John Bradley, the Williamson County District Attorney and the newly-appointed chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, spent his morning answering a steady stream of questions from Texas lawmakers. At issue, if and when his panel will re-open the investigation into whether faulty science led to the arson conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed by the state in 2004. Full Story
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Sharp and state Reps. Ryan Guillen and Veronica Gonzales fired off a letter today to the two Republican Texas senators asking them to find money to boost health care funding for Rio Grande Valley veterans. Full Story
The mildly pleasant woman who answered the phone explained to me that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Freedom of Information Act office does not accept requests electronically. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley expected some verbal jousting today at the Senate Criminal Justice Committee about his plans for the Texas Forensic Science Commission. He was right. Full Story
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Governor Rick Perry is the subject of the latest video in our Stump Interrupted series, which marries trivia bubbles with purposely newsless stump speeches. In this installment, Perry's late-October address to the Lake Travis Republican Women's Club gets, well, interrupted. Full Story
Eager to impress partygoers with your knowledge of Texas politics and policy? Wondering how to wring every last bit of information out of The Texas Tribune? Our handy video tour (and the quick explainers here) should help. Full Story
A California newspaper's speculation on who will be the country's first Hispanic president lists Texas' own Rep. Rafael Anchia and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro as fan favorites. Full Story
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Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, is endorsing State Board of Education wannabe Thomas Ratliff, an important move because Collin County is a key part of that race's geography. Full Story
We debuted the Stump Interrupted series this week and I've received some emails about how the work is done. The short answer=not quickly. Full Story
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The SBOE's Don McLeroy might miss Rick Agosto more than he thought. Full Story
If Williamson County DA John Bradley is sick of the spotlight, then he got appointed to the wrong commission. Of course, many people would argue that regardless. Full Story
Experts from around the U.S. and Mexico are debating the War on Drugs and its affect on violence south of the border. Some of them wonder whether decriminalization is the answer. Full Story
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Idea for seminars at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the Baker Institute of Public Policy, and the Bush School of Government and Public Service: How do you fire a cheerleader? Full Story
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The state is cracking down on officials who run afoul of election, lobbying and officeholder rules. Just ask Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole. Full Story
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We've set up our first Twitter list, aggregating the feeds of 58 tweeting Texas elected officials Full Story
In keeping with our goal of making government data more accessible, we've created a simple application for searching fines issued by the Texas Ethics Commission. Full Story
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Gov. Perry made a timely announcement today: He's proposing initiatives to improve mental health programs for veterans. Full Story
House Speaker Joe Straus' picks for the legislative committee that says whether the state should kill or keep state agencies: Reps. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Byron Cook, R-Corsicana. San Antonio attorney Lamont Jefferson, who's with the Haynes and Boone law firm, will serve as the House's public member. Full Story