When UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa unveiled his action plan last week, it was national news. Not so when Brian McCall, chancellor of the Texas State University System, did the exact same thing — a week earlier. Full Story
A number of cities are making more money than usual from selling water this year because people are using more water to compensate for the lack of rain. But rates in many places are going up, to fix broken pipes and fund new supplies. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry set aside his stump speech Monday when speaking at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in San Antonio. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry's book, Fed Up!, has 56,000 words with "federal," "government," "people," "Washington" and "states" the most commonly used. His favorite term for Social Security — "Ponzi scheme" — only appears twice. Full Story
During his speech this morning at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national conference in San Antonio, Gov. Rick Perry announced a new $3 million grant program to help veterans buy, build, rehabilitate and rent homes. Full Story
DAY 29 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state has dramatically reduced support for nursing education, meaning Texas will continue to face a critical shortage of registered nurses. Full Story
How will Gov. Rick Perry's upcoming debates differ from his past debates in Texas, where he's had much more influence over the ground rules. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
On policy issues, Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann have plenty in common. But as Catharine Richert of Minnesota Public Radio News reports, there's a lot of daylight between them on experience and fundraising. Full Story
The debate over whether job creation in Texas economy is a "mirage" or a "miracle" raises several questions: What jobs do Texans commonly hold right now? How much do those jobs pay? And what jobs is Texas creating? Full Story
By Emily Ramshaw, The Texas Tribune, and Manny Fernandez, The New York Times
Gov. Rick Perry has at times been inconsistent in applying his states' rights beliefs, raising questions even among Republicans about whether his stance is as much campaign positioning as a philosophical commitment. Full Story
In our latest unscientific survey of the state's political and government insiders, we ask about Ron Paul's chances in the presidential race, what effect he'll have, and about the nature of dark-horse candidates. Full Story
Texans for Lawsuit Reform is the biggest and richest tort reform group in the state. But as its PAC has become the dominant financial engine for legislative races, it has helped create a Legislature that’s not only more conservative about legal issues, but more conservative, period. Full Story
DAY 28 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Under a new tort reform law, the Texas Supreme Court will make rules to expedite certain lawsuits and to allow judges to dismiss meritless ones early on. Full Story
County jail inmates are often released in the dark of night with little or no money and no transportation. Despite tragic stories of death and assaults, lawmakers this year failed to approve legislation that would require releases during daylight hours. Full Story
DAY 27 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Lawmakers didn't cut spending for the Texas HIV Medication Program, but it remains nearly $20 million short. Full Story
Tan on coming prison school cuts and online sales taxes, Root on Rick Perry's support for tax increases when he was a lawmaker, Ramshaw and Serafini on what "Perrycare" would entail, yours truly on the differences between Perry and George W. Bush, Philpott on the passions of the Paulites, Murphy and Seger unveil the Trib's Texas Public Schools Database, Hamilton on UT's answer to calls for improvements in higher ed, Galbraith on predictions that the record heat in Texas will be a long-term problem and Aguilar on the legal shootout over gun sales in Texas: The best of our best content from Aug. 22 to 26, 2011. Full Story
Just days before announcing his candidacy for president, Gov. Rick Perry sent a letter to the Obama administration saying Washington owes Texas more than $349 million for the state's incarceration of illegal immigrants. Full Story