The number of animal rabies cases — particularly among skunks — has more than doubled since this time in 2010 in the Central Texas region, and the increase may be due to the state's nine-month drought. Full Story
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas are gradually being relieved of sole responsibility for one of the Lone Star state's most important icons after years of controversy over their management of the Alamo. Full Story
The business community, particularly the entrepreneur, has much to offer academia, but a narrow focus on the bottom line is a sure way of destroying Texas' top public universities. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: pro-Perry radio ad airing in Iowa; primary calendar worries Republicans; Perry, gay marriage and the Republican Party Full Story
Mental health service provider Bluebonnet Trails escaped budget cuts that would have shut off services to more than 2,000 people. That number turned out to be less than 500, but as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the cuts still hurt. Full Story
In the wake of well-documented budget woes, the state Legislature took a more than 9 percent chunk out of higher education in the recent session. Some institutions have now raised tuition, and others may soon do the same. Full Story
A prediction that one of the most notorious cartels operating on the Texas-Mexico border could soon meet its demise was premature, according to a new report on Mexican cartels, which now predicts violence will continue. Full Story
The Texas Department of Public Safety said Monday it had preserved certain travel records associated with the cost of providing security to Gov. Rick Perry before 2008, contrary to information it provided on Friday. Full Story
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the analysis suggests Rick Perry did not leave the Democratic Party so much as it left him, although compared to Reagan, Perry was (ideologically) much less of a Democrat to begin with. Full Story
President Obama today blamed Republicans for his administration’s failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, saying several conservative lawmakers who once supported the measure have buckled under political pressure. Full Story
Texans are already opening their pocketbooks to show support for their favorite presidential candidates. The Tribune’s visualizations of data from federal campaign finance reports reveal who has collected and spent the most in Texas. Full Story
Maybe it’s because he was a mayor, a position with some executive authority and a low need for rhetorical flame throwing. But Lanham Lyne, a freshman member of the Texas House, is seriously reconsidering his decision to work in the Capitol. Full Story
This will be the first year school accountability ratings will not contain a mechanism that, for some schools, had boosted their scores and led to higher ratings. Now they'll have to explain to parents what the change means for their kids. Full Story
With Texas facing dramatic population growth and constraints on its water supplies, interest in the use of sewage — or "reclaimed water," as those in the industry prefer to call it — to provide for a variety of water needs is growing. Full Story
Ramshaw on the lioness of the Texas House, Dehn and Tan review 20 years of Rick Perry's political ads, Murphy's latest database includes the governor's political accounts over the last decade, Aaronson's visualizations of what was said in the biggest legislative debates, M. Smith on the woman in the middle chair at the State Board of Education, Galbraith on how the drought is forcing ranchers to sell their herds, Grissom has the story on a cattle rustler who's asking the courts to give him an old-fashioned sentence, Hamilton covers Rick O'Donnell's latest salvo at higher education, Aguilar on whether and how the sanctuary cities issue will translate at the ballot box next year, yours truly on Ron Paul's candidacy and the candidate in his own words: The best of our best from July 18 to 22, 2011. Full Story
State officials said Friday they can’t reveal how much money taxpayers are spending to protect Gov. Rick Perry — and that records of security costs compiled before 2008 have been “purged.” Full Story