The State of Texas: How the border wall is dividing the urban and rural Texans

What Texas is talking about today No Images? [Click here]( [Discover Texas at its best - Boot Ranch]( [Texas Monthly]( March 1, 2019 QUOTE OF THE DAY "Every rape kit is not just a number sitting on a shelf. Every rape kit represents a survivor. Every rape kit tells a story ." —State Representative Victoria Neave of Dallas. Neave introduced a bipartisan bill this week to [require a statewide audit of untested rape kits.]( The bill is named after assault survivor Lavinia Masters, whose rape kit sat untested on a shelf for 21 years. THE LATEST [The Border Wall Debate Further Emphasizes the Divide Between Rural and Urban Texans ]( R.G. RATCLIFFE A recent poll of Texas voters shows opinions about President Trump’s wall depend on where in the state you live. [Read more.]( #TMWANDERS READER PHOTOS Pedernales Falls State Park by Marianne Skjønberg Pfeil • [@searchingfortexas]( We love seeing how our readers enjoy Texas. Want to join the fun? Tag your best Texas photos #TMwanders on Instagram, and we'll reach out if yours is chosen! We'll feature a new reader post here each Friday. QUIZ ANSWERS We’ll feature a news quiz every Thursday, with answers posted in Friday’s newsletter. Below are the answers for yesterday’s quiz: 1. Buc-ee’s culinary director Jim Mills recommended this "luscious" dessert as the perfect complement to barbecue: banana pudding. 2. During her Houston Rodeo performance, Kacey Musgraves paid tribute to Selena, the "Queen of Cumbia,” with her performance of "Como La Flor." 3. Thirteen U.S. House Republicans joined the Democrats to pass Joaquín Castro’s resolution, which would block President Trump’s national emergency declaration. 4. University of Sheffield lecturer Tom Stafford said the typo “Forth Worth” is an example of a smart error. 5. Criminal charges were dismissed against Schlitterbahn officials on Friday for the death of a ten-year-old boy, though the park already reached a $20 million settlement with the family involved. [Discover Texas at its best - Boot Ranch]( OUR TOP STORIES [Jason Witten is Once More a Dallas Cowboy]( The popular tight end is out of the booth and back on the field. [Read more.]( [Texas Chefs and Restaurants Get Record Number of James Beard Semifinalist Nods ]( Among the surprises: The Original Ninfa’s in Houston makes its first appearance as a contender for Outstanding Restaurant. [Read more.]( [A House Bill May Officially Make April 16 “Selena Day” ]( The Queen of Cumbia’s birthday may become an annual day of recognition in the state of Texas. [Read more.]( THE STATE OF TEXAS Is Texas officially a swing state? A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows that [Texas isn’t necessarily a guaranteed win for Republicans in 2020.](Though the data says Texas still “leans Republican,” President Trump was nearly tied against Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Beto O’Rourke among those polled. Quinnipiac polled 1,222 Texas voters between February 20 and 25, with a 3.5 percent margin of error in their final results. O’Rourke was also tied with Senator John Cornyn, though sources close to the El Paso politician said he was leaning toward running for president. He was expected to announce his decision by the end of February, but instead, O’Rourke has remained remarkably tight-lipped and kept most details vague. “Amy and I have made a decision about how we can best serve our community,” he said [in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.]( “We are excited to share it with everyone soon.” A 70-year-old man became the oldest person executed in the state Billie Coble, who was convicted for murdering three of his wife’s family members in 1989, [was executed Thursday evening after his final appeal was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court.]( In 2007, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted him a retrial, but a jury found him guilty once more and sentenced him to death again in 2008. Coble was the second man executed in Texas this year, and there are currently five other executions scheduled through September. He was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m., and, according to authorities, his son began banging on the window of the viewing room and had to be removed from the room. Coble's son was later taken to Walker County Jail on charges of resisting arrest Five dozen historical figures have been cut out of Texas curriculum Cuts to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum were recently made public, and the Dallas Morning News found that [sixty people were removed from the required lesson plan.](Among the cuts were historical figures like national anthem lyricist Francis Scott Key, first female Hispanic astronaut Ellen Ochoa, and politicians John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster. Several other figures, like The Navajo Code Talkers and Helen Keller, were originally on the chopping block but were ultimately kept in due to public outcry. Teachers still have the freedom to include individuals who have been cut in their own lesson plans. LONGFORM [The Cost Of Justice ]( SASHA VON OLDERSHAUSEN Welcome to the Texas border, home of the two busiest federal court districts in the nation. [Read more.]( [The Bull x The Horns]( [The Bull x The Horns: A New Advice Column]( What's standing between you and your best self? The Texas Optimism Project, sponsored by Frost Bank, is partnering with KUTX 98.9's Two Guys on Your Head podcasters Art Markman and Bob Duke to launch an advice column about taking control over the stress in our lives. Send us your questions about life, career, and everything in between and we'll spotlight how the power of perspective can change everything. [Read More]( [Discover Texas at its best - Boot Ranch]( MORE FROM TEXAS MONTHLY [BBQ News Roundup: the Houston Rodeo Cook-Off, the History of Stubb’s, and the Best Desserts ]( DANIEL VAUGHN [The Houston Astros are the Best Bet in Major League Baseball ]( DAN SOLOMON [With Its New 24|7 Beer, Lone Star Goes on a Diet ]( AARON CHAMBERLAIN [Subscribe to Texas Monthly and save!]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Website]( Texas Monthly PO Box 1569 Austin, TX 78767 Texas Monthly has sent you this alert because you signed up to receive it either online at texasmonthly.com, at the website of one of our business partners, or when you filled out a reader response card. You may opt-out from Texas Monthly newsletters at any time. Please see our Privacy Policy. If you would like to manage which Texas Monthly Editorial newsletters you are receiving, click Preferences, below. To unsubscribe from our Editorial newsletters, click Unsubscribe. 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