Spellings gets unanimous approval, PSI layoffs, and Voinis goes orangeMargaret Spellings, who started her education policy education as a staffer in the Texas House during 1984's House Bill 72 reforms, cleared the U.S. Senate confirmation process and will be the next United States Secretary of Education. She's replacing Rod Paige, the former Houston ISD superintendent who held the job during President George W. Bush's first term. Public Strategies Inc., the Austin-based communications and public affairs shop, is laying off 20 employees in Austin and Washington, D.C., as part of a cost-cutting effort. About half were "professional" employees; half were "administrative." The company's managing directors are taking salary cuts, which will be replaced by a profit-sharing plan that "could allow them to make more than they were making before," according to a spokesman. The cutback was accompanied with a rumor that two former politicians with the firm -- former state Sen. Kent Caperton and former U.S. Rep. Ken Bentsen -- would be leaving. Caperton says that ain't so: the two will remain with PSI. At the same firm, but unrelated to those layoffs comes news that Nick Voinis is leaving the world of politics and policy for the Toy Department. The veteran political spokesman and communications consultant will take over communications for the sports department at the University of Texas at Austin. Before going to PSI, Voinis worked for Kay Bailey Hutchison, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and David Dewhurst, among others. He'll probably get tickets in the new gig, but he'll also have two bosses: Women's Athletics Director Chris Plonsky, and Men's Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds. ERCOT's new director of security, Chander Ahuja, resigned after two months on post, citing personal reasons. The council named an interim finance officer -- Roy Bowman -- who'll work under contract to help the agency through the aftermath of a harsh state audit. He's with Tatum CFO Partners of Houston. Gov. Rick Perry named Gilbert Herrera of Houston and W.A. "Buck" Prewitt III of Horseshoe Bay to the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct. Both are businessmen and not judges, though the commission investigates complaints against judges and disciplines the ones it catches acting badly. For instance: The commission reprimanded state district Judge Luis Aguilar of El Paso for derogatory and sexual remarks about women in and around his courtroom. The targets of that talk ranged from probation officers to other judges, including one incident involving a female prosecutor in open court. Gov. Perry named Jack Ladd of Midland to head the State Securities Board. Ladd is an attorney and the director of the John Ben Shepperd Leadership Institute at UT Permian Basin. And the Guv said he'll appoint Joe Brown Jr. to San Antonio's 57th Judicial District Court. He's with a law firm now, but used to be an assistant Bexar County district attorney. He'll replace Judge Pat Boone, who's resigning from that court...