THE RATTUS, THE WARDROBE, AND THE BROOMSTICK SHOGUN

Occasionally, I am reminded in the most emphatic of ways: plans don't always go as planned. As a father to seven — six girls, as loyal readers know — I have grown accustomed to implementing a B-Plan, and often enough, checking the boxes of several other letters of the alphabet along the way.

Faces & Places

“What is a Socialist? That's when all are equal and all have property in common, there are no marriages, and everyone has any religion and laws he likes best. You are not old enough to understand that yet.

DOUG AND HIS ANIMAL FARM

Doug Baum likes kolaches and camels. He lives at West, a Czech community near Waco. He is known for his Texas Canel Corps, which Doug says is a very small corps. “It’s just me, mostly.

Editorial: Opinionated Noir

A cigarette bobs like a conductor's baton with the rhythmical clattering of the keys as the reporter stabs out the letters of mumbled words.

FILL A SEAT… THEN A POTHOLE

The month of August is always an interesting time of year. Summer begins packing its bags, preparing to give way to fall, students are filling backpacks with school supplies as they prepare to return to classrooms, and every so often there’s an additional feeling, a scent in the air.

Don’t Leave Rural Texas Behind

Over the Fourth of July weekend, I watched a documentary about President Theodore Roosevelt.

THE COMMUNITY YOU ARE BECOMING

Of all the news in this week’s edition, the one I want to focus my editorial commentary on this week is what is going on around two and a half hours to the east in Jack County.

Don't Just Listen to the Speeches. Watch the Budget.

One of the first lessons I learned working in the Texas Capitol was that speeches are written for voters. Budgets are written for governing.That's why when I report on the happenings in local and state government, I always watch the budget just as closely as I watch the speeches.Last week Gov.

WHAT TO DO WHEN MEDICAL BILLS PILE UP

Dear Savvy Senior, I’m 63 and recently had a hospital stay that left me with bills I can’t afford to pay. I had Affordable Care Act health insurance, but after my premiums went up in January, I had to drop my coverage. Now I’m overwhelmed by medical bills. What can I do?

Gina Hinojosa Makes Her Case to Rural Texas

Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa is running for governor of Texas. On paper, Hinojosa brings a trifecta of characteristics that have not historically translated into electoral success in rural red Texas: She is a woman. She is Hispanic. And she is a Democrat.