Bridget Grumet

For Austin homeowners, every tax hike comes from the same wallet | Opinion Austin families deserve more collaboration — and fewer surprises — from the local governments tapping their budgets, Bridget Grumet writes.

A proposed $300 tax hike from Austin, a $200 tax hike from Travis County, another $64 from Central Health. With several entities asking the same taxpayers for more dollars, why aren’t they talking about their cumulative impact on taxpayers? My latest for Statesman:
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Neighbors deserve safety plan before Austin buys homeless site | Editorial Austin should take time to craft a clear plan before committing $4.4M to a new homeless services site, the Statesman Editorial Board writes.

The Austin City Council is slated to vote Oct. 9 to buy a site at I-35 near Oltorf St for a homeless services center, but officials still lack key details of the safety plan neighbors deserve. American-Statesman Editorial Board urges a delay to get things right:
www.statesman.com/opinion/edit...

Democrats, Republicans both need a truce on free speech | Opinion From cancel culture on the left to censorship on the right, free speech won’t survive without a bipartisan cease-fire, Jonathan Zimmerman writes.

"And that's what I've been warning my fellow Democrats for the past decade," Jonathan Zimmerman writes in the Statesman. "We have fueled our own brand of censorship, via social media mobs and public shaming. ... People walk in fear and bite their tongues."
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Manufactured outrage is killing academic freedom in Texas | Opinion Enough with the "gotcha" attacks like the recent firing of a Texas A&M instructor. Let professors teach. Let students learn, writes Pauline Turner Strong.

"Enough is enough. Texas must allow faculty and college students to explore freely the breadth of human knowledge, and administrators must support us in that time-honored quest," a UT professor writes in the Statesman re: recent firing of Texas A&M professor:
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

She made it loud enough for y'all in the back.

Quran-burning stunt has no place in Central Texas | Editorial When Valentina Gomez torched the Quran, she wasn’t just attacking Muslims. She was attacking freedom itself. Texas must reject this politics of hate.

We are loath to give Valentina Gomez the attention she craves. But we must say clearly: Her hateful stunts are not welcome here. Latest from the Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board:
www.statesman.com/opinion/edit...

Forget the FDA. Texas lawmakers now decide which drugs need prescriptions House Bill 25 makes ivermectin available without a prescription, but Texans are no closer to accessing the quality health care they deserve.

Texans deserve real health care solutions, not DIY drug policy from lawmakers. My latest for the Austin American-Statesman, on the Texas Legislature deciding (FDA notwithstanding) that ivermectin will be available at pharmacies without a prescription:
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Our daughter died at Camp Mystic. Texas lawmakers must save others. The 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic, including 19-year-old counselor Katherine Ferruzzo, were failed by flawed policies, inadequate safety procedures and a severe lack of planning, her parents...

"To be certain, her death was heroic. But it was also 100% preventable," John and Andrea Ferruzzo write in the Statesman about their 19-year-old daughter Katherine, a Camp Mystic counselor who died in July 4 floods. They urge #txlege to make camps safer for kids:
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Brilliant piece right here.

Culture wars divert millions of dollars from Texas schools. It must stop. Extrapolating from our study data, Texans spent a staggering $112 million last year to manage culturally divisive conflicts in schools — money that should go toward supporting students and...

Cost of culture wars? Extrapolating from study data, Texans spent a staggering $112 million last year to manage culturally divisive conflicts in schools — money that should go toward supporting students and teachers, UT professor Rachel White writes in Statesman:
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

How to end Texas’ redistricting drama so (almost) everyone wins Just think: If you did the popular, tangible things, the electoral victories would follow! Voters would want what you’re doing, because you’d be doing what voters want.

I have good news! There is a painless way out of Texas' redistricting fiasco. A way in which almost everyone wins. My latest for the Statesman:
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Lawmakers could break Guadalupe’s chain of sorrow We are five weeks into a disaster. We are also five weeks closer to the next great flood.

We are 5 weeks removed from the deadly Hill Country flooding, but this has it backward. We are 5 weeks into a disaster that will be felt for generations, and we are 5 weeks closer to the next great flood, the Statesman and @expressnews.com editorial boards write:
www.statesman.com/opinion/arti...

'100% the wrong house': Lawsuit reveals details of mistaken SWAT raid “I didn’t think something like that could happen in this country."

In the early minutes of this 2023 saga, an APD officer said the cops outside Glen Shield's home were at the “wrong frickin’ house.” A DPS SWAT unit still blew open the door 1.5 hours later. My latest for the Statesman on the new lawsuit in this troubling case:
www.statesman.com/news/local/a...

Rep. Bucy: I broke quorum because the GOP is trying to silence Austin voters When Republicans can’t win fairly, they cheat. When voters reject their agenda, they change the rules. If we let them succeed here, we’re inviting more of the same across the country.

"When Republicans can’t win fairly, they cheat," @bucyfortexas.bsky.social writes in Statesman. "When voters reject their agenda, they change the rules. If we let them succeed here, we’re inviting more of the same across the country." More on quorum break decision:
www.statesman.com/opinion/colu...

Redistricting won't just redraw lines. It could disrupt lifelines | Opinion Thousands of Texans turn to their members of Congress for help with veterans' benefits, Social Security checks and other apolitical issues. Reshuffling …

Thousands of Texans turn to their members of Congress for help with veterans' benefits, Social Security checks and other apolitical issues. Reshuffling districts could create confusion and delays. My latest for the Austin American-Statesman:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

'Unconstitutional Death Row': At San Antonio Immigration Court, Rep. Casar decries arrests, gets few answers SAN ANTONIO — Carlos Morales Almario’s court hearing ended almost as soon as it started.  …

A sense that an immigration court visit is synonymous with an arrest has become common knowledge for many immigrants, said an official with the immigration legal aid group American Gateways. The Statesman's Emiliano Tahui Gómez documented the scene in San Antonio:
www.statesman.com/story/news/p...

How Texas billionaire Daniel Lubetzky is trying to bridge the political divide The Builders Movement has attracted big names like Karl Rove and Mark Cuban. It will issue a scorecard of Texas officeholders.

"I think the vast majority of Americans sense that our political system is really not being used to its maximum potential." Excellent piece by @johnniemo217.bsky.social about San Antonio billionaire Daniel Lubetzky's efforts to improve politics via Builders Movement
www.statesman.com/story/news/p...

Texas GOP won’t say it, but climate change is on special session agenda | Editorial If lawmakers are serious about flooding, they must be serious about climate change.

"Republican lawmakers, so loath to utter the words 'climate change,' nonetheless must enact policies and fund infrastructure that not only respond to the July 4 flooding but anticipate future disasters," the Statesman and @expressnews.com editorial boards write:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Marble Falls mourns fire chief lost during Central Texas floods MARBLE FALLS — The first breath of the bagpipes rose like smoke into still air. …

The first breath of the bagpipes rose like smoke into still air. They wailed the notes of “Amazing Grace” as mourners honored a man lost to the Central Texas floods: Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Phillips. Via the Statesman's Bayliss Wagner:
www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

Former Austin Council member and UT professor Bill Spelman dies at 68 Known on the City Council as a policy wonk and academic, Spelman was instrumental in shaping Austin policing, and taught for more than three decades.

For the late Bill Spelman, “it wasn’t about collecting lines in a résumé, it wasn't about making money, it wasn’t about personal accolades, it was about making the world a better place. About being open and fair and compassionate,” his wife told the Statesman:
www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

Redistricting ploy sells out Texas voters to shore up GOP seats | Editorial Texas voters deserve representatives who truly represent, and maps that align with their communities. What a shame some lawmakers will be working even harder to put those things out of reach.

"Apparently it’s not enough, in a state where 56% of the voters backed last year’s GOP presidential nominee, that 66% of the congressional seats are drawn to assuredly elect Republicans. It must be 80%." Latest per Statesman Editorial Board on TX redistricting farce
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

After years of negligence, Texas lawmakers must address flood threat | Editorial Infrastructure related to flooding and other disasters must be treated as the top priority during the Texas Legislature’s special session that starts …

"To talk about what is needed going forward implicitly entails acknowledging what has been needed and neglected all along. And that’s never comfortable for the neglecters." A call to action from Austin American-Statesman & San Antonio Express-News editorial boards:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

For lessons from Central Texas floods, look forward — not back | Opinion While we’re looking backward, the lesson may be right in front of us. We failed to think ahead. We failed to imagine the consequences of a budget …

"Yet while we’re craning our necks looking backward, the lesson may be right in front of us. We failed to think ahead. We failed to imagine the consequences of a budget directive or the contours of a worst-case scenario."
My latest for the Austin American-Statesman:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

DallasNews Corporation agrees to merge with Hearst DallasNews Corporation and Hearst have signed a definitive merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors from both...

Texas is Hearst land.

The Dallas Morning News agrees to merge with Hearst

www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/07...

Texans deserved empathy, not Abbott’s 'winners vs. losers' talk | Opinion Gov. Greg Abbott’s framing — that pointing out problems is something “losers” do — is not just tone-deaf; it reflects a troubling refusal to take …

"In times of crisis, we expect our elected officials to show compassion, clarity and humility — not swagger." Powerful op-ed in Austin American-Statesman about Gov. Abbott's retort that assigning blame for flood response "is the word choice of losers":
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Forget food dyes. ‘Make Texas Healthy Again’ should have started with hunger | Opinion As bad as Abbott’s financial calculation is — who walks away from an opportunity to bring in $7.50 for every $1 spent? — his human calculus is even …

As bad as Abbott’s financial calculation is — who walks away from an opportunity to bring in $7.50 for every $1 spent? — his human calculus is worse. Millions of Texas kids will go hungry because their governor won’t fight for them. My latest for the Statesman:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Pride is about inclusion. Queer Jews shouldn’t have to hide who we are | Opinion Here in Austin, many queer Jews are already asking themselves if they'll feel safe or truly welcome at our own Pride events in August.

"Here in Austin, many queer Jews are already asking themselves if they'll feel safe or truly welcome at our own Pride events in August," Rabbi Denise L. Eger of @awiderbridge.bsky.social writes in the Statesman, pointing to the troubling rise in antisemitism:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Higher speed e-bikes make Austin's trails dangerous. I learned that the hard way | Opinion Where e-bikes and e-scooters are allowed, Austin’s trails become almost as dangerous for walkers and bikers as a road would be.

Elizabeth Winkler was riding her bicycle recently on Southern Walnut Creek Trail when an e-bike whipped around the corner at high speed, hit her and sent her flying off her bike. How do we ensure these trails are safe for everyone to enjoy? via American-Statesman:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Ending birthright citizenship would create the United States of Stateless Babies | Opinion About 10,000 babies are born in the U.S. every day. Investigating the parents' citizenship would require a sizable bureaucracy at taxpayer expense.

What would unraveling birthright citizenship entail? About 10,000 babies are born in the U.S. every day. Investigating all parents' citizenship would require a sizable bureaucracy at taxpayer expense — while just 7% of babies have undocumented parents:
www.statesman.com/story/opinio...

Since the gala was announced last month, crypto wallets linked to Trump and his partners have earned about $3 million in transaction fees, a Post analysis of data from the crypto platform Flipside found. Since Trump’s coin debuted in January, the president and his partners have received $312 million from crypto sales and $43 million in fees, the analysis found. Concerns have been fueled by the number of apparent foreign investors involved in the coin. Roughly half of the top 220 meme coin holders have received coins from crypto exchanges such as Binance that say they reject customers from the United States, suggesting they could be foreign buyers, according to a Post analysis that relied on data from cryptocurrency analytics firms Nansen and Arkham. Nineteen of the top 25, who will attend an “ultra-exclusive private VIP reception” with Trump and a “special tour,” bought coins from similar exchanges. (The event’s website previously said the tour would be of the White House, but more recent pages no longer specify where the tour will occur.)

Foreigners are forbidden from donating to American political candidates but can right now give the president's meme coin company as much money as they want. 19 of the top 25 Trump coin holders are probably foreign. One Chinese crypto billionaire owns $20M worth www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...