The Brief: Top Texas News for March 29, 2011
The deck may now be stacked against the legalization of gambling in Texas, thanks to one state senator. Full Story
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![Casino gambling and sports betting are again before the state Legislature in 2023.]()
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Calls for University "Entrepreneurship" at UT, Around the Country
In the face of possible changes, the University of Texas community has taken a strong stance in favor of academic research. But prominent reformers acknowledge that public research universities need to change, and one UT professor thinks he has a way. Full Story
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![Director of Intellectual Entrepreneurship, Richard Cherwitz, in his home Mar. 23, 2011.]()
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Jack Pratt: The TT Interview
The head of the Texas Gaming Association, who's trying to convince Texas lawmakers to legalize casinos, on what's different this year, what he says to people who just don't like gambing, and how his likes his chances. Full Story
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Security Spokesman Touts Mexico's Gains in Drug War
The Mexican government's chief spokesman on security issues spoke at the University of Texas on Monday about drug violence south of the border. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, not everyone there was comforted by his presentation. Full Story
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In Texas, an Upside to Higher Gas Prices
Oil prices hit $100 per barrel last month for the first time since 2008, and prices have continued to rise. But as Gretch Sanders of KUT News reports, paying more at the pump might not be bad news for Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Towns Suffer as Private Prisons Struggle to Fill Cells
A few years ago, rural cities and counties in Texas were lining up to incarcerate inmates for profit in private prisons and jails. But today, as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports in partnership with NPR, an increasing number of cells sit empty, leaving many Texas communities struggling with mounting debts. Full Story
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Gen. Tommy Franks Joins Michael Williams Campaign
Outgoing Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams announced today that former Gen. Tommy Franks has endorsed his 2012 U.S. Senate bid and signed on to serve as the campaign's national chairman. Full Story
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Several Texas Counties Among Most Diverse
Fort Bend County, home of Sugar Land, is almost as diverse as the Bronx in New York. Several other Texas counties rank high on the list. Full Story
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The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for March 28, 2011
Your afternoon reading: the budget and state employees; the fate of the Sugar Land prison; how a change to military voting law could alter elections in Texas Full Story
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Senate Committee Endorses Rural Hospital Hiring Doctors
Rural hospitals are one step closer to being able to directly hire doctors — something they say is necessary to attract new doctors to rural areas, but is not currently allowed by Texas law. Full Story
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Capitol Access Pass Moving Right Along
For those who frequent the Texas Capitol but don’t feel like sacrificing the time it takes to get a concealed handgun license, there may soon be a special pass allowing them to bypass the building’s metal detectors at Capitol entrances. Full Story
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![Capitol visitors pass through metal detectors.]()
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The Brief: Top Texas News for March 28, 2011
This week, we may find out just how hard the budget ax will swing — and who's doing the swinging. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Looking Back on a Life as a Death House Warden
Jim Willett had not intended to spend the better part of his adult life working in Texas’ sprawling prison system. But the business student turned prison guard worked 30 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and oversaw 89 executions. Full Story
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![Jim Willett is the director of the Texas Prison Museum and was a warden at the Walls Unit who oversaw 89 executions by lethal injection. He sits in a replica cell within the museum.]()
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Inside Intelligence: Redistricting Will Be...
For the latest installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether the Legislature will finish its redistricting chores or will need help, whether Republicans will be able to ensure future supermajorities, and how lawmakers will split four new congressional seats between the political parties. Full Story
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An Unexpectedly Important Bloc on Budget: Freshmen
Behold the mighty freshman Republicans of the Texas House of Representatives. They’re supposed to be quiet, to bow to their tenured colleagues, to stay out of the way. But here they are, quietly and deferentially exercising some clout on the only piece of legislation that absolutely has to pass: the state budget. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Skimpy
The House Appropriations Committee, on a party-line vote, advanced the next state budget, sending to the full House a bill that spends $164.5 billion — about $23 billion less than state officials say they need to maintain current services. Full Story
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Cost of Procedures Varies Widely by Hospital, Area
The cost of common medical procedures paid for by Medicaid varies dramatically from hospital to hospital and region to region, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of claims by and payments to hundreds of hospitals across the state. Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
M. Smith on the continuing controversy over Beaumont's school administrators, Tan on the deepening divide over the consequences of the House budget, Hamilton on the latest in the fight over higher ed accountability, Grissom on young inmates in adult prisons, Aguilar on the voter ID end game, Tan and Hasson's Rainy Day Fund infographic, Ramsey on the coming conflict over school district reserves, M. Smith and Aguilar on Laredo ISD's missing Social Security numbers, Galbraith on environmental regulators bracing for budget cuts and Ramshaw on greater scrutiny of neonatal intensive care units: The best of our best content from March 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story
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Latino Leaders Eye Redistricting Changes
Organizations from across the country have come together at the annual National Latino Congreso in Austin to strategize on legislation affecting the Latino community. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, all eyes are on redistricting this year. Full Story
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Research "Extremely Valuable," UT Regents Tell Texas Exes
Responding to a warning by the president of the Texas Exes that an anti-research mindset "would do irreparable damage" to UT-Austin, the UT System's Board of Regents insisted today that research is "extremely valuable." Full Story
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Credit: Brandon Watts
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