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The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribBlog: Capitol Reopened After Bomb Threat

    By Ross Ramsey

    The Texas Capitol has been evacuated because of an early morning bomb threat. A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety says someone called 9-1-1 and said there is a bomb in the building. Everyone inside was ordered out and people showing up for work this morning are being turned away for now. Full Story 

    State troopers denying visitor entrance to the Capitol due to a bomb threat on June 18, 2010.
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribBlog: Hegar: No PUC Revolving Door

    By Emily Ramshaw

    When reports surfaced that the Public Utility Comission chair was being considered for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' top job, watchdogs questioned whether he could legally — or ethically — apply for the job. If Sunset Advisory Commission Chair Glenn Hegar's recommendations stick, the answer will soon be no. Full Story 

    Barry Smitherman

  • TribBlog: Flag Flop [Updated]

    By Emily Ramshaw

    When former Gov. Dolph Briscoe Jr. died Sunday after a long illness, Gov. Rick Perry reached out to the U.S. government, asking for flags to be flown at half-mast at federal buildings in Texas. The response, Perry's office says, was a resounding no. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Sunset Grill

    By Elise Hu

    Physician fraud investigators inside the troubled Division of Workers' Compensation say state examiners failed to uncover serious problems there — and then recommended changes that would take key decisions away from trained physicians and give them to bureaucrats. Full Story 

    Division of Workers' Compensation Commissioner Rod Bordelon and the Sunset Advisory Commission, May 26, 2010.
    Credit: Justin Dehn/Todd Wiseman

  • Balking at Bacteria

    By Mose Buchele, KUT News

    The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has voted not to allow higher levels of E. coli bacteria in the state's water sources, despite staff concerns that the current rules are unnecessarily stringent. Full Story 

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  • Down in the Valley

    By Julián Aguilar

    Last week State Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, was indicted on charges she engaged in Medicaid fraud — the second House member from South Texas to be indicted in less than a year. But their colleagues insist that such corruption isn't a regional thing, no matter what the stereotype suggests. Full Story 

    Tara Rios-Ybarra

  • Con Jobs

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

    Criminal records don't always exclude job applicants from working with the most vulnerable foster care children, according to a Texas Tribune/Houston Chronicle investigation. At Daystar Residential Inc., where workers forced developmentally disabled girls to fight each other, dozens made it through the state's background check process in the last three years despite records of arrests. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva

  • Mark White on Dolph Briscoe

    By Jennifer Stayton

    Former Governor Dolph Briscoe, Jr., who died Sunday at age 87, was a genuine, intelligent and thoughful man whose hands-off style and moderate politics were right for the Texas of his time. So says another former governor, Mark White, who talked on Monday to Jennifer Stayton of KUT News. Full Story 

    Former Texas governors (from left): Preston Smith, Mark White, Dolph Briscoe, and Bill Clements.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Katherine Youngblood Glass: The TT Interview

    By Julián Aguilar

    The Libertarian Party's gubernatorial candidate talked to the Tribune on Friday about why more Texans should be armed, why same-sex unions should be allowed and her admittedly slim chances of dethroning Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story 

    Katherine Youngblood Glass
    Credit: Katherine Youngblood Glass for Texas Governor on Facebook