The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, voted in the November 2004 presidential election twice, choosing between George W. Bush and John Kerry in Tarrant County, Texas, and again in Prince William County, Virginia, according to election records in the two states. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/I-Voted-Twice.png)
This week, the Tribune and the El Paso Times collaborated on a three-part series examining the Texas political map. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Perry-and-White-Ogle-Texas.jpg)
The ACLU has sued Hidalgo County for jailing an estimated 150 impoverished youths for failure to pay fines racked up on school-related tickets. Such sentences amount to running a "debtor's prison" and violate the Constitution and Texas law, ACLU attorneys argue. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e6192f23e25477079043e3d2444b00d6/.BD%20Jail)
State auditors might have found a clue about why Texas has a hard time hanging onto new state troopers: The pay stinks. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/103109-txdotseal-jv.jpg)
Cases of whooping cough spiked in Texas last year to their highest level since 1962. Ben Freed of KUT News reports on what's being done to prevent the spread of this disease. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Girl-With-Whooping-Cough.jpg)
Most of the gubernatorial endorsements today by Texas sheriffs — though not all — map to the 2008 presidential election results. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/whiteperry.jpg)
Statewide disability group ADAPT of Texas and the Texas Civil Rights Project commemorated the 20th anniversity of the Americans with Disabilities Act today by filing more than 20 lawsuits across the state — targeting inaccessibility in restaurants and municipal buildings. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/20100526-DSC_6281.jpg)
Efforts to salvage the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program ultimately may not shield it from the wrath of its many detractors, including at least one lawmaker who believes we "shouldn't hesitate in getting rid of it." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/DriversLicenseResponsibility.jpg)
Ramshaw's question about an insurance company denying coverage for an infant vaccine prompts a reversal; Stiles' new app lets you poke through mid-year campaign reports on donations and spending; Ramsey finds foreshadowing of the state's big fall races in the campaign finance reports; Aguilar interviews Henry Cisneros about current politics; Dawson finds Texas environmentalists getting advice from an unexpected place; Galbraith on "demand response" that might cut the need for power plants and on the next wave of electric cars; Aguilar on increasing trade through Texas ports of entry; M. Smith on affirmative action battles in higher education; Titus on Mexican college students' drift from border universities to UT-Austin and Texas A&M; and Hamilton on controversy over private, for-profit colleges: The best of our best for the week of July 19 to 23, 2010. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TribWeek-07_19.jpg)
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst made some new committee assignments last week to cover the resignation of state Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco. But the rejiggering created as many questions as it answered: Not about who went where, but about what went where. For instance: What committee will have legislative oversight of electric utility companies? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/20100112-capitol7_cbm.jpg)
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/charschool-forrent.png)
After getting shot down in committee, SBOE member David Bradley, R-Beaumont, and other members succeeded Friday in pushing through a plan to purchase school buildings and lease them back to charter schools in a split vote, with two Democrats absent. The decision, however, is contingent upon a favorable attorney general's opinion on the legality of the controversial move — which would pull money from the Permanent School Fund. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/mcleroyanddunbar.jpg)
While delivering their report, members of the subcommittee charged with reviewing the Cameron Todd Willingham case said that though they believe the science used to convict the Corsicana man was flawed, they aren't prepared to say the fire investigator, whose testimony was used to convict him, committed professional misconduct. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/110709_bradley_001_jv.png)
The State Board of Education wades into a little bit of controversy — yet again. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/103109_education001_jv.png)
A new study suggests that while the state's English curriculum is among the best in the nation, our math curriculum doesn't measure up to a set of new national standards. Matt Largey of KUT News reports. Full Story
Evan returns for this week's TribCast, in which the podcast gang takes up campaign finance, the Hispanic Republicans of Texas, Gov. Rick Perry's taxes and the committee shakeup in the Texas Senate. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TT-TribCast-002.png)
It couldn't be much better for Rolando Pablos. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/jeff_wentworth.jpg)
House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, did not have to win a formalwear or swimwear competition to land the title of Mr. South Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Straus_at_podium.JPG)
More than a dozen state officials have at least $1 million in campaign money — and many of them face nominal financial competition this fall. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/112409_money001_jv.jpg)
Private, for-profit colleges, which offer professional certificates at a steep cost, have come under fire for peddling big student loans to vulnerable Texans in exchange for credentials of dubious value. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/For-Profit-Private-Schools.jpg)