Vol 28, Issue 40 Print Issue

UT Board of Regents Chairman Gene Powell asks the Board to support Chancellor Dr. Franciso Cigarroa at their Austin meeting on May 12, 2011.
UT Board of Regents Chairman Gene Powell asks the Board to support Chancellor Dr. Franciso Cigarroa at their Austin meeting on May 12, 2011.

A Fight Outlasts the Proposal that Sparked It

 A recurring theme questioned the status quo of the boards that govern higher education at this week’s day-long meeting of the Joint Oversight Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence, and Transparency: Are the boards that govern higher education due for more restrictive conflict-of-interest policies?

House Speaker Joe  Straus, R-Alamo Heights, in January 2011.
House Speaker Joe Straus, R-Alamo Heights, in January 2011.

Things to Do: The House's Interim Charges

The House's interim charges are out, starting with instructions to everyone to consider ways to improve the state's manufacturing capability and increase the "transparency, accountability, and efficiency" in state government.

Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, votes to table an amendment by Sen. Wendy Davis (not shown) on SB8 an education bill that gives school administrators added powers to lower teacher pay and establish furloughs.  The bill tentatively passed, 18-12 on June 6, 2011.
Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, votes to table an amendment by Sen. Wendy Davis (not shown) on SB8 an education bill that gives school administrators added powers to lower teacher pay and establish furloughs. The bill tentatively passed, 18-12 on June 6, 2011.

Campaign Chatter

Collin County's Republican primary for the state Senate is going to be very interesting.

Soapbox: Better Care, Thanks to Tort Reform

Since the passage of sweeping medical lawsuit reforms in 2003, liability insurance rates have plummeted, doctors have flocked to our state in record numbers and nursing homes and hospitals are again operational. That's good for patients — and good for Texas.

The Week in the Rearview Mirror

Residents who live near fracking sites have been concerned about the quality of their water supplies after the procedure takes place. Now, adjacent to the biggest shale field discovered in Texas, the Eagle Ford formation, well owners are anxious about the very existence of a water supply. Those who live nearby the fracking sites report that their wells and filters fill up with sand, an element used in the drilling process, every few days. And since fracking requires millions of gallons of water, residents near Eagle Ford worry that without any rainfall, their underground supplies will be sucked dry.

Heated debate between congressional candidates Lloyd Doggett and Joaquin Castro may soon become moot, as the redistricting maps that spurred on a contest between them are under review in court and subject to being redrawn. Doggett is the current holder of the District 25 seat but chose to run in the recently drawn District 35 which runs from Austin to San Antonio. The maps, which have been disputed by minority groups, have yet to be finalized. Proposed maps would allow Doggett and Castro to run in separate districts, although the San Antonio based panel of judges has given no indication that it would accept the plaintiffs maps.

Another effect of this year’s record drought is a blooming of algae reported to be the worst to hit the Gulf Coast in over ten years. Called a red tide, the algae thrive in warm, salty water. The lack of rainfall this year made conditions ripe for the phenomenon, which is being blamed for killing fish and affecting the Texas coast from Galveston to South Padre.

The fiscal year that ended in September saw record deportations of immigrants, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton. With numbers reaching nearly 400,000, the agency reported that over half the number of individuals deported had been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. Authorities also reported that two-thirds of the deportees had recently crossed the border or were repeated crossers.

Surprising some onlookers, the superintendent of the McAllen ISD announced a program that will put an iPad in the hands of every student in his district. James Ponce made the announcement to a packed house in a school library, detailing the rollout of the program. The first phase is set to begin next year with the purchase of more than 5000 iPads and 425 iPod touches. Eventually, the district expects to provide each of its 25,000 students with a device, giving Internet access to kids who might not currently have it.

Controversy over content in a new State of the Bay report has left its publication in doubt. Researchers have been outspoken in their criticism of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s decision to modify a scientific report written on sea level rise by a Rice University oceanographer. John Anderson, who was commissioned by the Houston Advanced Research Center to provide the analysis, was critical of the commission’s attempt to edit his report and agreed to have the chapter removed from the report. But two of the editors from the center say the report will be incomplete and insufficient for residents and authorities in planning for the future of Galveston Bay.

The first non-engineer appointed to head the Texas Department of Transportation was denied a salary higher than the statutory maximum. Gov. Rick Perry rejected the written request from the Transportation Commission to allow the new executive director, Phil Wilson, to receive $381,000 in compensation, nearly double what his predecessor made. The Transportation Commission’s request comes on the heels of a salary study of comparable private sector jobs. But Perry stressed the need to conform to the legislated maximum for the job-$292,500, in light of the state’s current fiscal and budget situation.

When Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price opened her latest bank statement, she got a surprise. More than $900 had been debited from the campaign account fraudulently with a fake debit card and checks. The mayor has filed a report with police and Wal-Mart has been asked for surveillance footage, since the debit card was used at two of their stores.

Political People and their Moves

Some of this was done a few weeks ago, but the announcement is now official: Gov. Rick Perry named Jeff Boyd chief of staff and David Morales general counsel. He also named Allison Castle communications director, Josh Havens deputy press secretary, and Jonathan Hurst director of Budget, Planning and Policy. Boyd most recently served as general counsel for the Governor’s Office. Morales was deputy first assistant to Attorney General Greg Abbott. Castle, Havens and Hurst were working — with different titles — where they're working now.

Phillip Martin joins Progress Texas and the Texas Research Institute as research and policy director. He joins Matt Glazer there; the two once worked at the Democratic Burnt Orange Report together. Martin also worked as chief of staff Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston.

The governor has been making appointments between road trips. He appointed:

Jeff Austin III of Tyler to the Texas Transportation Commission. Austin is vice chairman of Austin Bank and Texas NA.

Jason Kevin Patteson of Austin as director of the Office of State-Federal Relations. Patteson is an attorney and special counsel on federal initiatives for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Terry Hazell of Georgetown chair of the Texas Emerging Technology Advisory Committee. Hazell is director of RampCorp at Texas State University. Perry also named 13 members to the committee, including Susan “Sue” Georgen-Saad of Austin, a certified public accountant and chief financial officer of Cenoplex; Thomas Halbouty of Southlake, corporate vice president, chief information officer and chief technology officer at Pioneer Natural Resources; former Rep. Judy Hawley of Portland, a retired business developer for Advanced Acoustic Concepts; Randal “Randy” Hill of Baird, a NASCAR team owner and president and CEO of Randy Hill Racing; David Miller of Lubbock, COO of Flat Wireless, and former vice chancellor of Research and Commercialization for the Texas Tech University System; Ofer Molad of Bellaire, president and CEO of Persys Medical. He is credited with innovating modern military medical technology by commercializing products such as the “Israeli Bandage,” used during operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom; Richard Schoephoerster of El Paso, dean of the University of Texas at El Paso College of Engineering; John Schrock of McAllen, president and CEO of Lifetime Investments; Wesley Terrell of Richardson, an attorney for AT&T; Jaye Thompson of The Woodlands, senior vice president of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs for Opexa Therapeutics; Richard Williams of Richardson, director of strategy and mergers and acquisitions for Energy Future Holdings; Robert “Bob” Wright II of Dallas, an attorney and consultant for Executives in Action.