The Midday Brief: Sept. 15, 2011

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Lawyers for Duane Edward Buck sent Gov. Rick Perry a letter last night seeking a 30-day reprieve for the death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed this evening. State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, former prosecutor Linda Geffin and Phyllis Taylor, one of Buck's victims, joined in the request." — Victim, Prosecutor, Senator Beg Perry for Reprieve

• "In his first return to Iowa since participating in back-to-back debates, Gov. Rick Perry will revisit the hand-shaking, small-town campaigning he does best." — After Back-to-back Debates, Perry Returns to Iowa

• "The Texas land commissioner on running for lieutenant governor (in an election that's three years off), water and education and other issues facing the state and his potential foes — especially Comptroller Susan Combs." — Jerry Patterson: The TT Interview

• "A mountainous tract of West Texas land that has been a point of contention between the General Land Office and environmental groups will serve a new purpose — a research and educational area for university students." — Texas State University to Manage Christmas Mountains

Your afternoon reading:

• "Gov. Rick Perry’s straight talk may have made him an instant star of the Republican presidential field, but even some of his supporters say his frank one-liners don’t reflect his governing style in Texas, where Perry has been criticized as one of the most secretive governors in the country." — Rick Perry's governing style: Secrecy over straight talk?, Politico

• "Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been an uneven — to put it nicely — presence in the first two debates of his 2012 Republican presidential bid. … From Social Security to the HPV vaccine to immigration, Perry has struggled to find answers that put those issues behind him. And it doesn’t matter. Or at least it doesn’t matter yet." — Why Rick Perry’s debate performances haven’t hurt him (yet), The Fix

• "Gov. Rick Perry was scheduled to submit his first personal financial disclosure form with the Federal Elections Commission this week but has requested an extension, according to the FEC." — Perry delays first personal financial disclosure as presidential candidate, PoliTex