomas said he was raising “as a son.” “This is way outside the norm,” said a former White House ethics lawyer.