Partial remarks given at the 2025 MOLLY Prize Gala on May 28:
Suddenly, it’s become a bit of a sad time for the Texas Observer community. Later in the program, you’ll hear about Carlton Carl—our former publisher and longtime board member who passed away in March. Then, yesterday, we learned that the Observer’s founding editor, a legend of Texas journalism, Ronnie Dugger had died at age 95—peacefully and surrounded by family.
I had planned to talk about the Lege here tonight, but that just doesn’t feel right now. It’s not that I knew Ronnie terribly well; I believe I met him five times total, but he left an impression. Back sometime before COVID, when he was still driving, I recall him coming to use the office to bang out an op-ed about the threat of nuclear war for I don’t recall what news site. He would have been maybe 88 years old.
