More Coverage

News For November, 2009

2010: New name in the game

by Brandi Grissom

El Paso business developer Jay Kleberg confirmed Sunday that he will run as a Republican in 2010 against state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso.

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Rick vs. Kay: Battle of the Titans

by Ben Philpott

Today is Election Day for 11 propositions on the constitutional ballot in Texas, but most of the state’s political attention is focused on next November’s gubernatorial election—and the brightest light is squarely on the Republican primary battle between incumbent Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Ben Philpott, who's covering the governor’s race for Austin public radio station KUT-FM and the Tribune, reports on the battle of the titans taking place in the GOP and what its aftermath could mean for the party in power ... and the Democrats' chances next fall.

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Hu Tube: 3-2-1...

by Elise Hu

In the spirit of multi-platform journalism, the posts here at Hu Tube will be highly visual. If I don't have a new video for ya each day, I'll throw up photos and do some live photoblogging during the election cycle and legislative sessions. Stay tuned.

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Welcome to The Texas Tribune

by Evan Smith

What we intend to accomplish with the Trib — what we mean to do on an ongoing basis — is right there in our stated mission: to promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern.

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TribBlog: Permanent School Fund Rebounds. But Will Schools Benefit?

by Brian Thevenot

The state’s permanent school fund, which spins off money for textbooks and the like each year, has recaptured billions of dollars after a frightening downward spiral this spring.

Trouble is, the increase in the fund may produce no increase at all in education spending. The real beneficiaries of the fund often are the state legislature and its priorities outside education.

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Photo illustration by Jacob Villanueva

Shuffling the deck

by Brandi Grissom

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh's decision not to run for reelection creates many opportunities for El Paso politicians, but in this Democrat-dominated city, the cards are stacked against Republicans.

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Photo courtesy of the Howson family

Disabled students restrained, injured in public schools

by Emily Ramshaw

Texas educators routinely pin down students with disabilities to control them, according to state data. Disability rights advocates say the restraints point to a crisis in special education, and that teachers are resorting to physical violence because they aren't properly trained.

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T-Squared: Day One

by Evan Smith

For those of us who willingly quit good jobs with big media companies to join an untried journalism start-up with an untested business model, this site, this thing, is the expression of our ideals, the realization of our dreams, and the validation of our faith. We're enormously proud, every one of us, of what we're doing and why. We're awed and cowed by what we've been able to produce so quickly and on a relative shoestring (relative, that is, compared to the budgets we lived within and among just a few months ago). And we've barely gotten started.

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Jacob Villanueva

Perry leads KBH by 12

by Ross Ramsey

In the inaugural University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, Rick Perry has the support of 42 percent of self-identified GOP gubernatorial primary voters to Kay Bailey Hutchison's 30 percent — but Debra Medina could be a spoiler in March. On the Democratic side, Undecided and Kinky Friedman lead the pack.

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The Polling Center: Our Inaugural Election Survey

by Jim Henson and Daron Shaw

The results of the first UT/Texas Tribune poll, which was in the field from October 20-27 and sampled 800 Texans who identified themselves as registered voters, shows Texas slowly turning their attention to the 2010 elections. Perhaps more to the point, they have become extremely skeptical about the direction of the federal government. Today we’ll focus on the election match ups and what they tell us about the state of play a little less than six months out from the March primaries.

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It's election day and TT launch day. The video brief features a quick look at the day ahead, each weekday.

The Brief: November 3, 2009

by Reeve Hamilton

It's Election Day - and it’s not too late to exceed expectations.

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Ads Infinitum: A Message to All Our Campaign Consultant Pals

by Evan Smith

This blog is designed to be a repository for your best work: the ads you create for your clients in legislative, congressional, and statewide races. We'd love it if you'd send us audio, video, campaign mailers, and the like that we can post here for the next year—and you can be sure we'll be asking the same of your counterparts at rival campaigns.

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Bob Daemmrich and Elise Hu

Trouble in the big tent

by Abby Rapoport

Those watching the Perry-Hutchison brawl for hints of the GOP's future may be looking in the wrong place. A small race for the State Board of Education gives a glimpse into the party's inner-turmoil.

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Bob Daemmrich

A Brief History of Fratricide

by Morgan Smith

Ask a Republican who’s not on Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s payroll about the 2010 governor’s primary, and you’ll get a response about a well-timed trip to Palm Springs in early March, when the two candidates square off. Party faithful want to stay above the fray: Primary challenges to longstanding incumbents tend to get rough quick.

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