The Week in the Rearview Mirror

Debates have been scheduled in the gubernatorial contest between Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis — Sept. 30 in Dallas — and in the lieutenant governor contest between Dan Patrick and Leticia Van de Putte — Sept. 29 in Austin. Alas, there's no signs of a debate happening in the race between Ken Paxton and Sam Houston for attorney general.

The legal challenge to the Texas voter ID law kicked off Tuesday in federal court in Corpus Christi. Attorneys for the plaintiffs opened with arguments that the law was aimed at supressing the minority vote. The state's attorneys countered the law was intended to combat voter fraud. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

UT System Regent Wallace Hall said Thursday that he was "comfortable" with his actions being investigated by the Travis County district attorney's office, which has confirmed that it will put the case before a grand jury soon.

A tweet posted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Twitter account on Sunday night taunted Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg over her drunken driving arrest. The tweet was quickly taken down and Perry wrote that he did not condone it.

Empower Texans President Michael Quinn Sullivan has asked a district judge in Denton County to take a fresh look at the complaints brought to the Texas Ethics Commission against him two years ago. Yes, he lives in Denton County now.

After a drawn-out competition, Texas has lost out on Tesla Motors' $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant. Texas was one of four states in the running for the plant, which will be built in Nevada.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.