The Brief: January 22, 2010
How will Thursday's shooting change security guidelines at the Capitol? Full Story
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Who's Got What
A review of campaign finance reports for the period from July to December 2009 reveals that some candidates for the Texas House are capable of raising serious money. Full Story
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Credit: Jacob Villanueva -
TribBlog: Perry Commends DPS Troopers Who Nabbed Capitol Shooter
A man entered Sen. Dan Patrick's office, then fired shots outside the Capitol. No injuries have been reported. Full Story
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TribBlog: Abbott launches trafficking task force
Twenty percent of the nation's 17,000 human trafficking victims each year come through Texas, and Attorney General Greg Abbott said today the state should take the lead in collaboration among agencies to fight the scourge of modern-day slavery. Full Story
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The Brief: January 21, 2010
Kinky to Gilbert: "Give the money back!" Full Story
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Abuse of Power: One Family's Fight
With each day that passes, David Nicholson fears that the man who killed his profoundly disabled brother will join the ranks of state school workers who are never convicted for their heinous acts. Full Story
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![Donnell Smith (left) is charged with manslaughter in the suffocation death of Lubbock State School resident Michael Nicholson (right).]()
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The Midday Brief: January 20, 2010
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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TribBlog: Special Master Recommends Reprimand for Keller
Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of the state's highest criminal court, will not be removed from the bench following a trial and review by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Full Story
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Abuse of Power
State employees who commit heinous acts against Texas' most profoundly disabled citizens rarely get charged with crimes, let alone go to jail. A Texas Tribune review of a decade’s worth of abuse and neglect firings at state institutions found that just 16 percent of the most violent or negligent employees were ever charged with crimes. Full Story
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Credit: Jacob Villanueva -
TribBlog: Will Obama Put Texas Schools Back in the Race?
The president announced he would ask Congress for an additional $1.35 billion for the Race to the Top education grant program — which Gov. Perry spurned last week — along with more flexibility in doling it out to individual districts. He also took a swipe at Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Abby Rapoport -
The Brief: January 19, 2010
It's Debra Medina's moment. Full Story
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Riding into Sunset
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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2010: Following the Money
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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The Brief: January 18, 2010
Debra Medina has a dream — and it’s not just to bring a gun into a grocery store. Full Story
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Guest Column: The 2010 Agenda: Criminal Justice
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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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
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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History Lessened
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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Credit: Abby Rapoport -
TribBlog: Don McLeroy in the Hizz
In the midst of the social studies curriculum revisions, the SBOE member and former chair kicks off a debate about, of all things, hip-hop. Full Story
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![Don McLeroy, a member of the Texas State Board of Education, at the Texas Tribune offices in October.]()
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On the Records: Ready, Set, File
Today the campaigns file reports itemizing their donations and expenditures. Full Story
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![A snapshot of raw data from Gov. Rick Perry's mid-year campaign report.]()
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Civil Civics
State Board of Education members played mostly nice with one another Thursday, as they added and subtracted historical figures to the social studies curriculum. In: the first Hispanic Texas Supreme Court justice, Tejanos who died at the Alamo, and W.E.B. Du Bois. Out: "Ma" Ferguson, Henry Cisneros, and Dolores Huerta. Full Story
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Credit: Abby Rapoport
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