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News For October, 2010

  • Calderón's Goal

    By Julián Aguilar

    The president of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, played a little soccer this week in Ciudad Juárez, but his real game was creating hope in a place where none exists. Full Story 

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    Credit: Julian Aguilar

  • Inquiring Minds

    By Morgan Smith

    Judge Charlie Baird will decide today whether to recuse himself from an investigation into the innocence of Cameron Todd Willingham, the Corsicana man executed in 2004 for the arson deaths of his three young daughters. But with or without Baird, a bigger question is in play: Is a court of inquiry the appropriate venue to consider Willingham’s guilt or innocence? Full Story 

    John Bradley and District Judge Charlie Baird.
    Credit: Illustration by Tom Pennington/Todd Wiseman

  • Community Property

    By Reeve Hamilton

    The Texas Association of Community Colleges is accusing the University of Texas of siphoning money from programs that support community colleges into UT’s College of Education. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Hank Skinner's Last Chance

    By Brandi Grissom

    The U.S. Supreme Court heard testimony Wednesday in a case that could have far-reaching ramifications for criminal justice nationally. Lawyers for Henry “Hank” Skinner maintain that the Texas death row inmate has a civil right to access DNA evidence that could exonerate him in the 1993 murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two sons. Lawyers for the state argue that Skinner exhausted his opportunity to analyze potentially exculpatory evidence when his defense team declined to request testing at his original trial, fearing that the results might be incriminating. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Ads Infinitum: Moving Moody

    By Brandi Grissom

    El Paso Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody, who is in another pitched battle with Republican businessman Dee Margo in House District 78, pitches himself as a corruption fighter in his latest TV spot. Full Story 

    State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, at the 2010 Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi.
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge

  • TribBlog: A Renaissance for State Parks

    By Becca Aaronson

    As one of 40 parks across Texas benefiting from renovation projects, Bastrop State Park will spend about $4 million on improvements financed by the sale of voter-approved bonds authorized by the Texas Legislature. By April 2011, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department expects to complete $44 million in repairs and renovations to state park infrastructure. Full Story 

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    Credit: Becca Aaronson

  • A Likely Story

    By Ross Ramsey

    You can ask all the right questions in a political poll and still get a wrong answer. The results are based not only on how people answer the questions but on a pollster's educated guess about who'll vote and who won't. Full Story 

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  • Where They Stand: SBOE District 10

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune is reporting this week on the hard-fought battles for Central Texas seats on the State Board of Education. Today: where candidates in District 10 — which covers 16 counties, including Williamson, Bastrop and parts of Travis — stand on a variety of issues. Full Story 

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  • Coal Comfort

    By Kate Galbraith

    So what if coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, faces tightening air-pollution standards from federal regulators? Texas is aggressively building new coal plants. An air-pollution permit recently approved for a plant in Matagorda County is one of six granted to projects that are not yet up and running, and four more projects — near Abilene, Odessa, Sweeny and Corpus Christi — have sought permits. Texas, which consumes far more coal power than any other state, already has 19 operating coal-fired power plants, the majority of which are in East Texas. Full Story 

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  • Where They Stand: HD-47

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    In House District 47 — which sits entirely within Travis County — incumbent Democrat Valinda Bolton is locked in a tight race with Republican Paul Workman. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at where the candidates stand on the issue of transportation. Full Story 

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