A majority of the state’s voters say they’re ready for full-blown casino gambling, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.
February 2011
Posted in
Public Education
Budget Cuts Have Some Calling for STAAR Delay
Texas school districts are bracing for budget cuts and layoffs in the coming months. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, education advocates are particularly concerned about the state’s roll out of STAAR, a new testing system, in 2012.
Posted in
Demographics
Hundreds Rally Against Immigration Bills
Hundreds of Texans descended on the state Capitol on Tuesday to draw attention to dozens of bills they say would hinder economic development, stymie education and — above all — encourage racial profiling in the Lone Star State.
Posted in
State Government
DRP Fund Helps Trauma Centers Save Lives, Supporters Say
Lives are at stake if the Legislature fails to appropriate the full amount of the Driver Responsibility Program fund, medical professionals said at a Capitol press conference today.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Exonerated Men Plead for Justice System Change
After listening to nearly two hours of emotional testimony from exonerated prisoners, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today approved a bill meant to reform the way law enforcement officials in Texas gather and use eyewitness identification evidence.
Posted in
Politics
Senate Committee Targets Payday Lending
If a set of bills filed by Sens. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and Royce West, D-Dallas, passes this session, consumers who take out short-term, high-interest loans could be protected from exorbitant interest rate charges.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for Feb. 22, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Ron Paul money bomb brings in $700,000; acquittal concludes youth prison abuse case; abortion sonograms head to the House
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Advocates Worry TYC Cuts May be Shortsighted
The House and Senate budgets propose a $95.6 million cut in total revenue from the Texas Youth Commission budget in 2012-2013, and lawmakers are eying reductions in parole services, which could lead to fewer staffers and fewer district parole offices.
Posted in
Health care
TPPF, State Leaders: Medicaid Growth Is “Unsustainable”
A conservative think tank and Republican state leaders gathered this morning to offer their solutions to the state’s “unsustainable” Medicaid cost crunch.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Wentworth, Rodriguez Debate Campus Carry on CNN
On today’s broadcast of CNN’s American Morning, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, debated the controversial issue of concealed handguns on college campuses.