Republican House Speaker Joe Straus stopped in El Paso on Monday to continue his statewide push for Prop 6, a ballot initiative that would tap into the state’s savings account to finance a water development bank. Full Story
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In a new web ad, Republican attorney general candidate Barry Smitherman invites voters to join his "conservative crusade" and highlights his experience in the "courtroom, boardroom and running major state agencies." Full Story
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In his first major policy address as a gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Greg Abbott proposed tighter constitutional limits on state spending and increased constraints on the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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The Affordable Care Act will increase the average cost of insurance premiums, making health care less affordable for those Texans on whom the system financially depends, according to a Texas Public Policy Foundation report. Full Story
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Dallas developer Donald Huffines, who has never run for office but comes from a well-known family, confirmed Monday that he will challenge state Sen. John Carona in next year's Republican primary. Full Story
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Sen. Wendy Davis, the Democratic candidate for governor, offered her harshest assessment yet of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, criticizing the Republican's role in the government shutdown. She also rejected comparisons between Cruz's actions and her June filibuster. Full Story
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At our 10/23 Hot Seat conversation at the Texas Tech University, state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and state Reps. John Frullo, R-Lubbock, and Drew Springer, R-Muenster, talked about water, transportation, public education and other issues in play in the 83rd session. Full Story
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Texas' two biggest political celebrities of the moment — Wendy Davis and Ted Cruz — continue to make the biggest waves across the Lone Star State's political scene. Full Story
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When funeral directors from across the country gathered in Austin last week, they learned about Mexican traditions while honoring their colleagues who have died. Hispanics are underrepresented in the funeral industry in Texas and the nation. Full Story
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State ethics regulators are weighing complaints about lobbying that already took place and elections that are already over — a case that started with a persistent activist who methodically irritates the Republican establishment in Texas. Full Story
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Six months after the devastating fertilizer plant blast in West, federal regulators are exploring ways to reduce the risk of such explosions in the future, including changing the shape of facilities used to store hazardous chemicals. Full Story
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After a nationwide search, the campaign of state Sen. Wendy Davis announced Sunday she was tapping veteran Democratic strategist Karin Johanson to run her race for Texas governor. Full Story
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A family is fighting to keep jailed the man suspected in their relatives’ deaths, while he pursues a chance to become eligible for parole. Full Story
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A legislative committee held hearings that raised questions about a University of Texas System regent's voluminous records requests of the system's flagship university, so we start our playlist this week with "Too Much Information" by Duran Duran. Full Story
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This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz checks in with voters on a post-shutdown tour of Texas, surprising moves on the 2014 campaign trail and Gov. Rick Perry announces a Texas A&M campus in Israel. Full Story
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M. Smith on wasted private tutoring efforts, Satija on government protection for the lesser prairie chicken, Root finds a new nest of Democratic trial lawyers, Malewitz finds a border skirmish featuring mollusks, Hamilton with the latest on politics at the University of Texas, Batheja on the link between vehicle traffic and bond ratings, Aguilar finds some promise in a juvenile justice program in Eagle Pass and Aaronson covers the court fight over new abortion regulations: The best of our best for the week of Oct. 21-25, 2013. Full Story
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Texas regulators signaled Friday that they would pursue a major overhaul of the wholesale electricity market in hopes of ensuring the long-term reliability of the state’s electric grid. Full Story
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Your evening reading: contractor involved with health exchange received Enterprise Fund money; Sebelius comes to Texas to apologize and to criticize; Cruz despises avocados Full Story
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Watchdog group Texans for Public Justice found that CGI Group, the lead technology contractor behind the problem-ridden Healthcare.gov, received $1.8 million from Gov. Rick Perry through the deal-closing Texas Enterprise Fund in 2011. Full Story
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Following a week of intense scrutiny from the Legislature, University of Texas System Board of Regents Chairman Paul Foster announced on Friday that he intends to recommend new policy changes in November. Full Story
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