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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Brandi Grissom Reporter

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Brandi Grissom joined the Tribune after four years at the El Paso Times, where she has been a one-woman Capitol bureau during the last two legislative sessions. Grissom won the Associated Press Managing Editors 1st place award in 2007 for using the Freedom of Information Act to report stories on a variety of government programs and entities, and the ACLU of Texas named her legislative reporter of the year in 2007 for her reporting about immigration issues. She previously worked for the Alliance Times-Herald, the Taylor Daily Press, the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung and the Associated Press, and was managing editor at the Daily Texan. A native of Alliance, Nebraska, she has a degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin.

bgrissom@texastribune.org
512-716-8618

Recent Contributions

Driven to Repeal

by Brandi Grissom  |  3/15/2010  |  7

The Driver Responsibility Act, which levies hefty surcharges on minor offenders, has cost 1.2 million Texans their licenses, and most of the fees that were supposed to be collected have not materialized. At the direction of state lawmakers, the DPS is trying to get people to pay up and square things with the law. But critics want the program ended altogether.

Potties, Pickups and Preparedness

by Brandi Grissom  |  3/8/2010

Local governments, Native American tribes and nonprofit groups in Texas hauled in more than $298 million in federal homeland security grants from 2003 through 2008 and made more than 30,000 purchases, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of a Texas Department of Public Safety database. Much of the money has gone to improve local emergency response and to beef up police and fire departments — critical safety measures that taxpayers might not have been able to afford without assistance from Washington. But it's unclear how some of the expenditures have made the state, or the nation, more resistant to terror attacks.

Who Won, Who Lost

by Brandi Grissom and Emily Ramshaw  |  3/3/2010

For the last two months, we've brought you news and analysis on 20 hotly contested primaries. Here's a look at who won, who lost, and who's headed for a runoff in the top legislative and congressional races.

Rick Perry vs. the DPS

by Brandi Grissom  |  3/2/2010  |  2

While the director of the Department of Public Safety and some state senators argue that X-ray machines and metal detectors are critical in the wake of a shooting at the Capitol, the Governor and others in the Legislature worry that a gamut of security hurdles would make the place unwelcoming to the public.

In Closing: Kay Bailey Hutchison

by Brandi Grissom  |  3/1/2010

“Things are going great. I feel good, and I’m going to campaign to the end,” she told a TV reporter shortly before Houston's Downtown Rodeo Parade. “I don’t think the polls are right.”

In Closing: The Big Five

by Brandi Grissom, Reeve Hamilton, Emily Ramshaw, Abby Rapoport and Matt Stiles  |  3/1/2010

Whether or not the outcome of tomorrow's gubernatorial primary is conclusive — whether or not we have a runoff six weeks hence — we can say this with certainty: One of the five main candidates on the ballot will be the next governor of Texas. And this: 40 hours from now, we'll know much more about the state's coming political landscape than we do today. While we bide our time and wait for results, we present these final snapshots of the campaigns as they wound down.

Signs of Shami

by Brandi Grissom  |  2/22/2010

Without El Paso, you know, it'd be like a campaign without sunshine for Farouk Shami. The Palestinian immigrant running as a Democrat for governor has made public overtures to Latinos, and it's working: He's drawing some of his most significant support from Hispanic Democrats in the Sun City.

Primary Color: HD-76

by Brandi Grissom  |  2/18/2010

State Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, is in the fight of her career, trying to hang onto her Texas House seat after a bruising year in which her public fights with her fellow lawmakers made headlines statewide. Her young opponent says it’s way past time for a change.

Primary Color: HD-78

by Brandi Grissom  |  2/16/2010

About the only thing Jay Kleberg and Dee Margo have in common is the R next their names on the primary ballot — that and their desire to take on freshman Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody in November.

Primary Color: Five to Watch

by Brandi Grissom, Elise Hu, Ross Ramsey, Abby Rapoport and Morgan Smith  |  2/16/2010

In honor of today's kickoff of early voting — a two-week period in which political junkies, committed activists and other go-to-the-head-of-the-class types will line up to cast ballots for their favorite candidates, unable to contain their enthusiasm or anger until March 2 — we present five different installments in our Primary Color series. Brandi Grissom reports on the GOP face-off to take on state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, in House District 78. Elise Hu tackles the four-way scrum between Republicans in HD-20 hoping to succeed retiring state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown. Ross Ramsey asks why a perenially safe incumbent, state Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, has a fight on her hands this year in HD-98. Abby Rapoport looks at the battle for conservative cred in the race for the District 5 seat on the State Board of Education. And Morgan Smith picks apart the five-way race for the GOP nomination in Congressional District 23 — and the chance to topple U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio.

Off the Bus

by Brandi Grissom  |  2/11/2010

The U.S. Border Patrol has stopped a controversial program that shipped illegal immigrants back to Mexico through the tiny Texas border town of Presidio — for now.

Accidents Will Happen

by Brandi Grissom  |  2/9/2010  |  1

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.

Department of Public Stimulus

by Brandi Grissom  |  2/5/2010

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.

Border Blues

by Brandi Grissom  |  2/3/2010

In blood-red Texas, 19 border legislative races are up for grabs in 2010 — but Republicans are running in only 6. And only 2 GOP candidates have raised any significant cash so far.

Case Open: The Investigation

by Brandi Grissom  |  1/29/2010  |  1

It took a crew of eight Northwestern University students to bring national attention to questions about Hank Skinner's death sentence. But his legal pleas for more DNA testing of crime scene evidence — and his lawsuit against the Gray County district attorney — have gone nowhere. Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, he'll be executed on Feburary 24.

 
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TribBlog: Cornyn, Hutchison Want Obama to Visit Violent Border

by Brandi Grissom | 3/17/10

TribBlog: You Want Me to What? Really? [UPDATED]

by Brandi Grissom | 3/17/10

TribBlog: Perry Activates Border "Spillover" Plan

by Brandi Grissom | 3/16/10

TribBlog: Perry Pleads Again for Drones, National Guard on Border

by Brandi Grissom | 3/15/10

TribBlog: U.S. Dept. of State Says Stay Out of Mexico

by Brandi Grissom | 3/15/10

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