The authorities in Hudspeth County have realized what the rest of us have known for years: Before you start investigating the funny smell emanating from his tour bus, remember that he’s Willie Nelson. The usual rules don’t apply.
April 2011
Posted inState Government
AUDIO: A Conversation with Senfronia Thompson
For our most recent TribLive conversation, I interviewed state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, the longest-serving woman the longest-serving African American in the history of the Legislature — and the longest-serving Democratic member currently in the House.
Posted in
Inside Intelligence
Inside Intelligence: The Best and Worst Legislators So Far…
For the latest installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked how the state’s top leaders are doing so far this session and which lawmakers — and which freshmen lawmakers — are standing out, for better or for worse.
Posted in
Energy
On Energy, a Lesson for Texas From the 1970s
Unrest in the Middle East, rising oil prices and frustration with federal energy policy — for many Texans, today’s headlines must seem like déjà vu. While the situation is far less severe than the aftermath of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the parallels are unmistakable.
Posted in
Economy
House Budget Shrinks Spending, Slashes Services
The Texas House started with a $164.5 billion budget and ended with the same total. But lawmakers spent the better part of a weekend making changes inside the budget for 2012-13 before giving it their approval, 98 to 49.
Posted in
State Government
VIDEO: Lawmakers Debate “Western Civilization”
In an ugly debate late Friday night, Rep. Wayne Christian proposed requiring that colleges and universities getting state funds should make sure that at least 10 percent of their courses “provide instruction in Western Civilization.”
Posted in
Congress
Texas’ Clout in Congress Rises Along With GOP
Texas has the largest GOP delegation in Congress, and those members have high seniority, spots on key committees and seats at the leadership table — evidence, observers say, of the state’s sway inside the Capitol.
Posted inCongress, Politics
Interactive Map: U.S. House Seniority
These maps visualize the number of years members of the U.S. House of Representatives have served, with darker shades representing longer seniority.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Tan’s wall-to-wall coverage of the budget (with more from the rest of the Trib crew, interviews with some of the freshmen seeing this up close for the first time and a map of how it works), Philpott on the similarities between budget worries in Texas and those elsewhere, M. Smith explains school finance, Ramshaw on the dwindling insurance options for orphans, Grissom on legal fights over the drugs used for state executions, Aguilar on the run-up to the debate over sanctuary cities, Stiles maps the diversity of Texas counties, Galbraith on efforts to recycle plastic bags and Hamilton on calls for “entrepreneurship” at the University of Texas: The best of our best content from March 28 to April 1, 2011.