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The latest state agencies news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    M. Smith's interview with the new chair of the Texas GOP, Philpott on Republicans and Tea Partiers living in harmony, Aguilar on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's not-yet-released strategic plan, Ramshaw's tragic tale of out-of-state kids in Texas treatment centers, Grissom on how budget cuts could impact juvenile justice, Stiles' awesome new population app, Galbraith on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton's interview with the commissioner of higher education and the debut of Hu's new video debate series: The best of our best from June 14 to 19, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • 2010: Broadband Brouhaha

    By Morgan Smith

    The recently released map of Texans' access to high-speed internet is a new flashpoint in the race for state Agriculture Commissioner. At issue is the nonprofit behind it, Connected Nation, which received $3 million in federal money for the project under current commissioner Todd Staples' auspices. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Connected Texas

  • 2010: WFAA: Harper-Brown Under Ethics Cloud

    By Elise Hu

    Tribune news partner WFAA-TV reports that state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, and her husband are driving cars owned by a highway contractor doing millions of dollars in business with the state. All the while, Harper-Brown sits on the influential House Transportation Committee. Full Story 

    State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving.
    Credit: WFAA-TV

  • TribBlog: Gallego Wants "Fight Club" Investigation

    By Emily Ramshaw

    State Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, has asked the House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics to review how the Department of Family and Protective Services licenses, reviews and oversees residential treatment centers for foster kids. Full Story 

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    Credit: Nick de la Torre / The Houston Chronicle

  • Wilderness Wireless

    By Rachel Kraft

    More than 250,000 Texas homes, mostly in rural areas, don’t have access to high-speed internet, according to a new broadband services map commissioned by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Connected Texas

  • A Conversation with Craig Watkins

    By Evan Smith

    For the 11th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the Dallas County district attorney about why and how he's worked to exonerate the wrongfully imprisoned and whether he's dragging his feet on a controversial corruption case involving county constables. Full Story 

  • The Big Hungry

    By Alexa Garcia-Ditta

    Texas' participation in the federally funded summer food service program is dismally low compared to the national average — meaning only a small percentage of the state's 2.5 million low-income kids are getting free meals. Full Story 

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    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • TribBlog: Watkins Plays Self-Defense

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, under fire at home for his handling of an investigation into Democratic county constables, played defense before an Austin crowd this morning in a TribLive interview with the Tribune's Evan Smith. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • The Brief: June 8, 2010

    By David Muto

    Efforts to contain the oil still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico finally seem to be making headway, but the government is now warning that the remaining slick may have a mind of its own. Full Story 

    This photo from a NASA satellite shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico on April 25, 2010.
    Credit: N.A.S.A.

  • TribBlog: Governor Responds to "Fight Club" Abuse

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Gov. Rick Perry's office said this evening that it has ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services to review its investigation and sanction policies in light of a Houston Chronicle/Texas Tribune article on staffers who forced young girls to fight at a Houston-area residential treatment center for foster children. Full Story 

    The Daystar Residential Inc. campus, in Manvel, photographed on Saturday, June 5, 2010.
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • Forced to Fight

    By Emily Ramshaw, The Texas Tribune, and Terri Langford, Houston Chronicle

    Workers at a center for distressed children in Manvel provoked seven developmentally disabled girls into a fight of biting and bruising, while they laughed, cheered and promised the winners after-school snacks. The fight was one of more than 250 incidents of abuse and mistreatment in residential treatment centers over the last two years, based on a Houston Chronicle/Texas Tribune review of Department of Family and Protective Services records. Full Story 

    The Dystar Residential Inc. campus, in Manvel, photographed on Friday, June 4, 2010.
    Credit: Nick de la Torre / The Houston Chronicle

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Ramshaw on geriatric care in state prisons, with Miller's photo essay inside those walls; M. Smith interviews the state's newest Supreme Court justice, Debra Lehrmann; Aguilar finds fewer Mexicans seeking asylum in the U.S; Galbraith sorts out the politics of pollution and whether our air is dangerous to breathe; Thevenot discovers authorities writing tickets for misbehavior to elementary school kids; Philpott reports on early hearing about political redistricting; Kreighbaum examines fines levied against polluters and finds they're often smaller than the economic benefits of the infractions; and Stiles and Babalola spotlight some of our data projects from our first seven months online: The best of our best from May 31 to June 4, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva