Drought is extreme in far West Texas and portions of Central and South Texas. Unfortunately things are likely going to get worse before they get better. Drought is expected to intensify across almost all the state, with below-average precip expected through May.

Rivers and creeks are also in bad shape, particularly in West and Central Texas. The red dots represents stream gages where flow is currently at or below the 10th percentile for this time of year. E.g. Parts of the Pedernales and Guadalupe are barely a trickle and are setting record lows.

This isn't a chart per se, but here's today's reading at the J-17 well, the well used as an index for the health of the Edwards Aquifer, the source for most of San Antonio's drinking water and the lifeblood of San Marcos, Comal & Barton Springs. It's about 40 ft below normal for this time of yr.

Most startling to me is Canyon Lake. I grew up fishing/boating here, and Canyon was just incredibly reliable. Now it's in precipitous decline, thanks in part to the insatiable demand of downstream industry. Background: This great @dylanbaddour.bsky.social story www.texastribune.org/2025/01/23/t...

If you zoom into individual reservoirs, the problem looks even more acute. E.g. Lake Amistad, a massive impoundment on the Rio Grande near Del Rio, has never been this low. Mexico's water debt plays a big part, but so does persistent drought & the slow death of the Rio as a viable river system.

As we transition into an unseasonably hot and dry spring, let's look at the state of Texas' water supply—a looming calamity told in charts. Reservoirs on three of the state's major river basins (Nueces, Guadalupe, and Rio Grande) are at or near all-time lows.

We get a taste of what life was like in the Middle Ages and the response from some of these guys is "More of that!"

God bless the Texas Legislature. The state is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that has already killed one child and the response from GOP lawmakers is to eliminate mandatory vaccines in schools.

capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/...

The mere filing of legislation has had an impact by signaling to agencies & corporations that they shouldn’t do business w/ media in disfavor. Eg In recent years TX Tribune lost sponsorships from Texas A&M, UT-Austin & Texas State University System. Legislation in ‘23 appears to have played a part.

DOGE Has Reinvigorated the Right-Wing Crusade Against Texas Media Political operatives want to crush the state’s independent press. They’re using a crude messaging strategy.

NEW from me: National DOGE attacks on the media have reinvigorated attempts
in Texas to weaken independent media by using state power to cut off governments doing business with media (advertising, sponsorships, and subscriptions). www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

Abbott’s Border Disaster Has Created a No-Bid Bonanza for Private Contractors There is now a powerful, well-heeled constituency that has built up around Operation Lone Star.

New from Justin Miller: This state of disaster has been continuously renewed, even as border apprehensions have fallen precipitously. Now four years old, the Texas Legislature has allocated more than $11 billion in funding.

And now this: www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

Sicich is the antithesis of a lazy federal worker. Before she was fired, she was essentially working two jobs at the refuge, and had grown deeply attached to the land.

“Even on my days off, I would come out here and just go birdwatching... It’s really not just work—it’s a place I want to be.”

After Elon Musk Fired Her, She Kept Showing Up to Work—for Free The billionaire and his followers are out to cull federal employees they think are lazy and overpaid. But without people like Bianca Sicich, the Attwater’s prairie chicken could go extinct.

NEW from me: Bianca Sicich, a 30-year-old Texan, was abruptly fired by DOGE two weeks ago. She's so dedicated to protecting the endangered Attwater prairie chicken that she's been working her federal job at a Texas ntl wildlife refuge *without pay* ever since.

www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

I accidentally added another 'e' to my email sign-off — 'beset' — and I think I might keep it...

more than a year ago, the TM editorial staff concluded that we needed to cover this disaster in our backyard in the same way were then covering the uvalde shooting: with human depth and mightily resourced reporting. i’m so proud to see that effort come to fruition today.

The Neighborhood Spat That Went Nuclear How an argument over backyard swimming lessons sent a gated community off the deep end.

NEW from me: How an argument over backyard swimming lessons sent a gated community in Dripping Springs off the deep end.

A question I tried to answer, and probably failed: How does a fight over almost nothing turn into a fight over everything?

www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

Unvaccinated West Texas child is first measles death amid surging outbreak A child hospitalized with measles in West Texas has died. It's the first death in an outbreak that began last month.

They wanted to take us back to the 19th century and now they've got it

www.chron.com/news/houston...

The Neighborhood Spat That Went Nuclear How an argument over backyard swimming lessons sent a gated community off the deep end.

NEW from me: How an argument over backyard swimming lessons sent a gated community in Dripping Springs off the deep end.

A question I tried to answer, and probably failed: How does a fight over almost nothing turn into a fight over everything?

www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

Texas beating South Carolina is my Super Bowl #hookem

First glance read this as “Daniel Perry”— the Army captain who was convicted of murder for shoot and killing a BLM protester in Austin and was then pardoned by Greg Abbott — but it’s hard to keep ‘em all straight. Hey it’s America and there is more than one killer vet named Daniel blessed by elites.

today, i talked to a W. Texas county judge, who began the conversation by telling me a story. once, she worked at a hospital where she had to often call out unusual patient names. One kid was named "Sssst." the judge winged it: 'ssss-t?" The mom about took her head off. "It's pronounced 'Forrest'!"

This reminds me of @forrest4thetrees.bsky.social and @dansolomon.com’s piece in @texasmonthly.bsky.social in 2023 ranking right-wing Texas photo ops at the border www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

let's do this, i guess