The Evening Brief: March 28, 2013

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Citing Sequester, Perry Taps TxDOT Cash for Airports: "Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Department of Transportation are arranging to temporarily fund air traffic control towers slated to close next month at 13 Texas airports due to federal budget cuts related to the sequester."

•    TribLive: Cigarroa on Powers and the Regents: "At Thursday's TribLive conversation, University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa discussed the roiling conflict between the Board of Regents and UT-Austin President Bill Powers."

•    For Strama, Education Interests Hit Close to Home: "As state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, detailed his objections to House Bill 5 on Tuesday, what he did not mention is that whether students enroll in challenging courses and the number of state exams they must take could affect his livelihood."

•    Tom Luce Resigns From CPRIT Board: "Dallas attorney Tom Luce has resigned from the board of the embattled Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to head the education-focused O'Donnell Foundation."

•    Sales Taxes, an Exit Ramp and the Texas Budget: "An exit ramp so important it warrants mention in the Texas budget is just one of the many 'riders' in competing spending plans proposed by the Texas House and Senate."

•    Nutrition Benefits a Mixed Bag for Markets: "About 50 farmers markets around the state take SNAP benefits, WIC benefits or both. The programs are not well utilized, but proponents say it is important to provide as many healthy food options as possible for Texans who use nutrition benefits."

•    The Polling Center: Disapproval and Its Consequence: "Some voters will associate a particular policy with a particular individual, and they will probably transfer the opinion of the person to the issue at hand. President Barack Obama's numbers in Texas show that any issue he supports is unlikely to gain much traction in the state."

Culled

•    Group files ethics complaint over Gohmert parking ticket (Politico): "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint Thursday with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. Louie Gohmert for his late-night verbal altercation with the U.S. Park Police."

•    Ted Cruz says he wouldn't be in the Senate without 'Mama Bear' Palin (Houston Chronicle): "Sarah Palin may be off Fox News, but she’s trying to remain relevant in America’s political debates. The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate began her fight for influence in the 2014 elections yesterday with the release of a video called 'loaded for bear.' The star of the video is a rising star in the Lone Star State: freshman Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz, who won the 2012 GOP runoff with Palin's aggressive involvement, is portrayed in the video as a shining example of what SarahPAC, Palin’s political committee, can do."