Josephine Lee
@josephinelee.bsky.social
Reporter at the Texas Observer
Email: lee@texasobserver.org
Signal: Josephineklee.14
https://www.texasobserver.org/author/josephine-lee/
Email: lee@texasobserver.org
Signal: Josephineklee.14
https://www.texasobserver.org/author/josephine-lee/
Houston ISD’s top schools may no longer be accessible to all its students through its open-enrollment lottery system under a proposal to turn these schools into private partnerships: www.texasobserver.org/houston-magn...
Houston's Top Magnet High Schools Could Become Private Partnership Charter Schools, Raising Equity Concerns
Texas' largest school district may even convert its renowned performing arts institution under a program that benefitted the state-appointed superintendent in his previous career.
www.texasobserver.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Houston ISD’s top schools may no longer be accessible to all its students through its open-enrollment lottery system under a proposal to turn these schools into private partnerships: www.texasobserver.org/houston-magn...
Reposted by Josephine Lee
“An appointed board of managers is beholden not to local citizens. They’re beholden to Mike Morath and ultimately, Greg Abbott.”
New from @josephinelee.bsky.social: Despite months of protest, TEA announced that the takeover is coming.
New from @josephinelee.bsky.social: Despite months of protest, TEA announced that the takeover is coming.
Fort Worth ISD Parents Fear the Same Chaos that State Takeover Has Brought to Houston ISD
TEA intervention into locally controlled school districts has become increasingly common—despite mixed results.
www.texasobserver.org
October 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
“An appointed board of managers is beholden not to local citizens. They’re beholden to Mike Morath and ultimately, Greg Abbott.”
New from @josephinelee.bsky.social: Despite months of protest, TEA announced that the takeover is coming.
New from @josephinelee.bsky.social: Despite months of protest, TEA announced that the takeover is coming.
Fort Worth ISD fear the same chaos that state takeover has brought to Houston ISD: www.texasobserver.org/fort-worth-i... @texasaft.org @hft2415.bsky.social
Fort Worth ISD Parents Fear the Same Chaos that State Takeover Has Brought to Houston ISD
TEA intervention into locally controlled school districts has become increasingly common—despite mixed results.
www.texasobserver.org
October 28, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Fort Worth ISD fear the same chaos that state takeover has brought to Houston ISD: www.texasobserver.org/fort-worth-i... @texasaft.org @hft2415.bsky.social
The $50 billion rural health fund was set up to help rural hospitals shoulder cuts from Trump’s OBBBA. It’s looking unlikely that will happen… www.cbsnews.com/news/states-...
States jostle over $50 billion rural health fund as Trump's Medicaid cuts trigger scramble
States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it's not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid...
www.cbsnews.com
October 19, 2025 at 11:00 PM
The $50 billion rural health fund was set up to help rural hospitals shoulder cuts from Trump’s OBBBA. It’s looking unlikely that will happen… www.cbsnews.com/news/states-...
“The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Exclusive | Trump Team Plans IRS Overhaul to Enable Pursuit of Left-Leaning Groups
The effort would install a Trump ally at the IRS’s criminal unit who has drawn up a list of investigative targets.
www.wsj.com
October 19, 2025 at 10:44 PM
“The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
“We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.” @nicolefoy.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/immi...
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 19, 2025 at 10:24 PM
“We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.” @nicolefoy.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/immi...
Reposted by Josephine Lee
From @byjustinmiller.bsky.social: Two days after Kirk’s murder, the Texas House speaker and lieutenant governor announced a select committee on Civil Discourse & Freedom of Speech in Higher Education, an Orwellian title for a body to ostensibly oversee two recently enacted laws policing speech.
For Greg Abbott, Free Speech Is Just Another Political Prop
Charlie Kirk defended the First Amendment. Texas betrays it in his defense.
www.texasobserver.org
October 4, 2025 at 7:00 PM
From @byjustinmiller.bsky.social: Two days after Kirk’s murder, the Texas House speaker and lieutenant governor announced a select committee on Civil Discourse & Freedom of Speech in Higher Education, an Orwellian title for a body to ostensibly oversee two recently enacted laws policing speech.
Reposted by Josephine Lee
“We can prove that Robert is innocent, and no reasonable jury would find otherwise if presented with all relevant medical evidence.”
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Despite the evidence, and overwhelming support, Robeson's execution date is set for October 16.
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Despite the evidence, and overwhelming support, Robeson's execution date is set for October 16.
‘I Got a Lot of People Believing in Me’: Robert Roberson Stares Down Death, Again
Set to be the first U.S. person executed based on the controversial “Shaken Baby Syndrome” diagnosis, Roberson told the Observer last week he hopes his story will mean something.
www.texasobserver.org
October 6, 2025 at 5:24 PM
“We can prove that Robert is innocent, and no reasonable jury would find otherwise if presented with all relevant medical evidence.”
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Despite the evidence, and overwhelming support, Robeson's execution date is set for October 16.
New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Despite the evidence, and overwhelming support, Robeson's execution date is set for October 16.
Reposted by Josephine Lee
Important Medicaid programs are being cut right now. The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program is the sort of program the government SHOULD get rid of, instead it’s going after the health care benefits that people actually need. MERP is wasteful spending at its absolute worst.
In our magazine, from @juliepoole.bsky.social: When callers pose even basic questions about how to get claims on their family homes dismissed, they are often left without answers. When families are hit with enormous six-figure claims, no one advocates on their behalf.
One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."
www.texasobserver.org
October 6, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Important Medicaid programs are being cut right now. The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program is the sort of program the government SHOULD get rid of, instead it’s going after the health care benefits that people actually need. MERP is wasteful spending at its absolute worst.
Reposted by Josephine Lee
“Are the complainants going to be chasing people down in bathrooms? That sounds hostile to me, and it’s not really clear.”
One legal expert called SB 8 “the most plainly unlawful, undemocratic legislation I’ve seen in recent history, It tries to shut down the basic right of every citizen to seek relief in our courts, which is one of the basic principles of American democracy."
How the Bathroom Bill Weaponizes Transphobia Against Public Institutions
A legal expert called the new anti-trans Texas bathroom law “the most plainly unlawful, undemocratic legislation I’ve seen in recent history.”
www.texasobserver.org
October 6, 2025 at 8:27 PM
“Are the complainants going to be chasing people down in bathrooms? That sounds hostile to me, and it’s not really clear.”
Reposted by Josephine Lee
From @juliepoole.bsky.social: When callers pose even basic questions about how to get claims on their family homes dismissed, they are often left without answers. When families are hit with enormous six-figure claims, no one advocates on their behalf.
One Woman's Fight Against Texas' Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
Her mother had been in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid. Now, the state wanted its money back: “It was like wild animals pouncing on meat."
www.texasobserver.org
October 12, 2025 at 3:01 PM
From @juliepoole.bsky.social: When callers pose even basic questions about how to get claims on their family homes dismissed, they are often left without answers. When families are hit with enormous six-figure claims, no one advocates on their behalf.
Reposted by Josephine Lee
Out today from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: At Alienated Majesty Books, the "screamo bookstore," volumes from small and indie publishers, plus works in translation, comics, and poetry stand side-by-side with shoegaze, noise and hardcore punk bands. www.texasobserver.org/night-at-the...
October 15, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Out today from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: At Alienated Majesty Books, the "screamo bookstore," volumes from small and indie publishers, plus works in translation, comics, and poetry stand side-by-side with shoegaze, noise and hardcore punk bands. www.texasobserver.org/night-at-the...
Reposted by Josephine Lee
Our top story: “If you go, like, to a shopping center, just to the store or a market, you will find a lot of military trucks full of soldiers. I work with people who are homeless, and the stories that they told us are very awful.”
In Juárez, a Militarized Border Makes Drug Use More Deadly
Growing security deployments pose unique challenges for harm reduction groups.
www.texasobserver.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Our top story: “If you go, like, to a shopping center, just to the store or a market, you will find a lot of military trucks full of soldiers. I work with people who are homeless, and the stories that they told us are very awful.”
Reposted by Josephine Lee
Greg Abbott is "running for an unprecedented fourth term on a record of schools in crisis, housing more expensive, groceries more expensive, electricity utility rates are up. This is a record of failure, and he owns it."
'Failures and Grift’: Gina Hinojosa Wants to Stop Greg Abbott from Making History
The five-term Austin state representative will wage an underdog campaign to deny the powerful Texas governor an unprecedented fourth term—and the chance to further entrench his “corruption.”
www.texasobserver.org
October 18, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Greg Abbott is "running for an unprecedented fourth term on a record of schools in crisis, housing more expensive, groceries more expensive, electricity utility rates are up. This is a record of failure, and he owns it."
“Trump is simultaneously wrecking American agriculture while also subsidizing its foreign competition, where several friends of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent coincidentally have large business interests. America first!” @naomibethune.bsky.social prospect.org/politics/202...
America Bet the Farm on Soybeans. Then Came Trump.
Collapsing soybean exports reveal an agricultural sector rife with longstanding problems.
prospect.org
October 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
“Trump is simultaneously wrecking American agriculture while also subsidizing its foreign competition, where several friends of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent coincidentally have large business interests. America first!” @naomibethune.bsky.social prospect.org/politics/202...
Reposted by Josephine Lee
This is staggering. “The staff of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the journal that reports on health trends and emerging infectious threats, was also laid off.”
Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials
Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials
Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials
www.nytimes.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:30 PM
This is staggering. “The staff of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the journal that reports on health trends and emerging infectious threats, was also laid off.”
Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials
Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials
Reposted by Josephine Lee
BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
October 2, 2025 at 10:42 PM
BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
Reposted by Josephine Lee
The forests that once sheltered the small town of Roseland are turning brown. Now, many residents are left wondering: Is what was left behind after the Aug. 22 blast safe? If it’s making the trees ill, what about them?
In This Black Louisiana Town, Forests are Browning and Animals are Dying
After the industrial explosion in rural Louisiana town, the EPA still says there is no health threat.
capitalbnews.org
September 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM
The forests that once sheltered the small town of Roseland are turning brown. Now, many residents are left wondering: Is what was left behind after the Aug. 22 blast safe? If it’s making the trees ill, what about them?
Reposted by Josephine Lee
War-ravaged Portland
September 27, 2025 at 2:44 PM
War-ravaged Portland
Reposted by Josephine Lee
Public Citizen identified eight companies that received nearly $1B in non-competitive state contracts between 2014—2024. During those same years, these companies, their PACs, their officers, and their employees donated nearly $3M to Texans for Greg Abbott PAC.
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
Awarding Influence - Public Citizen
www.citizen.org
September 25, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Public Citizen identified eight companies that received nearly $1B in non-competitive state contracts between 2014—2024. During those same years, these companies, their PACs, their officers, and their employees donated nearly $3M to Texans for Greg Abbott PAC.
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
www.citizen.org/article/awar...
Trump hastens plan to deny domestic workers the minimum wage. www.texasobserver.org/texas-domest...
Texas Domestic Workers Face Trump Attack on Minimum Wage
Advocates warn a proposed rule by the Department of Labor will deepen the country’s “crisis of care.”
www.texasobserver.org
September 25, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Trump hastens plan to deny domestic workers the minimum wage. www.texasobserver.org/texas-domest...
Reposted by Josephine Lee
“It’s anti-regulation, it’s anti-Black and anti-immigrant, and it’s anti-social safety net. So these cuts that are coming together really exacerbate the crisis of care.”
New from @josephineklee.bsky.social: New Department of Labor regulations could push already struggling caregivers over the edge.
New from @josephineklee.bsky.social: New Department of Labor regulations could push already struggling caregivers over the edge.
Texas Domestic Workers Face Trump Attack on Minimum Wage
Advocates warn a proposed rule by the Department of Labor will deepen the country’s “crisis of care.”
www.texasobserver.org
September 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
“It’s anti-regulation, it’s anti-Black and anti-immigrant, and it’s anti-social safety net. So these cuts that are coming together really exacerbate the crisis of care.”
New from @josephineklee.bsky.social: New Department of Labor regulations could push already struggling caregivers over the edge.
New from @josephineklee.bsky.social: New Department of Labor regulations could push already struggling caregivers over the edge.
“Republicans advanced 16 bills to strip Washington, D.C., of home rule” … and additionally, “an amendment to one of those bills that would repeal D.C.’s ban on right turns on red lights.” prospect.org/politics/202...
Republicans Escalate Their War on America’s Cities
While some establishment Democrats attack their leftward drift
prospect.org
September 21, 2025 at 10:51 PM
“Republicans advanced 16 bills to strip Washington, D.C., of home rule” … and additionally, “an amendment to one of those bills that would repeal D.C.’s ban on right turns on red lights.” prospect.org/politics/202...
“As the South becomes the new epicenter of data center growth, it is becoming increasingly clear that Big Tech is following Big Oil’s footsteps, compounding the harms of decades of environmental racism.” truthout.org/articles/big...
Big Tech Data Centers Compound Decades of Environmental Racism in the South
The American South has long been a site of both corporate extraction and fierce political resistance.
truthout.org
September 21, 2025 at 10:38 PM
“As the South becomes the new epicenter of data center growth, it is becoming increasingly clear that Big Tech is following Big Oil’s footsteps, compounding the harms of decades of environmental racism.” truthout.org/articles/big...
State takeovers left some Texas school districts with MORE failing schools. www.texasobserver.org/state-school...
A Wave of School District Takeovers Could Be Coming. Some Past Interventions Ended with More Failing Schools.
Fort Worth ISD is among the districts that could join Houston in having its elected board deposed, while Beaumont and Edgewood ISDs offer a cautionary tale.
www.texasobserver.org
September 19, 2025 at 3:59 PM
State takeovers left some Texas school districts with MORE failing schools. www.texasobserver.org/state-school...