Accidents Will Happen
State troopers turned in hundreds of error-riddled crash reports in 2007 and 2008, according to an internal audit by the Department of Public Safety. Full Story
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The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
State troopers turned in hundreds of error-riddled crash reports in 2007 and 2008, according to an internal audit by the Department of Public Safety. Full Story
In their first and probably only televised debate, Bill White sounded experienced, as you'd expect of a three-term mayor of Houston, while wealthy hair care magnate Farouk Shami was more passionate, more animated, and much more prone to political mistakes. Full Story
"It's hard to see him in any statewide office, really, but his talent for folksy one-liners could at least be useful in the important role of promoting Texas farm and ranch products" Full Story
The Texas Ethics Commission and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts are opening up more of their data to the public at no charge. Full Story
The federal push for accountability at "persistently low-achieving" schools across Texas is running smack into the hard, slow work of improvement at the local level. Full Story
The Obama administration — which is one of the ways Mark Sanford and Rick Perry are not alike. Full Story
Thevenot on the abysmally low community college graduation rate and higher ed's coming budgetary winter. Ramshaw on Terri Hodge's guilty plea and hasty exit. Grissom on the Department of Public Safety's use of dreaded federal stimulus funds to plug a hole in the state's border security budget. Hu on the first of the intraparty face-offs in our Primary Color series. Ramsey and Stiles on the congressional candidates with the most money on hand. Ramsey on whether Farouk Shami's accent and name are an obstacle to his election. Aguilar on the fever-tick epidemic overwhelming South Texas. Rapoport on TxDOT's hard road and the State Board of Education's lack of finance expertise. Philpott on how Barack Obama's budget will impact Texas. M. Smith on whether lawyers giving to judges is a good thing. Hamilton on the latest transportation innovations on the drawing board. The best of our best from February 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story
The Department of Public Safety, which is struggling financially, is planning to use $16 million of the federal stimulus dollars that Gov. Rick Perry begrudgingly accepted to plug a hole in the border security budget. The decision follows a mandate by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus that state agencies cut 5 percent out of their budgets to meet an anticipated shortfall. Full Story
State Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, and former State Rep. Borris Miles are vying for the same Texas House seat for the third time. In a district with a high dropout rate, a high incidence of HIV infection, and a high percentage of people without health insurance, they predictably disagree about who can best deliver on promises of help, hope and change. Full Story
Lawmakers are still perturbed at TxDOT, but the state's transportation agency is trying to do better. The first step, says one commissioner: Figure out how to meet the transportation needs of Texas citizens — which it's not doing. Full Story
State school leaders from across the West are complaining of too much federal intrusion into local curriculum decisions, along with inflexible rules – including that national standards be adopted “word for word.” Full Story
A federal conviction for lying on her taxes may send embattled Dallas Democratic Rep. Terri Hodge to prison. But it won’t stop her from drawing a state pension. Full Story
Her office is studying efforts to release raw data in New York and San Francisco for ideas. Full Story
Sen. Cornyn said allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the U.S. military would hinder recruitment efforts. Full Story
The embattled state representative admits making a false statement on a federal tax return. Full Story
A clash over a beloved campus music club at UT-Austin portends the gnashing of teeth at schools statewide as a budgetary winter threatens to envelop higher education. Full Story
Dallas County Republicans are jockeying for a chance to topple two freshman Democrats who seized House districts in 2008. The incumbent Dems — hoping to claim their first House majority in eight years — are girding for battle. Full Story
The Democratic primary for agriculture commissioner is going to have to run on star power and free media — neither of the candidates has the money to make a statewide TV campaign out of this thing. Full Story
A little insight into state Rep. Norma Chavez's Democratic primary race out in El Paso can be gleaned from the campaign finance reports filed yesterday, and it looks like she could have a real fight on her hands. Full Story
Disability rights advocates say State Board of Education member David Bradley's comment to the Texas Tribune — "If you sit on the mental health commission, do you have to be retarded?" — is offensive and uninformed. Full Story