The Brief: Top Texas News for Feb. 7, 2011
The causes may have been explained away, but the fallout from last week's rolling blackouts may just be heating up. Full Story
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![An electrical substation in Comfort, Texas.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
In West Texas, a Town's Fate Tied to Its School
With just 56 students, Marathon ISD is one of the state's smallest. But its fate is critical to the West Texas town's survival. And if what is happening here works, it could serve as a model for other towns looking to shield their way of life from the death knell of school closures. Full Story
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Can a Pro-Choice Republican Win in Texas?
State Comptroller Susan Combs may test that question. She is considering a run for lieutenant governor in 2014. Full Story
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Inside Intelligence: A Pro-Choice GOP Candidate Will...
For the latest installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we asked whether a Republican who supports abortion rights can survive a statewide primary, whether the sonogram bill on the governor's list of emergency items addresses a real or a political problem, whether it will pass and what other issues of interest to social conservatives might win approval from this Legislature this year. Full Story
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Pretty Good Forecasting
The keepers of numbers over in the LBJ Building, north of the Capitol, have confirmed to lawmakers what they warned them about in 2006: The legislation that cut local school property taxes and revised the state's corporate franchise tax didn't balance, to the tune of $10 billion a biennium. Full Story
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Will Europe Thwart Texas Executions?
Texas has enough supplies of a key drug to carry out only two more executions. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is exploring its options, including what other states are doing. But the drug alternatives are limited and would most likely still leave Texas reliant on nations that oppose the death penalty. Full Story
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Last Words: "All Right, Warden, Let's Do It."
Before prison officials administer the lethal cocktail of drugs used to carry out executions, the condemned may say their final piece. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice keeps a record of these last statements. Full Story
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Texplainer: Could Texas Fire Up Old Sparky?
The short answer is yes — and no. It's still around, and would work if it was plugged in. But it can't be used for executions in Texas anymore. Full Story
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![Old Sparky, the electric chair Texas used to executive inmates from 1924 to 1964.]()
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
The best of our best from January 31 to February 4. Full Story
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The Week in Texas Politics Recap: 1/31 to 2/4
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
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Mexican Reporter Asylum Case Postponed Until 2012
A final ruling in the case of a Mexican reporter seeking asylum in the U.S. with his teenage son has been postponed until 2012 after his attorney was subpoenaed to appear in federal court in an unrelated case and asked for a rescheduling. Full Story
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![Mexican reporter Emilio Gutiérrez has sought asylum in the United States since 2008.]()
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The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for Feb. 4, 2011
Your afternoon reading: abortion sonogram hearings set for next week; Anchia's plum Super Bowl seat; and a Texas congressman's own budget woes Full Story
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Texplainer: What's a Tier-One University?
There’s no universal definition but essentially, the term refers to the country’s top research-focused universities. While there are specific benchmarks to be considered part of that group, some aren't clear or rely purely on perception. Full Story
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Trip Doggett: The TT Interview
The chief executive of the Texas electric grid operator discusses what caused the rolling blackouts across the state on Wednesday — and why he doesn't know if he lost power in his own home. Full Story
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Anchia Gets Super Bowl Seat — at the White House
State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, won't be on the 50-yard line for Sunday's Super Bowl in Arlington. But some could argue he's got the next best seat: at the White House with Barack and Michelle Obama. Full Story
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![State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, in May, 2010.]()
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Jail Officials: Mental Health Cuts Hurt Everyone
Slashing funds for community-based mental health care will hurt taxpayers and degrade the quality of life for thousands of mentally ill Texans and their families, Harris County Jail officials told Texas budget writers today in written testimony for the Senate Finance Committee. Full Story
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The Brief: Top Texas News for Feb. 4, 2011
Heat sounds good right about now, but not the kind the Gov. Rick Perry's taking. Full Story
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"The Daily Show" Does the Speaker's Race
The long-awaited Daily Show segment on alleged anti-Semitism in the 2011 Speaker's race was, predictably, funny. And that John Oliver: such a punim! Full Story
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Tier-One Contender Wary of Cuts
Jim Spaniolo, the president of UT-Arlington, said the university is committed to increasing its engagement with research that “could change the quality of life of many, many people” — but funding cuts resulting from the state’s budget shortfall would slow that momentum. Full Story
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![Dr. Mario Romero-Ortega, associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, discusses his research with university president Jim Spaniolo.]()
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State Keeps Registry of Kids Who Abuse Kids
“Dear future son,” the North Texas father wrote in a prospective adoption letter. “I am a single dad who adopted a middle school boy in 2008. Now we are looking for one more kid so he will have a brother.” Instead, the father got shocking news: He would not be allowed to adopt again because his son is on a state registry of people who abuse children. Full Story
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![James and his adoptive son wait to board the DART train in Dallas on January 30, 2011. The son, who is 15, is on a state registry of people who abuse children.]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller
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