Though the House has already thrown the first punch, the Senate will enter the ring this week to fight for billions of dollars in state funding.
April 2011
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Inside Intelligence
Inside Intelligence: And on Redistricting…
For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether lawmakers or the courts will end up drawing political maps and who they think is angling for the four new seats in the congressional delegation.
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Energy
A Backlash Against Drilling, in the Oil and Gas Heartland
Texans pride themselves on being the heart of the nation’s oil and gas business. But even here, public concern about the environmental consequences of natural gas drilling is growing.
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State Government
A Political Tug-of-War Over Taylor County
Troy Fraser lost a redistricting fight 20 years ago. Now he’s in another redistricting battle — with another Republican and based more on what part of the state is shrinking (his area’s population) than on politics. He’s determined not to lose.
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Health care
Cuts, Part Two
A $176.5 billion budget — 5.9 percent smaller than the current budget — won approval from the Senate Finance Committee right and will come to a full Senate vote after the Easter break.
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Public Education
In Dallas, Acclaimed Magnet Schools Bear Brunt of Budget Cuts
Dallas’ top-notch magnet schools are at the heart of an identity crisis that has sent fissures through the state’s second-largest district, sparking emotional debates about how scarce funds should be spent during a time of financial reckoning.
Posted in
Public Education
2011 Rankings of More Than 5,800 Public Schools
The Texas Tribune has updated Children at Risk’s rankings of more than 5,800 public school campuses with 2011 figures. Explore them for yourself here.
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Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson on a freshman lawmaker’s rogue antics, Aguilar on how cartel violence affects tick eradication, Galbraith on Midland’s water woes, Hamilton on the exit of a higher ed reformer, Murphy maps voting age by county, Philpott on the data breach at the Comptroller’s office, Ramsey on why Susan Combs needs to eat crow, my TribLive interview with U.S. Sen John Cornyn, Ramshaw on Cornyn’s refusal to take the “nickel tour” of Planned Parenthood, M. Smith annotates the contracts of superintendents, Stiles on a GOP-friendly redistricting map and Tan on a possible Rainy Day Fund raid: The best of our best content from April 18 to 22, 2011.
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State Government
Video: The Week in Texas Politics Recap: Apr. 18 to Apr. 22
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We’ve made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.
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Economy
Video: House Unlikely to Support Senate Budget
The Senate Finance Committee passed a budget this week that proposes spending about $12 billion more than the House in the next biennium. At first glance, House Appropriations Chair Jim Pitts says there’s no way his chamber can meet the Senate halfway.