• Renter, Beware: Millions of Texans Could Soon Face Higher Fees for Late Rent, with Little Recourse to Fight Back
   
• With a Bizarre Assist by Democrats, Police Groups Kill Bill to Limit Arrests for Fine-Only Offenses
   
• Carbon Sequestration Isn’t The Long-Term Solution. Is it a Short-Term One?

• Texas Republicans Poised to Make Voting ‘Harder, Scarier and More Confusing’
   
• Texans ‘Will Die’: House Republicans Pass Anti-Planned Parenthood Bill After Emotional Debate
   
• Fernando A. Flores’ Debut Novel Paints a Vivid, if Cynical, Portrait of Life on the U.S.-Mexico Border

The Lede
The Dissenter

• Elsa Alcala began her legal career in the Harris County DA’s office, joining a prosecutorial machine famous for cranking out death sentences. Three decades later, she’s a prominent critic of the death penalty.
   
• Alcala, a Republican, says serving as an appellate court judge opened her eyes to systemic inequities in the criminal justice system. During her seven years on the Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas’ highest criminal court, she became known for lengthy dissents that challenged other judges, particularly in high-stakes appeals from death row.
   
• “I was Republican long before Trump was, but somehow he came along and changed everything,” Alcala told the Observer. “I don’t feel included in that. I can’t join that kind of negativity and hatred. I am not an us-versus-them kind of person. We’re all in this together, whether we’re talking about the person on death row or the immigrant at the border.”

From the archives
The Mystery Everyone Loved

• Sterry Butcher’s 2007 eulogy for West Texas’ most famous unknown character: Judy Magers, the burro lady.
   
• From the story: “There seemed to be things, less tangible things, she carried that were heavier than cook pots and blankets. While she occasionally visited a little with friendly folks about saddles or animals, Judy rejected most conversation, certainly with strangers. She traveled a singular path for reasons known only to her, and what secrets she had remained secret. She earned new names since not many people knew her legal name. Most called her the burro lady. Her bearing in the saddle was erect, almost regal, and the stately image was heightened by the burro’s majestically slow pace. A friend once told me his family called her La Reina, the queen. It was what we called her in my household.”

What’s Happening at the Observer

• There are still a few tickets available for the 2019 MOLLY Prize dinner. This year, we’re very excited to have Rebecca Traister as our keynote speaker. Come celebrate the power of great journalism — and hear from a few great journalists! The event is set for the evening of June 6 at the Four Seasons in downtown Austin. More information here.
   
• Thank you to everyone who joined as a member during our Spring Member Drive! Our work relies on the support of our readers. In other words, we don't do this without you.
   
• The Texas Observer is pleased to co-present a screening of Charlotte Moore’s Black Bodies on Sunday, May 19, at 1:30 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse Mueller. From Moore: “Black Bodies is a Moore Media film production which takes candid, thoughtful, courageous exploration into what it means to be black in Austin, America, and in the world. Data shows that in our American "systems" — from education and health to housing and the economy — black people have the poorest outcomes. In this feature-length documentary, 16 Austin-area black people of different ages, backgrounds, nationalities and skin tones share what it means to exist in their black bodies. The film offers audiences a view of everyday life from a black person's perspective. The mission of the film is to help raise our community’s collective consciousness with regard to the personal impact of racism.” We hope to see you there! Tickets here.