The Midday Brief: Aug. 30, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "The continuing investigation into the origin of the fire that destroyed all of Harris County’s voting machines has not arrived at a conclusion. I’m not going to jump the gun. But I will say this: If arson proves to be the cause, the feds are going to be swarming into Harris County." — Coincidence or conspiracy: the Harris County voting machine fire, BurkaBlog

• In his latest ad, Bill White targets Gov. Rick Perry's "lobbyist ball," a fundraiser to be held at "the fanciest hotel in town" on Sept. 2.

• "Tarrant County may loan election voting machines to Harris County for the upcoming election, after a fire destroyed Harris County’s entire inventory of 10,000 machines Friday." — Tarrant may send voting machines to Texas, PoliTex

New in The Texas Tribune:

• The Democratic nominee for attorney general on how long of a long-shot campaign she's mounting, the incumbent’s predilection for what she calls “show lawsuits,” when it’s appropriate to sue the feds and whether she's willing to debate her opponent (we'll give you one guess). — An Interview With the Democratic Nominee for AG