Last week the Associated Press detailed several shocking examples of pregnant patients being turned away from emergency centers in states with abortion bans. The reporting is a stark reminder about the ramifications of these strict state laws, like the ones currently in place in Texas. The AP obtained the records via the Freedom of Information Act. The records, received by Amanda Seitz, were for February 2022 to 2023 and covered all EMTALA complaints. EMTALA (also known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) is a federal law that requires all medical facilities to provide “s ..read more

There is something unsettlingly medical about Deborah Jack’s exhibition at the Houston Center of Photography. Intertidal Imaginaries: The Resistant Geographies of the Shore(coast) in the Aftermath of Saltwater(storm) surges an exploration of the devastation that hurricanes wreak on the environment and human structures of her native Saint-Maarten. One wall is dedicated to a series on the effects of saltwater, wind, and rain on walls. For Houstonians who have lived through the increasingly brutal tropical storms and hurricanes, the images of wrecked plaster will be very familiar. They look like ..read more

As abortion continues to play a major role in Texas and national politics, a law from the nineteenth century keeps getting mentioned: the Comstock Act of 1873. And ever since the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an abortion ban that dates back even earlier to before it was even a territory, suddenly this nineteenth century relic doesn’t seem so extraneous. Here is what you should know about the Comstock Act and how it could lead to a de facto national abortion ban in a potential next Trump administration.   What is the Comstock Act? The Comstock Act was enacted by Congress in 1873 and banned ..read more

Music legend Prince may be gone, but his legacy lives on through albums, film, iconography, and a college level course taught by Marc Newsome at the University of Houston this semester. “He is the perfect poster kid for any type of study,” says Newsome. “Like Michelangelo, he did all these things at a genius level. I can relate it to the student art practices, inspiring ways to connect particular albums related to what the student could do within their own discipline. If you’re a sculptor, a painter, a filmmaker, a photographer he did all that in the realm of audio.” Newsome is better known b ..read more

This week a proposed deepwater oil-export facility that would be built just off the Gulf Coast near Brazoria County in Texas took major steps forward, against the wishes of several environmental groups. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. originally filed for the permits to start building the Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) in January 2019. According to Enterprise the offshore platform would be situated thirty nautical miles from shore in Texas. SPOT, which would be the largest offshore export terminal in the nation, would drill, extract, and process crude oil and natural gases that exist beneath ..read more

Texas’s premiere gathering of indie comic and tabletop creators, STAPLE!, is returning to Austin after a five-year hiatus brought on by the pandemic. It will be open April 13 and 14 at the Malbee Ballroom of St. Edward’s University. Tickets and more information can be found at their official website. Since 2005, STAPLE! has been the place where indie and underground comic creators have gathered in Texas. As the mainstream comic industry becomes more of a pipeline to Hollywood success, events like STAPLE! are important in helping independent creators make connections and share trade secrets to ..read more

About a million Texans are preparing for a total solar eclipse. A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. Parts of North America will experience a total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. Unfortunately, the forecast shows some ominous clouds that are threatening to ruin the weather event. But meteorologists are noting there could be breaks in the clouds especially as the eclipse occurs. Still from Del Rio to Dallas, Texans are welcoming thousands of visitors from around the world.  It’s incredibly important to use proper glasses to view the eclipse. Stari ..read more

Throughout the interview, Earl “Chan” Smith dodges calling himself an artist like it’s a rattlesnake in the bluebonnets, sounding almost afraid to name himself that. However, there’s no other word that captures what he does. Smith repurposes dollar store dollhouses and other items to create intricate, gothic mix-media pieces and dioramas that look like something out of Beetlejuice. Under his hand, the banal and plastic becomes heavy with history and a touch of ruin. The work is incredibly delicate for such a big man, and people who see it have to get in very close to appreciate the attention ..read more

Last October The Afiya Center in Dallas officially celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. It’s a milestone Executive Director Marsha Jones wasn’t sure the center would reach. And not because of a lack of dedication from the health professionals and caregivers that comprise the Afiya Center’s staff, but because of the very unique nature of the center’s work. At the moment, the Afiya Center is the only reproductive justice organization in North Texas that is founded by, and primarily serves, Black women. The fact that they “unapologetically serve Black women” is something Jones wears with pride ..read more

Last week at an event for a rightwing policy organization, Greg Abbott maintained his strong support for vouchers. Under the banner of “school choice,” vouchers allow parents or guardians to send their kids to private schools through taxpayer dollars. Abbott called four special sessions last year to try and pass a pro-voucher bill, but the legislation received pushback not just back from Democrats, but many Republicans from rural districts. In many rural parts of Texas, a local public school can be one of the largest employers. And many Republican state legislators from those areas balked at ..read more