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THIS WEEK: Skeptics of the unusual kumbaya rhetoric in the Texas Capitol have been waiting with bated breath for Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to throw a grenade loaded with red-meat shrapnel into the Senate chamber. Just two months into the 86th Legislature, he may have just pulled the pin. A bill banning local paid sick day ordinances at the last minute morphed into what advocates see as an attack on LGBTQ protections that cover 6 million Texans — and the change has Patrick’s fingers all over it, politics reporter Justin Miller writes. “Essentially, it would be no different from putting a sign out front that says ‘We don’t serve gays,’” said Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law who specializes in employment law and LGBTQ discrimination.
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- Nearly one in three people in the Rio Grande Valley has diabetes, triple the national rate. And perhaps the most visceral indication of the crisis is the shocking number of people living with amputations. With regular access to health care, diabetes amputations are preventable. Yet in the Valley, where many residents are simultaneously uninsured, juggling multiple jobs with little or no paid leave, and raising a family, they often feel inevitable.
- In 2015, the rate of diabetic amputations in the Valley was about 50 percent higher than the state rate. In Cameron County alone, where Zamora lives, hospitals recorded 281 diabetic amputations that year. That’s more than 50 percent higher than the national rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ed Gregg, a CDC epidemiologist, told the Observer that though diabetes care overall has improved, the “alarming” findings are a “wake-up call.”
- Lisa Mitchell-Bennett, a project manager at UTHealth, put it more bluntly: “We’re literally cutting people’s limbs off, when they could just be taking medication. It’s kind of crazy in a developed country.”
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From the archives
Death From Above
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- People in Texas farm country say they are under assault from crop dusters indiscriminately spraying chemicals. A 2017 Observer investigation found that the Texas Department of Agriculture often allows serial offenders to keep flying.
- From Christopher Collins’ 2017 feature: “Quitaque residents have been victim to drift before. In 2015, Quitaque farmer and rancher Ben Grundy reported to state officials that his face was doused in poison by a crop duster while he worked cattle in one of his fields. ‘The plane was right on top of us,’ Grundy said. ‘He came over — it seemed like deliberately‚ and got us three times. I had a water jug and washed my face off as best I could.’ But when Grundy raised the issue with the pilot, ‘He just got real smart and hateful,’ Grundy said, ‘so I turned him in for deliberately spraying us.’”
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What’s Happening at the Observer
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- For the past 18 months, rural reporter Christopher Collins has run all over the state in an effort to bring untold stories from uncovered communities to light. He’s reported on a total lapse of care brought on by the closure of rural hospitals. He’s detailed the battle between ranchers and frackers over precious water rights. He’s reported on the positive impacts of immigration on a community in the Panhandle. And we want him to keep doing it. So, for the next three weeks, the Observer is looking for your help. We’ve got a Kickstarter up and running. It’s got a $10,000 goal. We need your help to keep Collins doing what he does.
- We’re now accepting applications for summer 2019 internships! Two positions are available: one digital intern and one editorial intern (for cultural coverage). The deadline to apply is March 29.
- We’re also hiring an editorial fellow for summer 2019. The fellowship program is designed to open up working opportunities for those whose economic circumstances might otherwise limit their ability to pursue a career in investigative journalism. The deadline to apply is March 22.
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