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All Coverage

  • Donkey Business

    By Ross Ramsey

    In the run-up to their first appearance together on statewide TV, the leading Democratic contenders for governor are sticking to the script: Bill White sounds like a guy prepping for a town hall meeting, while Farouk Shami is testier, spoliing for a chance to hold the frontrunner accountable. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Reform Follows Function

    By Brian Thevenot

    The federal push for accountability at "persistently low-achieving" schools across Texas is running smack into the hard, slow work of improvement at the local level. Full Story 

    Use our data app to find "persistently lowest performing" schools in Texas.
    Credit: Matt Stiles

  • The Trials of Felipe Reyna

    By Morgan Smith

    Two former Texas Supreme Court justices and a Goliath of state judicial politics are trying to oust the 10th Court of Appeals judge from the courthouse that he once cleaned as a janitor. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • A Short Season

    By Ross Ramsey

    March 2 just seems early, but that's the date, and it's almost upon us. The Republican gubernatorial candidates are through with their debates, the Democrats have one on Monday, early voting starts in ten days, and that election date is less than four weeks from now. Full Story 

  • 2010: Rick and Sarah

    By Morgan Smith

    It's not every campaign rally where volunteers checking your bag at the door ask if you're carrying a concealed weapon. Then again, not every rally features Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent, Dan Patrick, and hordes of tearful, exuberant realtors, homeschoolers, farmers, and like-minded Washington, D.C. haters. Full Story 

    Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at a campaign event for Gov. Rick Perry in 2010.
    Credit: Marjorie Cotera

  • 2010: Shami vs. the "Democrat" Party

    By Ross Ramsey

    "They've been supporting one candidate because he's been a Democrat longer than me," he said Saturday. "That is not democratic. That's not in the Constitution. And that is not what people think. So it is not fair that the Democrat Party backs up somebody without listening to the other." Full Story 

    Democratic candidate for Governor Farouk Shami greets visitors at an evening meet and greet at the Celestial Room in downtown McAllen, TX.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Thevenot on the abysmally low community college graduation rate and higher ed's coming budgetary winter. Ramshaw on Terri Hodge's guilty plea and hasty exit. Grissom on the Department of Public Safety's use of dreaded federal stimulus funds to plug a hole in the state's border security budget. Hu on the first of the intraparty face-offs in our Primary Color series. Ramsey and Stiles on the congressional candidates with the most money on hand. Ramsey on whether Farouk Shami's accent and name are an obstacle to his election. Aguilar on the fever-tick epidemic overwhelming South Texas. Rapoport on TxDOT's hard road and the State Board of Education's lack of finance expertise. Philpott on how Barack Obama's budget will impact Texas. M. Smith on whether lawyers giving to judges is a good thing. Hamilton on the latest transportation innovations on the drawing board. The best of our best from February 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story 

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  • HuTube: G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

    By Elise Hu

    Kay Bailey Hutchison's preference for private jets is the latest barb in a back-and-forth over which Republican gubernatorial candidate lives a lusher lifestyle. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • Guest Column: Advice for Kay

    By Glenn Smith

    Don't believe all the loose talk that the GOP race for governor is over. A month is forever in politics, as Ann Richards proved in 1990. Full Story 

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    Credit: Courtesy of Glenn Smith

  • Department of Public Stimulus

    By Brandi Grissom

    The Department of Public Safety, which is struggling financially, is planning to use $16 million of the federal stimulus dollars that Gov. Rick Perry begrudgingly accepted to plug a hole in the border security budget. The decision follows a mandate by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus that state agencies cut 5 percent out of their budgets to meet an anticipated shortfall. Full Story 

    Security camera towers loom over the Rio Grande River.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • The Capital Gang

    By Ross Ramsey and Matt Stiles

    The six Texas congressional candidates who ended the year with $1 million or more on hand are incumbents. Only two of the candidates with the 20 biggest bank accounts are not. Full Story 

    Search our interactive chart, which details campaign financing by Texas candidates for U.S. Congress during 2009.
    Credit: Matt Stiles