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Despite its relatively low number of people who walk and bike to work, Texas ranked 10th-highest among states in fatality rates for bicyclists and pedestrians in a recent survey. Lawmakers who worked on a failed 2009 measure to create a buffer zone, giving bicyclists more room on the road, will try again in 2011. Full Story
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Disability advocates want Texas lawmakers to put the term "retarded" in the "word graveyard" with other derogatory terms. Full Story
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After watching his party lose 61 seats in the recent midterm elections, did U.S. Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, vote to stay the course or to give the boot to current Democratic House leadership? The world may never know. Full Story
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Over the last five years, cities and counties in Texas have shelled out $17 million more to hire lobbyists in Washington, D.C., according to disclosure forms analyzed by the Tribune. “Just like anyone else in the nation, we pay federal taxes, and we expect a return on those dollars,” says Larry Gilley, the city manager of Abilene, which paid $320,000 to lobbyists between January 2006 and October 2010. Full Story
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Rick Perry won his third full term as governor of Texas on Tuesday, defeating former Houston Mayor Bill White by a convincing double-digit margin and positioning himself for a role on the national stage. And he led a Republican army that swept all statewide offices for the fourth election in a row, took out three Democratic U.S. congressmen and was on its way to a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — a mark the GOP hasn't seen since the days following the Civil War. Full Story
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A new study by the nonprofit education advocacy group Intercultural Development Research Association says 29 percent of Texas students who enter high school as freshmen do not graduate. The attrition rate is the lowest in the 25 years since the IDRA began performing the annual study. But the group notes that while the trend is declining, millions more Texans will drop out by 2040. Full Story
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A barrage of abuse scandals, a federal investigation and the shrinking state budget could be just what disability advocates need to achieve a longtime goal: fewer state institutions and more community-based living services for developmentally disabled Texans who can’t care for themselves. Full Story
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If you're lucky enough to win the lottery, you can cash in not just some but all of your future payouts for a lump sum. The Texas Supreme Court last week invalidated a state law that prohibited winners from selling their final two payments to finance companies offering cash now, often at a steep price. Full Story
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In the shadow of a projected $21 billion budget shortfall, lawmakers told juvenile justice agencies that they must start budgeting like a cash-strapped family. Full Story
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After a spring filled with bitter culture wars over textbooks, the Texas State Board of Education reopened the fight today with — what else? — a fight over alleged "pro-Islamic/anti-Christian" bias in Texas textbooks. Full Story
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