The Midday Brief: March 9, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

"White has said he believes the state can find ways to save money as it closes a budget deficit of at least $11 billion." — White says Perry takes too much credit for economy — Postcards

"To keep these children in school is very important, and it keeps them off of other rolls." — Texas Education Agency to rethink cuts for pregnant, parenting teens — Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"So the committee was cautioned against comparing per-inmate costs between private units and TDCJ's state facilities because the privates' costs per-inmate don't include healthcare costs." — Private prison contract renewals may cost Texas additional millions — Grits for Breakfast

"Missing are the installation of metal detectors at Capitol entrances, an item that Perry has said he opposes." — Big 3 OK Capitol security upgrades — Postcards

"Our daughter Morgan was born after filming, so we might have a problem there unless there is a sequel." — Rep. Allen Vaught has role in new Matt Damon movie — TRAILBLAZERS

New in The Texas Tribune:

"The purchases came from more than $298 million in grants given to local governments during that time, according to data compiled by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Center for Public Integrity and analyzed by the Tribune." — Data App: Homeland $ecurity

"The system is in crisis — it’s broken. They literally said they don’t have a risk-assessment tool." — Starving for Reform