TribWire

The best content about Texas politics, public policy, and government from around the Web and around the world.

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• March 11 — March 17, 2010
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• 

  Social Studies Debate: And the beat goes on

  Austin Chronicle | 3 minutes ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The circus – err, make that the State Board of Education – was back in town last week, and the usual insanity ensued, accompanied by a gaggle of national media.

• 

  A Fine Texas Wind

  American Spectator | 34 minutes ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  When federal regulators and environmentalist deep thinkers come down, or propose to, on the energy industry, Texans take it kind of personal-like, having been in this energy game a long time.

• 

  Tarrant County brings in $7.7 million in stimulus funds for solar-panel projects

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 34 minutes ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Texas comptroller's office announced $31.4 million in stimulus grants Tuesday for installing solar panels, with a quarter of the funds going to Tarrant County.

• 

  Texas High Court Upholds 10-Year Filing Period in Med-Mal Lawsuits

  Insurance Journal | 35 minutes ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  In a move Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says validates Texas' medical malpractice laws, the Texas Supreme Court has upheld the state's 10-year limitation, or statute of repose, on filing medical malpractice lawsuits.

• 

  AG asked to look at endorsement

  Amarillo Globe-News | 36 minutes ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office has been asked to determine whether four Amarillo elected officials violated open meetings statutes by collectively endorsing a candidate in the March 2 Republican primary.

• 

  Calderón visits while Juárez seethes: President offers plan to 'rescue' city

  El Paso Times | 6 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Mexican President Felipe Calderón on Tuesday offered his plan to "rescue" and "rebuild" the city, which has been plagued by 4,700 slayings since 2008.

• 

  Officials expect arrest in consulate-linked killings in Juárez

  El Paso Times | 6 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Mexican officials said Tuesday that they are confident they will soon make an arrest in the fatal shootings of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Juárez over the weekend.

• 

  A Bridge Over Musicians’ Visa Barrier Into the U.S.

  New York Times | 7 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Of the 2,000 bands at the annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference this week in Austin, Tex., more than 500 are from outside the United States. And to help make their way through the byzantine process of obtaining an American visa, about 200 of them have sent their paperwork, their prayers and $600 to one tiny office on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

• 

  Rick Perry seeks 3rd term in Texas

  Washington Times | 7 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  In a high-stakes Texas shootout with national implications, conservative champion Gov. Rick Perry is seeking an unprecedented third full term this fall, while Democrats tout former Houston Mayor Bill White as their best hope in years for a breakthrough victory in the nation's fastest-growing big state.

• David Sibley says he will run in special election for Kip Averitt's state Senate seat

  Waco Tribune-Herald | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Waco Republican David Sibley said Tuesday he intends to run in a special election for the state Senate seat held by Kip Averitt, who is planning to submit his resignation today.

• 

  Thomas Frank: Don't Mess With the Texas Board of Ed

  Wall Street Journal | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  At some point during the deliberations of the Texas State Board of Education last week, that august body decided that when public school students came to study the era of the Great Society and affirmative action they should henceforth be required to "analyze any unintended consequences" of those 1960s reforms.

• 

  In El Paso, Mexican Violence Is Never Far

  Wall Street Journal | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Only one person has been murdered here this year. Across the Mexican border in Ciudad Juárez, more than 500 have been killed.

• 

  Casey: Show us the money, Bill — and David

  Houston Chronicle | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The heat is rising over gubernatorial candidate Bill White's refusal to release past income tax returns.

• 

  Consular slayings spotlight Mexico's failures in fighting drug gangs

  Los Angeles Times | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  On a visit to Ciudad Juarez in the wake of the killings of an American couple and a Mexican, President Calderon is confronted by angry demonstrations and a tense, frustrated citizenry.

• 

  Budget Cut for Fence on U.S.-Mexico Border

  New York Times | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Citing a plague of “cost overruns and missed deadlines,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday that she would cut millions of dollars intended for a high-tech “virtual fence” along the Mexican border that has produced little more than headaches for the federal government.

• 

  TABC: Shooting last year was justifiable

  Austin American-Statesman | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Two Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents who fatally shot a man last year at a Southeast Austin apartment complex justifiably used deadly force and were acting within their authority, an internal investigation has found.

• 

  Perry activates violence response plan for border

  Austin American-Statesman | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Texas Gov. Rick Perry has activated a secret contingency plan to handle spillover violence, citing an increasing threat along the Texas-Mexico border.

• 

  White linked to company in pollution probe

  Houston Chronicle | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White earned more than $2.6 million serving on the board of a gas well servicing company that now is part of a congressional investigation into possible groundwater contamination.

• 

  A&M ties play major role in runoff

  San Antonio Express-News | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Aggies tend to be less politically active than Longhorns.

• 

  Perry wades into Colorado

  Politico | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry endorsed former Colorado Congressman Scott McInnis for governor, hours before the state's primary caucuses began Tuesday.

• 

  Senators tiptoe on climate deals

  Politico | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Senators working on a major climate bill have a near impossible task: how to cut deals without looking like they’re cutting deals.

• 

  Democrats seek more pull in Texas

  Austin American-Statesman | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  With congressional redistricting looming, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said it plans to spend a record amount of money in several states, including Texas.

• 

  Perry orders beefed-up presence on border

  Houston Chronicle | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Gov. Rick Perry moved Tuesday to step up Texas' law enforcement presence along the Mexico border to handle the threat of spillover violence from escalating drug cartel warfare in cities like Juarez and Matamoros.

• 

  Former tax office workers say they were victims of retaliation

  Dallas Morning News | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Two former Dallas County tax office employees whose jobs county commissioners eliminated on Tuesday say they are the victims of retaliation for raising questions about how money from a special fund in their office is being spent.

• 

  Dallas-Fort Worth economy ranked among nation's strongest

  Dallas Morning News | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Dallas-Fort Worth area ranked among the strongest metropolitan economies in the nation during the last three months of 2009, according to a study to be released today by the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank in Washington.

• 

  BP wins $99 million reduction in Texas City fumes case

  Houston Chronicle | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A federal judge in Houston on Tuesday shot down a mammoth $100 million December verdict against BP's Texas City refinery, cutting the award to less than half a million and dealing the British oil giant a rare legal victory as it struggles to overcome several years of problems at the plant.

• 

  Houston salvage yard tied to alleged gun-running operation

  Houston Chronicle | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  For 19 months, federal agents hunted gun-runners sneaking weapons from Texas to Central America by watching a Houston salvage yard owner, sometimes as he went to work or picked up his children at school.

• 

  Juárez victims may have been wrong targets

  San Antonio Express-News | 8 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Confused hit men might have gone to the wrong party, the FBI said Tuesday as it cast doubt on fears that the slayings of three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate show Mexican drug cartels have begun an offensive against U.S. government employees.

• 

  States’ Rights Is Rallying Cry of Resistance for Lawmakers

  New York Times | 9 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Whether it’s a correctly called a movement, a backlash or political theater, state declarations of their rights — or in some cases denunciations of federal authority, amounting to the same thing — are on a roll.

• 

  Texas Supreme Court rules that patients can't sue for medical errors found after 10-year limit

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 18 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A Texas woman who discovered that a sponge had been left inside her during a hysterectomy does not have the right to sue the hospital and doctor because more than 10 years had lapsed before the surgical error was discovered, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled.

• 

  In Mexico, Official Promises Do Little to Ease a Stricken City’s Pain

  New York Times | 18 hours ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  In the six weeks since gunmen killed 15 people in a working-class neighborhood here, the police, the governor, psychologists and even the president’s wife have descended.

• 

  Homeland Security rejects Rick Perry's request for more border enforcements

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this afternoon brushed off Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s request for surveillance planes and 1,000 fresh troops along the Mexican border.

• 

  Rove dwells on 'Bush's Brain' authors

  Politico | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Even the most prominent figures are often sensitive to criticism, particularly, to critical biographies, and Karl Rove is apparently no exception, my colleague Jonathan Martin reports.

• 

  Lawyers make last bid for man convicted in Panhandle slayings

  Houston Chronicle | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  With their client's execution for a triple homicide set for next week, Henry Skinner's lawyers are making a last bid to have so-far unexamined evidence — bloody knives, a rape kit, fingernail scrapings — subjected to DNA testing.

• 

  Officials: Aztecas gang suspected in killing of 3 with U.S. consulate ties

  El Paso Times | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The deaths of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate over the weekend is making Juárez the focal point for the deadly violence that has gripped Mexico for the past two years.

• 

  Mexican President Felipe Calderón to return today to Juárez

  El Paso Times | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Mexican President Felipe Calderón will be back in Juárez today, three days after the city's daily violence became an international issue because three people with ties to the U.S. consulate were shot and killed in broad daylight.

• 

  New oil and gas legislation expected from next session of Texas Legislature

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  New laws regulating the oil and gas industry are likely to pass the Texas Legislature in 2011 in response to some of the continuing conflicts between operators and residents in the Barnett Shale gas field, the head of the Texas House Energy Resources Committee said Monday.

• 

  Local Libertarians gearing for convention

  Abilene Reporter News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  With its new Taylor County officers in place, the Libertarian Party will conduct district conventions Saturday to determine its candidates for congressional and state general elections Nov. 2.

• Big money in El Paso runoff/Trial lawyers and tort reform interests pick sides

  El Paso Inc. | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  When seven-term incumbent Norma Chavez and challenger Naomi Gonzalez face each other in next month’s runoff for the District 76 seat in the Texas House, it will be more than a race between two local candidates.

• Texas Asking For Border Assistance

  KERA Dallas | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Governor Rick Perry is requesting the federal government send unmanned aircraft known as drones to patrol the Texas-Mexico border. The request comes in the midst of increased border violence and spring break trips to Mexico.

• 

  Primary gains cheer Dallas County GOP

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  For a rare time in his term as chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party, Jonathan Neerman has a reason to smile.

• 

  Attorney general says Hill Country cities have power to regulate development on their fringes

  Austin American-Statesman | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Small cities in the Hill Country have the power to regulate development in areas just outside their limits, state Attorney General Greg Abbott said in an opinion Monday.

• 

  U.S. history textbooks could soon be flavored heavily with Texas conservatism

  Associated Press | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The nation’s public school curriculum may be in for a Texas-sized overhaul, if the Lone Star state’s influential recommendations for changes to social studies, economics and history textbooks are fully ratified later this spring.

• 

  Attack on a U.S. official is rare in Mexico

  Los Angeles Times | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The danger signs had been mounting. The U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez recently shut down for a bomb threat (which proved false). Federal police guards were redoubled. Officials working at the diplomatic mission saw their movements being gradually restricted, some parts of the city deemed too dicey to frequent.

• 

  Chairman says board of regents will stand by Texas Woman's University chancellor

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The chairman of the Texas Woman's University board of regents says it will stand by Chancellor Ann Stuart after the Faculty Senate overwhelmingly voted no confidence in her.

• 

  Texas gaming supporters gambling on new inroads with 2011 Legislature

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Gaming supporters are gearing up to make another run at expanding gambling in Texas, this time hoping for a more favorable reception as they seek to convince lawmakers that gambling-generated tax revenue could help shrink a projected budget shortfall of at least $11 billion.

• 

  Juárez killings bring chaos closer to home

  San Antonio Express-News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Over the past two years, more than 4,000 people have been killed in a bloody drug war here, slaughtered almost daily in their homes and in the streets, at drug clinics and youth parties, at funeral homes and outside schools.

• 

  Slater: Karl Rove pins the blame for Bush White House troubles on others

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Regrets? Karl Rove says he has a few.

• 

  Dick Armey says Tea Party is here to stay

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Dick Armey, a key figure in the Tea Party, shrugged off the movement's lack of success in recent Texas primaries, citing inroads elsewhere and predicting that activists will provide discomfort and guidance to politicians for years to come.

• 

  It’s unclear who may replace Miner

  Amarillo Globe-News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Gov. Rick Perry can appoint a replacement to fill the now-vacant seat of 47th District court judge or he can choose to not fill the post, according to Perry’s office.

• 

  ACORN branches rename, rebrand themselves

  San Antonio Express-News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Affiliates of the once mighty liberal activist group ACORN are remaking themselves in a desperate bid to ditch the tarnished name of their parent organization and restore federal grants and other revenue streams that ran dry in the wake of a video scandal.

• 

  Rep. Al Edwards asks for recount of primary results

  Houston Chronicle | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  State Rep. Al Edwards has asked for a recount of votes in the primary election he lost by 10 votes on March 2.

• 

  Area census workers out for the count of minorities, immigrants

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A conga line shimmies to a Bhangra beat as revelers throw magenta- and marigold-colored powder in an Indian celebration of spring known as Holi.

• State Department Issues Warning About Traveling to Mexico

  Rio Grande Guardian | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Department of State has issued a Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico of concerns about the security situation in Mexico.

• Lucio Calls on TEA to Get Involved in Census 2010 Outreach

  Rio Grande Guardian | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  State Sen. Eddie Lucio is to ask Education Commissioner Robert Scott if he will mobilize the Texas Education Agency in order to help promote a complete census count.

• 

  Juárez Mayor: US money to pay for GPS radios

  El Paso Times | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Juárez Mayor José Reyes Ferriz announced during the weekend that the U.S. government will provide $15 million to increase security in his city, which has been plagued with violence responsible for 4,700 deaths since January 2008.

• 

  Skurka serves as acting DA until governor appoints interim

  Corpus Christi Caller-Times | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  First Assistant District Attorney Mark Skurka is leading the Nueces County District Attorney’s Office until the governor appoints a successor to fill the spot vacated by former District Attorney Carlos Valdez.

• 

  Students avoiding Mexico for spring break

  Houston Chronicle | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Marquette University senior Kelly Magennis wasn't even up prepping for the start of the biggest spring break week on Texas' South Padre Island when the first text message arrived from her mom forbidding her from crossing into Mexico.

• 

  Veteran Dallas County jail guard fired over comments

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A veteran Dallas County jail guard has been fired for making offensive comments about his religious beliefs to co-workers, including his contention that gays should be "put to death," sheriff's reports show.

• 

  Investigators seek motive in 3 slayings in Mexico

  Associated Press | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The two families climbed into white SUVs and almost simultaneously left the children's birthday party put on by the U.S. consulate. One headed deeper into one of the world's most dangerous cities, the other toward a bridge to El Paso, one of America's safest.

• 

  Union wants action after second Metro crash at intersection

  Houston Chronicle | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Nineteen people were injured, none seriously, when a Metro bus and a light rail train collided Monday afternoon in front of Metro's downtown headquarters, the second such crash at that intersection in five weeks.

• 

  U.S. agencies join Mexico's inquiry into killings of 3 tied to American Consulate

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Teams of U.S. and Mexican agents on Monday poured into the grim streets of Ciudad Juárez, following leads in the murder of an American consulate worker, her husband and another Mexican acquaintance, amid vows that the killings will not go unpunished as so many thousands of others have in Mexico's widening drug war.

• Mounce: The Mexican Connection: Drug Policy in the U.S.

  Rio Grande Guardian | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Does this story by Norm Stamper sound familiar? In their youth, Norm and his buddies often sneaked into Mexico at the San Diego-Tijuana border. They “would head straight for the notorious Blue Fox to guzzle Carta Blancas, shoot Cuervo Gold and take in the ‘adult entertainment’ acts….

• 

  Central Texas Rep. Chet Edwards opposes health care bill

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  House Democratic leaders hunting for votes to pass health overhaul legislation won't get support from Central Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, despite a personal plea from President Barack Obama.

• 

  Homework is going high-tech at some North Texas schools

  Dallas Morning News | a day ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Richardson school district is putting some of its highest technology into the hands of some of its youngest students.

• 

  Former GOP House leader on health care: 'They can probably force this.'

  USA Today | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey is no fan of President Obama's health care legislation, but the Texas Republican is a veteran of white-knuckle votes, and he says the odds are in favor of Democrats winning the big vote they plan this week.

• 

  Can a Democrat Become Governor in Texas?

  TIME | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  When Texas Gov. Rick Perry scored a convincing win earlier this month over U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, his rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, talk of a possible 2012 Perry presidential push began. But before Perry can stride into the national arena he must win re-election this fall in what some say will be his toughest face-off with a Democrat yet — against former Houston mayor Bill White.

• 

  Three slain in Juárez identified as Americans, tied to U.S. consulate

  El Paso Times | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  U.S. and Mexican officials on Sunday angrily condemned Saturday's shooting attacks that killed three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Juárez.

• 

  Aztecas gang, La Linea may be involved in the murders of three U.S. citizens

  El Paso Times | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Aztecas gang and La Linea may be involved in the murders Saturday of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Juarez, the Chihuahua state attorney general's said.

• 

  Open-meetings lawyer criticizes Grapevine talks on hiring lobbyist

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A government-transparency advocate criticized Grapevine officials last week for what he considers a "clear violation" of a state law barring secret deliberations of elected bodies.

• 

  Region's influence may wane

  Amarillo Globe-News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  At last month's hearing of the Texas House Redistricting Committee, every member of the panel received a set of six maps of Texas, each detailing county-by-county population gain or loss from 2000 to 2008.

• 

  Voter turnouts for primaries 'a concern'

  USA Today | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The red-hot race in Texas earlier this month between Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for the Republican gubernatorial nomination helped drive the state to its biggest primary turnout in 20 years.

• 

  State tax code exempts speedway

  Denton Record-Chronicle | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  More than 50,000 acres of Denton County — nearly 10 percent of the county’s land area — is exempt from property taxes, according to a Denton Record-Chronicle analysis of 2009 tax records from the Denton Central Appraisal District.

• 

  West Texas census push aims to keep area from being underserved

  Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Starting Monday, a questionnaire the U.S. Census Bureau is sending to more than 130 million addresses in West Texas and across the nation will be delivered to every mailbox.

• 

  Peggy Fikac: White unfazed by Perry's anti-tax-hike vow

  Houston Chronicle | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Gov. Rick Perry, who signed an anti-tax-increase pledge, is making hay over Democrat Bill White's refusal to rule out a tax hike. But that doesn't guarantee you'll avoid higher costs if Perry is re-elected to lead Texas through a looming massive budget shortfall.

• 

  Toxic Waters - Saving U.S. Water and Sewer Systems Would Be Costly

  New York Times | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  One recent morning, George S. Hawkins, a long-haired environmentalist who now leads one of the largest and most prominent water and sewer systems, trudged to a street corner here where water was gushing into the air.

• 

  State seeks to ease water quality rules

  Austin American-Statesman | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  In a move that it says will save money and is a practical strategy for monitoring the state's waterways, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has proposed loosening its water quality standards.

• 

  First woman to lead UT regents has a deep résumé

  Austin American-Statesman | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Colleen McHugh shakes hands with a firm grip. She's careful about the proper use of "which" and "that." She completed a 13-mile hike with a friend at Big Bend National Park some years back and then said only half-jokingly that they should have gone farther.

• 

  Three with links to U.S. Consulate in Juarez are slain

  Washington Post | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Assailants gunned down three people returning from a party at a U.S. Consulate employee's home in the Mexican city of Juarez, including a pregnant U.S. government employee and her husband, in two attacks a few minutes apart that prompted a furious response from the White House on Sunday.

• 

  Eye on Ausitn: Tea partiers look to Lubbock seat for major victory

  Amarillo Globe-News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Despite all the attention Tea Party candidates received this primary season, they didn't fare well in the March 2 elections.

• 

  As Vela makes runoff, move afoot to run her off

  San Antonio Express-News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The buck slid right past Carla Vela on Election Day.

• 

  Travis County Libertarians nominate 18 for general election

  Austin American-Statesman | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Travis County Libertarian Party nominated 18 candidates for the November general election.

• 

  City continues its search for future water supply

  San Antonio Express-News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  With his snow-white beard and soft-spoken demeanor, Weir Labatt looks and sounds like a wise man. With a record of three decades of unblemished public service, much of it working on long-term water resource management and conservation, Labatt more than looks the part.

• 

  Census count could add four new seats

  San Antonio Express-News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The U.S. Census Bureau forms arriving in Texans' mailboxes this week will start the decennial dance over whether cities such as San Antonio or Houston get new seats in Congress through redistricting.

• 

  Many in Collin County jumping at chance to serve on city councils, school boards

  Dallas Morning News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Collin County voters this spring will find more candidates on the ballot for some city council and school board races than in previous years.

• 

  Lawmakers discuss deporting foreign convicts

  Austin American-Statesman | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Years ago, when Texas looked for ways to ease prison crowding, lawmakers had a master stroke: Deport the few thousand foreign citizens who were in Texas prisons most of them from Mexico and free up those bunks for the growing number of Lone Star felons.

• 

  Universities' student bodies approving environmental fees

  Austin American-Statesman | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Seeking to build chests of money dedicated to environmental issues, students at the state's flagship public universities have voted recently to charge themselves several dollars a term to pay into a dedicated green fund.

• 

  City OKs overdue path repairs

  Corpus Christi Caller-Times | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  For years residents asked the city to repair their walkway to the Tarlton Street H-E-B. Uneven concrete slabs with a six-inch height difference in some places made footing troublesome.

• 

  Number of illegal immigrants getting in-state tuition for Texas colleges rises

  Dallas Morning News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The number of illegal immigrant college students paying in-state tuition and receiving financial aid at Texas' public colleges and universities continues to climb, according to state higher education records.

• 

  Obama condemns U.S. consulate killings in Mexico

  Dallas Morning News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Three people associated with the U.S. Consulate office in Ciudad Juárez were killed Saturday in the troubled city, prompting swift condemnation from President Barack Obama.

• New border violence erupts with Mexico cartel rift

  Associated Press | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  This border city and others near the eastern end of the U.S. border escaped the worst of Mexico's bloody drug war for years, but now the bodies are piling up, several journalists are reportedly missing or dead and once-busy streets are empty after dark.

• 

  George W. Bush presidential library's blueprints filled with green, following trend of other big public buildings

  Dallas Morning News | 2 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A big environmental change is coming to a muddy, skinned-off patch of former condominium land jammed up against one of Dallas' busiest freeways.

• 

  3 with ties to US consulate killed in Mexican city

  Associated Press | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A U.S. consulate employee and her husband were shot to death as they drove in this drug-plagued Mexican city with their baby in the back seat, minutes after gunmen killed the husband of another consular employee and wounded his two children, officials said Sunday.

• 

  Three with links to U.S. Consulate in Juarez are slain

  Washington Post | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Assailants gunned down three people returning from a party at a U.S. Consulate employee's home in the Mexican city of Juarez, including a pregnant U.S. government employee and her husband, in two attacks a few minutes apart that prompted a furious response from the White House on Sunday.

• 

  Hensarling has doubts about how successful deficit-reduction commission will be

  Dallas Morning News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The president's bipartisan fiscal commission is taking shape. Republicans are sending in such deficit hawks as Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling. The White House has tapped the likes of union boss Andrew Stern. It's possible the Middle East peace talks hold more promise.

• 

  Stimulus funds flow to troubled Oak Cliff apartment complex

  Dallas Morning News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Ridgecrest Terrace, a sprawling, low-income apartment complex in west Oak Cliff, has an infamous history as a crime-infested blight on a hillside.

• 

  U.S. Consular Aide and Husband Killed in Mexico

  New York Times | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Gunmen believed to be linked to drug traffickers shot an American consulate worker and her husband to death in the violence-racked border town of Ciudad Juárez over the weekend, leaving their newborn baby wailing in the back seat of their car, the authorities said Sunday. They also killed the husband of another consular employee and wounded his two young children.

• 

  Republicans Name 6 to Debt-Reduction Panel

  New York Times | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Republican leaders in Congress on Friday named six lawmakers to the bipartisan debt-reduction commission that President Obama created. The presence of antitax hard-liners among them suggests the hurdles to forging agreement by December on proposals to arrest the unsustainable growth of projected deficits.

• 

  End arrogance in water policy

  San Antonio Express-News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  It’s hard to ignore 57 dead birds. That’s how many endangered whooping cranes died in the drought-stricken 2008-2009 winter season. It’s even harder to say their deaths aren’t worth re-thinking how we consume water.

• 

  State to set aside $31.2 million for Super Bowl

  Dallas Morning News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  State officials announced Friday that they would set aside $31.2 million in sales tax revenue to help fund Super Bowl XLV in Arlington next year.

• 

  Clayton Williams pursues water project, politics with undiminished gusto

  Midland Reporter-Telegram | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  That observation, by one of Clayton Williams Jr.'s heroes, conveys his lifelong quest for self-improvement, but it more relevantly invokes the American ideals represented by John Wayne and Williams' determination to act them out.

• 

  Rove being Rove: Bush's political guru's 'Courage and Consequence'

  Austin American-Statesman | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  'I have become an adjective," Karl Rove writes in his bellicose memoir, "Courage and Consequence." "There is something called a 'Rovian' style of campaigning, and it's meant as an insult."

• 

  Justice's wife launches 'tea party' group

  Los Angeles Times | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  As Virginia Thomas tells it in her soft-spoken, Midwestern cadence, the story of her involvement in the "tea party" movement is the tale of an average citizen in action.

• 

  CPS could learn from SAWS

  San Antonio Express-News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  It was a moment that put the word “public” back into public utility.

• 

  West Texas faces battle to cut its losses in redistricting

  Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  At last month's hearing of the Texas House Redistricting Committee, every member of the panel received a set of six multi-color maps of Texas, each detailing a county-by-county population gain or loss from 2000 to 2008.

• 

  Hutchison is welcomed back to Washington with open arms

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A soundly beaten U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, couldn't have asked for a friendlier return to Washington.

• 

  State education board keeps itself in the news

  Houston Chronicle | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Unless you have been out of the country since late last year, you know that Texas schools have again made the national news.

• 

  Congressional candidates expected to spend at least $3.7 billion for midterm elections

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Despite a still struggling economy, congressional candidates are expected to spend at least $3.7 billion, a record for midterm elections.

• 

  State privatization champion gets contract to help clear up welfare mess

  Dallas Morning News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A former state official who played a major role in the state's biggest privatization fiasco is now making money trying to help Texas fix the problems that resulted.

• 

  Stimulus won’t save Texas’ bacon this time

  The Facts (Brazoria County) | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Just days after Gov. Rick Perry rode anti-Washington rhetoric and boasting about balanced budgets to an easy victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary, the Legislative Budget Board threw out some numbers that should have had right-thinking Texans rubbing their eyes in hopes of clearing away the fog.

• 

  Despite buzz, Perry says he has no interest in running for president

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Gov. Rick Perry insists that his sole political ambition is to serve the people of Texas for another four years, but his triumph over U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the March 2 Republican primary is propelling his name onto the list of potential Republican contenders in the 2012 presidential race.

• 

  Tempest in a tea party

  Stateline.org | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Anyone who is following the 2010 midterm elections knows that tea party activists are angry, motivated and determined to create a low-spending, low-taxing Congress. It’s anybody’s guess just how successful they will be. But an equally compelling question is just what impact the movement will have on gubernatorial and other state elections this fall.

• 

  Patchwork Nation: American communities in a time of change

  Christian Science Monitor | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  On March 2, Gov. Rick Perry won the Republican gubernatorial primary in Texas by a comfortable 21-point margin. He earned 51.1 percent of the vote, while US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison received 30.3 percent and newcomer Debra Medina 18.6 percent. Many postmortems since then have made it sound like this outcome was obvious – that it was clear from the start that Governor Perry would win.

• 

  Fort Worth council members get unpleasant surprise in D.C.

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Fort Worth City Council members on a legislative visit to the Capitol this week got something of a surprise as they visited North Texas delegation members to ask for earmarks: There were none to be had.

• 

  Lufkin in the running for a company expansion that could bring 400-plus jobs

  Lufkin Daily News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Two companies are considering Lufkin as a base for operations that could bring hundreds of jobs here, according to a city official.

• 

  Tea Party Avoids Divisive Social Issues

  New York Times | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  For decades, faith and family have been at the center of the conservative movement. But as the Tea Party infuses conservatism with new energy, its leaders deliberately avoid discussion of issues like gay marriage or abortion.

• 

  Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards

  New York Times | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

• 

  Perry surprises with outright win

  Odessa American | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Now we’ll see how many twists and turns happen between now and November.

• 

  Maybe Rick Green's not the guy you want on Supreme Court

  Austin American-Statesman | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Let's give ex-Rep. Rick Green, a candidate in the April 13 GOP Supreme Court runoff, every benefit of every doubt. In fact, let's assume he is correct on every count. Let's grant that every time he's been in or near hot water it was the fault of evil Democrats, the lefty media or both.

• 

  Young: Hold fast to glimmers of hope in a state of ignorance

  Austin American-Statesman | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Parsing his vote for Rick Perry in the primary, one Republican told a reporter the message was to "let Texas be Texas."

• 

  Jones and Meritt aren't ultra-conservatives' cup of tea

  Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Despite all the attention tea party candidates got during this primary season, they didn't fare too well in last week's election.

• Texas Border Coalition says security focus needs to be on land ports of entry

  Rio Grande Guardian | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Texas Border Coalition has repeated its call for a $6 billion investment in infrastructure at land ports of entry and the hiring of 5,000 extra front line customs and border protection officers.

• 

  DallasNews.com Groups weigh in on Texas records case

  Associated Press | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Three watchdog groups are asking the Texas Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's ruling involving a public records request.

• 

  PEC trial may not start until end of year

  Austin American-Statesman | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Attorneys for an indicted former Pedernales Electric Cooperative executive and a former co-op lawyer are again seeking to take a state District Court judge in Blanco County off their case, this time by asking for a ruling from the state's highest criminal appeals court.

• 

  STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

  Dallas Morning News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A divided State Board of Education decided Friday that history students must remember the Alamo but not the names of Hispanics who fought for Texas' independence.

• 

  Texts won't cover Tejanos at Alamo

  Dallas Morning News | 3 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A divided State Board of Education decided Friday that history students must remember the Alamo but not the names of Hispanics who fought for Texas' independence.

• 

  Climate concerns continue to decline

  Texas Climate News | 4 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Last week, the Met Office – Britain’s National Weather Service – released a review of more than 100 scientific studies since the last major U.N.-sponsored overview of global warming research in 2007.

• 

  Climate science is "strong," experts say

  Texas Climate News | 4 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Scientists at Texas A&M University immediately took issue when top state officials cast doubt on scientific findings about climate change last month in their formal effort to block regulation of atmosphere-warming pollutants.

• 

  Leach deposition begins in lawsuit vs Texas Tech

  Austin American-Statesman | 4 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach began giving sworn testimony Friday in the lawsuit he filed against the school after he was fired for allegedly mistreating a receiver suffering from the effects of a concussion.

• 

  Education board OKs changes

  El Paso Times | 4 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  Texas schoolchildren could soon be learning a more conservative version of history

• 

  Social studies curriculum passes over minorities' objections

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 4 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  The State of Board of Education on Friday gave tentative approval to new social studies curriculum standards for the state's 4.7 million school children despite angry objections that the changes fail to adequately recognize the achievements of minorities in Texas' history.

• 

  Conservative-backed curriculum OK’d for history classes

  Houston Chronicle | 4 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  The State Board of Education tentatively approved new standards for social studies Friday with members divided along party lines — some blasting them as a fraud and conservative whitewash, others praising them as a tribute to the Founding Fathers that rightly portrays America as an exceptional country.

• 

  Less quirky than dad, Ron Paul's son leads in GOP Ky. race

  Houston Chronicle | 4 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  They share a name, a profession (medicine), a belief in small government, an outsider's mentality and a thing for tea parties.

• 

  Social studies standards win early board approval

  Austin American-Statesman | 4 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  Five Democrats cast protest votes as the State Board of Education gave preliminary approval Friday to new social studies curriculum standards.

• 

  Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards

  New York Times | 5 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

• 

  Texas Supreme Court tosses $15.8 million verdict in case involving illegal immigrant

  Austin American-Statesman | 5 days ago | suggested by Evan Smith

  The Texas Supreme Court threw out a $15.8 million verdict Friday, ruling unanimously that lawyers improperly introduced evidence that a gravel truck driver involved in a 2002 accident that killed four members of a Wise County family was an illegal immigrant.

• 

  Texans Fight Over Whooping Cranes, Water Rights

  Wall Street Journal | 5 days ago | suggested by Morgan Smith

  A coalition of environmentalists, bird lovers and Gu+lf Coast municipalities sued Texas regulators in federal court this past week, accusing them of mismanaging waters necessary for the survival of the biggest flock of endangered whooping cranes, which migrate to South Texas every winter.

• 

  Former Rockwall DA Ray Sumrow paroled after serving fraction of sentence

  Dallas Morning News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  See a man off to prison with a 15-year sentence, you expect him to stay gone awhile. Which is why some in Rockwall are surprised to hear that Ray Sumrow is out on parole after 20 months.

• 

  Will Hutchison resign from the Senate or is she waiting it out?

  WFAA-TV | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Turning down requests for interviews, the question of whether Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will resign is still up in the air.

• 

  Estes may be in line for choice assignment

  Wichita Falls Times Record News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A resignation from the Texas Senate may put Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, in position to become chairman of a powerful committee.

• Gordon, Gonzalez campaign finance review

  Taylor Daily Press | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Texas House District 52 Representative Republican primary run-off election between John Gordon and Larry Gonzales follows a tightly contested four-way race.

• 

  Critical ad clouds District 84 race

  Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The day before last week's primaries Texas House District 84 voters received a mailer critical of Lubbock businessman Mark Griffin, who's seeking the Republican nomination for the seat incumbent Carl Isett is vacating in January.

• 

  Texas tales in Karl Rove's memoir likely to raise a few questions, eyebrows

  Dallas Morning News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The way Karl Rove remembers it, he was such a hot political property in Texas in the 1990s even Democrats wanted to hire him.

• 

  Textbook 'experts' should have to take a history quiz before they pop off

  Austin American-Statesman | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  People should have to take an American history quiz to show their expertise on the subject before they're allowed to comment on it.

• 

  Cartels trying to infiltrate border agencies

  Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Mexican drug cartels are infiltrating federal law enforcement agencies along the southwest border and those charged with weeding them out say they don't have the money to catch all the corrupt agents, homeland security officials told a U.S. Senate panel Thursday.

• 

  Texas Education Board member walks out amid debates over race

  Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A longtime State Board of Education member accused her colleagues of "whitewashing" curriculum standards Thursday and walked out of the panel's meeting in frustration amid heated debates about race and the inclusion of Hispanics in lesson plans.

• 

  State Board of Education member walks out in frustration over social studies proposals

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Texas State Board of Education renewed its discussion of social studies curriculum standards Thursday and almost immediately a proposal to recognize minority recipients of the Medal of Honor turned into a lively debate that ended with some members sharing their views on race relations.

• 

  Secretary of Interior makes trip to Austin to talk about birds and refuges

  Austin American-Statesman | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  On the first day of a brief trip to Texas, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar spent Thursday in Austin to talk about birds and wildlife refuges.

• 

  Climate change threatens migratory birds, report says

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Global climate change poses a significant threat to migratory bird populations, which are already stressed by the loss of habitat and environmental pollution, according to a report released Thursday.

• 

  University of North Texas documents show power struggle

  Dallas Morning News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  No smoking gun. No eye-popping scandal. Instead, it appears that the former president of the University of North Texas was locked in a power struggle with the chancellor of the UNT System over details of running the university.

• 

  Fox News tries to clarify erroneous reports about Texas social studies curriculum debate

  Dallas Morning News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  After getting ripped by the Texas Education Agency, Fox News on Thursday sought to clarify some of its reports on the state's social studies curriculum debate.

• 

  Texas education board refuses to require religious-freedom lesson

  Dallas Morning News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Republicans on the State Board of Education soundly rejected a Democratic-backed proposal Thursday that would have required Texas students to be taught the reasons behind the prohibition of a state religion in the Bill of Rights.

• 

  SBOE members clash over racial balance in history

  Houston Chronicle | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The State Board of Education's Hispanic and African-American members clashed with its Anglo majority for hours Thursday over how to present history to the state's 4.7 million public school children.

• 

  Water projects draw federal money, not sense

  San Antonio Express-News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  It's fairly typical in an election year to see more announcements than usual out of Congress about all the wonderful things our distinguished representatives are doing for the home folks.

• 

  Whooping cranes had better winter this year

  Houston Chronicle | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The flock lost one crane during this winter's stay, a year after the worst die-off on record for the bird. Despite scarce food supplies along the Texas coast, federal biologists expect 263 cranes to migrate to Canada in the coming weeks.

• 

  Census likely to kick off fight over redistricting

  Houston Chronicle | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The U.S. Census forms arriving in Texans' mailboxes next week will start the decennial dance over whether cities such as Houston or San Antonio get new seats in Congress through redistricting.

• 

  State Farm plans to raise Texas homeowner rates 4.5 percent

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  State Farm, which holds 30 percent of the Texas homeowners insurance market, plans to raise its rates an average of 4.5 percent, the company said in a filing with a state regulator.

• 

  At least 8 dead across Mexico in drug killings

  El Paso Times | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Gunmen burst into a wake in the border city of Ciudad Juarez on Thursday and opened fire, killing 5 young men and wounding five others, including a 10-year-old girl.

• 

  Same Crap, Different County: Another Small Texas Town Overpunishes Another Piddly Drug Offender

  Houston Press | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  Think 35 years for a brick or so of pot is bad? Try this one on for size... In a case one local defense attorney has said showed "shades of Tulia," a Bay City man was sentenced to 60 years in prison for possessing 1.3 grams of crack.

• 

  State Farm plans 2nd rate hike in 8 months for home policies

  Dallas Morning News | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  State Farm Insurance told the state Thursday that it intends to raise its homeowners rate 4.5 percent statewide starting May 1, only eight months after the company boosted rates 8.8 percent.

• 

  Suit blames Texas for whooping crane die-off

  Associated Press | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  A lawsuit filed by a conservation group Thursday blames Texas environmental regulators for a record die-off of endangered whooping cranes, alleging that water-use policies left the birds starving and without water.

• 

  Mexican military chopper hovers over Texas homes

  Houston Chronicle | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  The Zapata County sheriff Thursday was questioning why a Mexican military helicopter was hovering over homes on the Texas side of the Rio Grande.

• 

  Some miss George W. Bush, and they're not shy about it

  Fort Worth Star-Telegram | 5 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  More than a year after President George W. Bush left the White House, some people are getting a little sentimental about him.

• 

  Slush Fun

  Texas Observer | 6 days ago | suggested by Ross Ramsey

  For the past six years, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has lorded over a controversial stash of taxpayer money known as the Texas Enterprise Fund, dispensing huge sums—$345 million and counting—to large corporations, ostensibly to spur job growth. Critics call it the governor’s slush fund.

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