Tom Schieffer is back in the spotlight, this time as the guy who'll oversee day-to-day operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers on behalf of Major League Baseball, which seized control of the team last week. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/112309_tomschieffer_hp.jpg)
Your afternoon reading: ad campaign pushing for leaner budget; transgender marriage rights targeted; House to take up class size Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/SchoolFundingCuts.jpg)
One day after the Senate passed its version of the budget for the next biennium, the Texas Public Policy Foundation expanded its media campaign for a "conservative budget." They produced a series of new ads now running on statewide television. The timing appears to be strategic, as the Senate and House prepare to reconcile their spending plans in conference committee. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RainyDayCommercial.jpg)
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, I interviewed Lance Armstrong about the need to protect cancer research funding in austere times and his advocacy on behalf of an indoor workplace smoking ban. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTribLive-LanceArmstrong032.jpg)
Though the House has already thrown the first punch, the Senate will enter the ring this week to fight for billions of dollars in state funding. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Capsized4.jpg)
Troy Fraser lost a redistricting fight 20 years ago. Now he's in another redistricting battle — with another Republican and based more on what part of the state is shrinking (his area's population) than on politics. He's determined not to lose. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/236465e484018cf1de9fa37a063f25de/BD%20INC%20Troy%20Fraser%2003-01%202011)
Texans pride themselves on being the heart of the nation’s oil and gas business. But even here, public concern about the environmental consequences of natural gas drilling is growing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-NaturalGasBacklash-SP004.JPG)
For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether lawmakers or the courts will end up drawing political maps and who they think is angling for the four new seats in the congressional delegation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/inside_intelligence-logo_1.png){kind=logo}
A $176.5 billion budget — 5.9 percent smaller than the current budget — won approval from the Senate Finance Committee right and will come to a full Senate vote after the Easter break. Full Story
The Texas Tribune has updated Children at Risk's rankings of more than 5,800 public school campuses with 2011 figures. Explore them for yourself here. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/howyourschoolranks.jpg)
Dallas' top-notch magnet schools are at the heart of an identity crisis that has sent fissures through the state’s second-largest district, sparking emotional debates about how scarce funds should be spent during a time of financial reckoning. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-DallasMagnetSchool-SP009.JPG)
Aaronson on a freshman lawmaker's rogue antics, Aguilar on how cartel violence affects tick eradication, Galbraith on Midland's water woes, Hamilton on the exit of a higher ed reformer, Murphy maps voting age by county, Philpott on the data breach at the Comptroller's office, Ramsey on why Susan Combs needs to eat crow, my TribLive interview with U.S. Sen John Cornyn, Ramshaw on Cornyn's refusal to take the "nickel tour" of Planned Parenthood, M. Smith annotates the contracts of superintendents, Stiles on a GOP-friendly redistricting map and Tan on a possible Rainy Day Fund raid: The best of our best content from April 18 to 22, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tribweek_04_18_2011.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/capitol_dome_and_flags_1.jpg)
At a TribLive conversation on April 14, I interviewed Dr. Daniel Podolsky the president of UT Southwestern Medical Center, about the state of medical education, the cost of health care cuts and the value of academic research. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/UTSWStill_sized.jpg)
A nasty drought is gripping all of Texas, but Midland's situation is especially precarious. Since the beginning of October, barely one-tenth of an inch of rain has fallen, and regional reservoirs are getting close to empty. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-MidlandWater-RH001.JPG)
A Texas congressman is seeking to designate seven of the top Mexican cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations." Critics of the proposal fear such a designation could harm Mexico’s ability to wage its own fight against the cartels. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1b338b0153eab6ae9b7a606807229a8d/DO%20NOT%20USE%20Michael%20McCaul%2001%202011)
The comptroller of public accounts has been ducking responsibility ever since revealing that her agency had put the names and Social Security numbers of 3.5 million people in a publicly available spot on its website. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b8ed19150a7fd85f8c8821b2c9d6480e/BD%20INC%20Combs%2003%20CMS%202011)
Though secondhand smoke leads to nearly 50,000 U.S. deaths among nonsmoking adults every year, no southern state, including Texas, has adopted a smoke-free law for worksites, restaurants and bars, according to a new CDC report. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/JustinShearer_Cigarette.jpg)
The rogue antics of freshman state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview — knocking three bills, including veteran Democratic state Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s contentious puppy mill bill, off of a fast-track House calendar — are attracting glares and backlash from his colleagues, some of whom are considering returning the favor. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dfd0461806b8f0e89232d879420458c2/DO%20NOT%20USE%20Sen%20Dav%20Pup%202011)
At this morning's TribLive conversation, Lance Armstrong talked about the investigation into allegations that he doped as a pro cyclist — and whether the controversy has impacted his advocacy on behalf of cancer research funding and a workplace smoking ban. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TxTribLive-LanceArmstrong032_1.jpg)