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All Coverage

  • TribBlog: Dream Rally

    By Emily Brown

    A group of people who typically prefer to stay out of the limelight gathered this morning to urge lawmakers to support the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. Full Story 

    Veronica Cervantes, an Austin Community College student, participates in a rally on the University of Texas at Austin campus to support the Dream Act.
    Credit: Emily Brown

  • On the Records: Lege Council's Take on Bill Trends

    By Matt Stiles

    A representative for the Texas Legislative Council, which helps lawmakers research and draft bills, won't speculate on why proposed and passed legislation has risen sharply in the last two decades. But it's one reason the agency has expanded its legal division over the years, she says. Full Story 

    Texas Capitol

  • TribBlog: Wind Claims

    By Elise Hu

    If the Larry Taylor-Steve Mostyn battle over windstorm insurance payouts wasn't a proxy war for the tort reformists and the trial lawyers before, it certainly is now. Full Story 

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  • SBOE Will Vote on Sects Education

    By Nathan Bernier, KUT News

    The State Board of Education is getting set to vote later this week on a resolution that would call on textbook publishers to avoid a "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias" in Texas textbooks. As Nathan Bernier of KUT News reports, the matter may be more about symbolism than practical change. Full Story 

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  • Pete Earley: The TT Interview

    By Brandi Grissom

    The author of Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness on the criminalization of mental illness, the need for community-wide solutions and how Texas wastes the money it spends on the problem. Full Story 

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  • Interactive: Government Unlimited

    By Matt Stiles

    Legislative filings increased in the Texas House and Senate by 70 percent from 1991 to 2009, records show, and the number of bills and resolutions passed by both chambers climbed at a higher rate. Resolutions alone numbered about 4,000 last session, or more than half of all legislation. Explore our interactive graphics. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman/Kiet Callies

  • What Happened to His Yard Signs?

    By Elise Hu

    You won't be seeing many Rick Perry yard signs this fall — by design. Except for a few that are available for purchase, the governor's campaign is generally eschewing traditional tools like signs and direct mail, preferring a new set of ways to win over voters. Full Story 

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  • Attention Deficit

    By Ross Ramsey

    Down-ballot candidates are usually the wallflowers at the political dance, sitting in the shadows while contestants for governor hog the affections and interest of voters and political financiers. This year is no exception. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • The Fire Next Time

    By Morgan Smith

    Under the leadership of Williamson County DA John Bradley, the Texas Forensic Science Commission has waged a masterful war of attrition in the Cameron Todd Willingham case: Stall long enough, and public interest in the internationally controversial capital punishment case — along with political liability for any missteps — will fade away. But the commission’s latest delay, while pushing the resolution of the Willingham investigation securely after the general election, comes against Bradley’s wishes and could represent a sea change on the board that until now has resisted making any broader inquiries into the state’s arson convictions. Full Story 

    Texas Forensic Science Commission Chairman John Bradley listens to other board members during a scheduled meeting on Sept. 17, 2010, in Dallas.
    Credit: Tom Pennington

  • Cutting School

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    The Texas Education Agency has submitted a proposal to slash 10 percent of its budget to help close the state's coming shortfall, which could be as much as $21 billion. Among the items on the chopping block: outside-the-classroom expenditures that, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, could have a dramatic affect on student outcomes. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman