The Midday Brief: Oct. 20, 2010
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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Ads Infinitum: Jeff Weems' First Campaign Ad
In his first ad of the election cycle, the Democratic Railroad Commissioner candidate emphasizes his competence — and his newspaper endorsements. Full Story
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The Brief: Oct. 20, 2010
Perhaps taking a cue from this week's farce in New York, the Texas governor's debate on Tuesday had its moments. Full Story
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2010: White Accuses Perry of "Milking" TRS
Top appointees and employees at the state Teacher Retirement System overrode staff recommendations in order to hire political cronies and business associates for investment work there, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White charged Tuesday. A spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry's campaign says White is "throwing everything at the wall to see what will stick." Full Story
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Travis County Sticks with Electronic Voting
Travis County voters will continue using the e-Slate voting system despite citizen calls for a paper ballot system. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Data App: Even More Salaries
This week we added more than 20 new public agencies to The Texas Tribune's government employee salary database. The application now features payroll data on more than 620,000 employees from 88 school districts, cities, community colleges, universities, state agencies and transit authorities. Full Story
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Friday Night Lights Out?
The drama of the gridiron has found its way into a federal courtroom in a standoff between the Texas Association of Sports Officials and the University Interscholastic League. With the threat of a lockout of referees and their ilk, the result could be the hiring of scabs to replace them — or even the halting of games — just weeks before one of the year's most eagerly anticipated moments in Texas: the start of high school football playoffs. Full Story
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Perry Declines, But the Debate Must Go On
Two weeks before Election Day, three Texas gubernatorial candidates debated the issues and made a final plea for support. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, one of them was not Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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Where They Stand: HD-52
In House District 52 — southern Williamson County — incumbent Democrat Diana Maldonado faces one of her party's toughest challengers in Republican Larry Gonzales. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at how the candidates would set priorities for a fast-growing part of state. Full Story
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2010: An Hour in the Spotlight
A televised debate offered voters a chance to see and hear from Libertarian Kathie Glass and Green Deb Shafto, gubernatorial candidates who are usually overshadowed by Rick Perry and Bill White. Full Story
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Ads Infinitum: Perry's "Trust" and "Working"
Two new Spanish language ads from Gov. Rick Perry play up the governor's record of creating jobs and supporting businesses. Full Story
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TribBlog: Chair Today, Gone Tomorrow [Updated]
On Tuesday, in a somewhat unconventional move, Williamson County Democratic Party Chairman Gregory Windham endorsed a Republican and abruptly resigned his post. Full Story
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Ads Infinitum: Perry's "New Jobs"
Gov. Rick Perry does some comparing and contrasting of Texas and Washington in his latest television ad. Full Story
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Ads Infinitum: Chet Edwards' "Risk"
In his latest ad, U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, attacks Republican challenger Bill Flores on his plan to privatize Social Security. Full Story
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The Midday Brief: Oct. 19, 2010
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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TribBlog: "Frontline" Looks at Willingham Case
Two weeks before the gubernatorial election, the season premiere of Frontline features a timely topic: the Cameron Todd Willingham case. All PBS stations in Texas will air it, despite initial hesitation over running the episode — portions of which question the actions of Gov. Rick Perry — so close to Election Day. Full Story
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The Brief: Oct. 19, 2010
Interpret however you will, but the first-day numbers are in for early voting — and they're up. Full Story
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Rock the Mid-Terms?
Mailboxes and the airwaves will be flooded with political ads over the last two weeks of the general election, and much of that final push will be focused on likely voters. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, most young people just don't fall into that category. Full Story
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The Trouble With Trucking
Heavy truck traffic, some of it related to the wind industry, has increased sharply across the state in recent years, and it's taken a heavy toll on rural roadways. To its chagrin, the Texas Department of Transportation has little prospect of recouping repair costs. Full Story
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Data App: Community College Pay
About 60 percent of Texas students who continue their education after high school start out at community colleges, whose payrolls have not been part of our database of public employee salaries — until today. We've added in the pay of nearly 20,000 administrators and faculty at seven Texas community colleges and college districts: Houston Community College, Dallas County Community College District, Alamo Colleges, Lone Star College, Austin Community College, Collin College and Tarrant County College. While the median salaries at community colleges are comparable to those of state universities, dramatic differences can be seen at the margins. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
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