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News For August, 2010

  • Alan Bersin: The TT Interview

    By Julián Aguilar

    The commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection on why he believes the Texas-Mexico border is secure, why deportations of criminals have reached unprecedented levels, why trade between the U.S. and Mexico still thrives and what motivates most undocumented immigrants to enter this country illegally. Full Story 

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  • Anchors Away

    By Morgan Smith

    As anti-immigration sentiment continues to rise along with border violence, proposals to abolish the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship provision have ricocheted through the political noise machine as an antidote for the incidence of “anchor babies.” But as a practical matter, what would the removal of birthright citizenship mean for the country? Pierce the fog of rhetoric and you’ll quickly discover that nobody really knows — including the state and federal lawmakers yelling loudest for change. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Dust to Dust?

    By Kate Galbraith

    Texas has the most acres of any state enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program, which seeks to prevent another Dust Bowl by paying farmers to plant grass instead of crops. But the program has fallen on hard times, and its participants worry they will, too. Full Story 

    Lynn County Judge H.G. Franklin looks out over his land, which is enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program.
    Credit: Kate Galbraith

  • Special Treatment

    By Kate Ergenbright

    Special education students in Texas are nearly twice as likely to be suspended as students in the general population, according to the Texas Education Agency — and though they make up just 10 percent of the overall enrollment, they account for 21 percent of expulsions. Full Story 

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  • Startup Mode

    By Ross Ramsey

    Rick Perry and Bill White are starting to engage on a daily basis. The shape of their election fight is starting to solidify, ads are in the works on both sides and if you count third parties on the Democratic side, already running. Mark Barack Obama's fundraising visit to Texas and the campaign gyrations leading up to it in your diary as the public start of the 2010 general election for governor, get your pizza and wings, and settle in for the show. Full Story 

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Stiles on Bill White's donor-appointees, M. Smith on a form of meritless lawsuit that's still legal in Texas, Ramshaw on what federal health care reform means for the future of physician-owned specialty hospitals, Galbraith's interview with the chairman of the Public Utility Commission, Philpott on the latest flap over federal education funding, Grissom on the finally-in-compliance Dallas County Jail, Titus on the oiled pelicans of the BP spill, Hamilton's interview with the new chancellor of the Texas State University System, Ramsey on the political and legal definitions of residency, Hu on Barack Obama's visit to Austin and Aguilar on what the U.S. could be doing to aid Mexico: The best of our best from August 9 to 13, 2010. Full Story 

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  • 2010: It's a Gas, Gas, Gas

    By Ross Ramsey

    Jason Isaac, the Republican running against state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, says the incumbent is misusing his campaign accounts to cover personal transportation costs. Rose says it's a big district and points out that Isaac's campaign pays for gas, too. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Tales of the City

    By Nathan Bernier, KUT News

    Like other urban areas, Dallas is trying to kill the cliche that its downtown is dead — but the Big D is also struggling to rein in a budget deficit. Nathan Bernier of KUT News talked to Mayor Tom Leppert about how he keeps ambitions high at a time of depleted resources. Full Story 

    Tom Leppert, former mayor of Dallas

  • Sued Into Silence

    By Morgan Smith

    Plaintiffs in so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, use the court system to bury opponents in a crush of legal fees and paperwork of Bleak House proportions. They're not concerned about winning damages. They usually don’t expect to be successful, and the targets often don’t have the money to adequately defend themselves. Yet in otherwise tort-reform-happy Texas, there is no prohibition on filing this particular form of meritless suit — yet. Full Story 

    SLAPP: "strategic lawsuit against public participation."
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • The Biggest Losers

    By Emily Ramshaw

    As the reality of health care reform sinks in, physician-owned specialty hospitals are on edge. Some are scouring the law for loopholes; others want to sell out to corporations. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • Alone Together

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    Gov. Rick Perry and his Democratic challenger, Bill White, appeared on the same stage in Austin on Thursday. But anyone itching for a debate between the two was disappointed. The candidates were separated on the schedule by other speakers and were never even in the room at the same time. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune filed this report. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: No "Terror Baby" Records

    By Elise Hu

    State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, says "former FBI officials" are the sources of her information about a terror baby plot. When the Tribune asked her office for records of any such conversations, her chief of staff said they don't exist. Full Story 

    State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball
    Credit: Debbie Riddle Campaign

  • Perry vs. White on Financial Transparency

    By Elise Hu

    Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that his opponent, Bill White, needs to reveal his tax returns from the years he was deputy energy secretary before the two can publicly debate. Perry further suggested White may be hiding something. White insisted the financial disclosure forms he submitted as part of his confirmation process are far more thorough than his income tax records, and those forms are already publicly available. Full Story 

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