The Midday Brief: March 26, 2010
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
The mouse that roared? When it comes to textbooks, all Texas can say, is well, squeak, squeak. Full Story
Lawmakers will find themselves in a multibillion-dollar ditch when they return to Austin in January 2011. Constitutionally, they can't write a deficit budget, so they're expected to use not just cuts but revenue raisers to keep the books in balance. Ben Philpott, who covers politics and public policy for KUT News and the Tribune, filed this report. Full Story
Despite all the handwringing about Texas' influence on the textbook market nationally, it's just not so, publishing insiders say. The state's clout has been on the wane and will diminish more as technological advances and political shifts transform the industry. Full Story
The state says that if it has the power to ban alcohol in strip clubs, then it can levy a $5 "pole tax." But the clubs argued before the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday that nude dancing is a form of protected speech and that the tax violates the First Amendment. Full Story
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White today called on GOP Gov. Rick Perry to remove claims on his public and campaign Web sites that crime on the Texas border has dropped 65 percent. Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner defended the claims. He said Perry's claim refers to temporary crime drops in discreet areas during so-called "border surge" operations. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
A Golden State senator says our State Board of Education can put its conservative spin on U.S. history where the sun don't shine. Full Story
Texas unemployment held steady at 8.2 percent last month, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. That's the same seasonally adjusted rate as in January, December, and November, but it's up from 6.8 percent in February of 2009. Full Story
Yesterday was likely one of the worst days of Hank Skinner's life — before it became what was probably one of the best days. Full Story
Former Secretary of State James Baker traveled to Austin Wednesday night to talk with Texas Tribune CEO and Editor in Chief Evan Smith about the state of the world. Full Story
“I was taught evolution, and it didn’t shake my faith in the Almighty whatsoever,” says George Clayton, who pulled off a stunning upset of incumbent Geraldine "Tincy" Miller, R-Dallas, in the GOP primary to win a seat on the State Board of Education. “Should creationism be taught as a counter to evolution? ... No, I don’t think so. I think evolution is in the science book. It should be taught as a science.” Full Story
Hank Skinner was set to die Wednesday for the 1993 murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two mentally disabled adult sons — a crime he insists he did not commit. About an hour before he was to have poison pushed through his veins, the U.S. Supreme Court spared his life. Full Story
Former Secretary of State James Baker, one of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's highest-profile primary supporters, says he now supports Gov. Rick Perry's re-election bid. And, as it happens, much of Barack Obama's foreign policy. Full Story
Residency requirements tripped up Brian Birdwell's previous effort to enter the Texas Legislature, and it looks like they will again. Full Story
He's back, y'all. Former state Rep. Borris Miles will be returning to the Texas House after a recount finished today shows Miles prevailing over longtime state Rep. Al Edwards by just eight votes. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay this evening of the execution of death row inmate Hank Skinner, who was scheduled to die today. Full Story
A federal judge declared on Wednesday that a Farmers Branch ordinance that banned apartment rentals to undocumented immigrants was unconstitutional. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Senior leaders from the United States and Mexico agreed the two countries will begin swapping intelligence on suspected terrorists and Mexican felons following discussions in Mexico City on Tuesday. Full Story