The Midday Brief: Oct. 11, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "Standing outside the Texas Ethics Commission in Austin this morning, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White accused GOP Gov. Rick Perry of giving special treatment to campaign donors." — White criticizes Perry’s ethics, Postcards

• "Texas legislators vow to try again to toughen up Texas' anti-bullying laws, which have already been slapped with low marks from a national watchdog group." — Lawmakers trying to take on bullying again, Houston Chronicle

• "Before stunning the Republican establishment in March, Texas Railroad Commission candidate David Porter says, he couldn’t even persuade his friend and former Commissioner Barry Williamson to support him." — GOP now lining up behind Railroad Commission candidate, Austin American-Statesman

• "The mayor of San Antonio, an up-and-comer in the Democratic Party, was at the White House today, joining the Obama administration's push for increased transportation infrastructure spending." — San Antonio mayor appears with the Obama administration in push for infrastructure, Trail Blazers

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Callers have flooded the Texas Poison Center this year with reports of chest pains and increased heart rates because of a synthetic drug that mimics marijuana. Some cities are already taking steps to outlaw the substance, and lawmakers will propose a statewide ban in the next legislative session." — Lawmakers Want to Ban Synthetic Marijuana

• "A year after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced it would reform immigration detention, advocacy groups say the agency has fallen short on a few key counts: addressing alleged human rights violations and expanding alternatives to incarceration." — Report Finds Feds Falling Behind in Promised Reform