To find the most-common occupations among the thousands of people who've donated to the major candidates in the last year, we created word clouds, a visualization technique that boosts the size of words depending on their frequency. Full Story
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As the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality prepares for a legislative review next year, one of its ex-commissioners is consulting with environmentalists who are critical of the agency and the Perry administration. Full Story
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Kay Bailey Hutchison says Texas government should be more transparent. Rick Perry says it already is. Let the sniping begin. Full Story
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Low-income and minority students have every right to expect the same level of educational excellence experienced by their peers in more affluent settings. We literally cannot succeed without setting high expectations for them and fully developing their talents. Full Story
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Take a look at the toplines from the latest Rasmussen poll, conducted after the first GOP gubernatorial debate. A Perry challenger's gaining ground, but it's not Hutchison. Full Story
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In spite of what both campaigns said last month, agriculture commission candidate Hank Gilbert got two-thirds of his money from gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami. Gilbert reported it to the state; Shami didn't. And both Democrats say the money had nothing to do with Gilbert's decision to get out of Shami's race. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Alma Aguado is running for Governor of Texas and, if Kay Bailey Hutchinson retires, for the U.S. Senate. While she says she would rather be governor, her Facebook page for politicians still reads, “Alma Aguado for U.S. Senate.” Full Story
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Debra Medina has a dream — and it’s not just to bring a gun into a grocery store. Full Story
It costs an average of 63 percent more to attend a four-year state school today than it did in 2003 — and that's still not enough to keep pace with bulging university budgets. Some policy makers see the higher education business model on the cusp of collapse. Full Story
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Search more than $35 million in campaign donations and loans collected by the top candidates in the governor's race. You can also explore how they spent the money. Full Story
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In Texas, they earn 35 percent less than their Anglo counterparts — a disparity that's bigger here than elsewhere. Is it because of education, age, discrimination, or some combination of the above? Full Story
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In response to shrinking budgets, there's a risk that lawmakers might feel compelled to scale back funding for treatment and diversion programming. Instead, it's time for the state to seriously consider closing one or more of the 112 prison units it currently operates. Full Story
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The next senator from SD-22 could be the incumbent, Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, Republican challenger Darren Yancy, or a Republican or Democrat whose name is not on the ballot. Full Story
A big week, with the State Board of Education working on social studies textbooks — Thevenot was all over that this week, starting with a story that got national attention — and then the first debate between the GOP gubernatorial candidates, a story we tag-teamed with poll analysis, Hu's and Ramsey's live-blogging, Philpott's audio, and video. Our first TribLive event coaxed some news out of House Speaker Joe Straus, and E. Smith also interviewed Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson on beaches, politics, and, um, politics. We featured M. Smith on athletes in politics, Aguilar on the pack of Republicans chasing U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, Rapoport on women in campaigns, and Hamilton on candidates outside the spotlight. The best of our best from January 11 to January 15, 2010. Full Story
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On day three of the State Board of Education's social studies curriculum hearings, targets of the conservatives' ire included Marcus Garvey, Clarence Darrow, and Ted Kennedy. Full Story
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For the disgruntled ultraconservative, nullification may be the new secession. But as one prominent legal scholar puts it, “If you believe in nullification, you don’t believe in the constitution.” Full Story
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No surprise here, but still: State leaders want state agencies to cut five percent from their current budgets "due to the uncertainty of the state's short-term economic future, as well as potentially substantial long-term costs associated with the passage of federal legislation currently being debated in Washington, D.C." Full Story
It’s the end of the week. Productivity is down and the need for distraction is up. Luckily, a psychology professor has a tool that could easily fill a political junkie's afternoon. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story