The Evening Brief: March 14, 2012

Culled:

• Perry makes robo-call about women's health cuts (The Dallas Morning News): "Rick Perry placed robo-calls to thousands of Texans, blaming the Obama Administration for cutting off 130,000 uninsured women's from basic health and contraceptive services. Here's what Perry says in the robo-call: 'Hello this is Gov. Rick Perry. President Barack Obama is waging a policy war on conservative values in Texas. This time they want to end a health program for 100,000 Texas women just because we have not funded abortion providers or their affiliates with your taxpayer money. We need men and women serving in all levels of government in Texas standing strong, protecting the Lone Star State.'"

• Is Texas Santorum country? A new poll suggests it might be (The Dallas Morning News): "Rick Santorum holds a comfortable lead over battered front-runner Mitt Romney in Texas, according to a new poll. Texas, with its 155 delegates at stake in its May 29 GOP primary could be a bonanza for the winner. The survey by Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research asked Texas likely Republican primary voters who they'd vote for in the GOP primary — 35 percent said Santorum, followed by Romney at 27 percent, Newt Gingrich at 20 percent and Ron Paul at 8 percent. Another 10 percent of likely Texas Republican voters surveyed said they remain undecided."

• U.S. Senate candidate Craig James says Santorum will ‘win big’ in Texas (Houston Chronicle): "After Rick Santorum’s southern sweep last night, U.S. Senate hopeful Craig James said he hopes to see the former Pennsylvania senator win in Texas, too. 'His victories prove that despite what polling may show, the only thing that matters is the result on election night,' James said. 'Rick’s on a roll and when the Texas primary is held, he’ll win big here in the Lone Star State.'"

• Americans Elect Signature Drive begins in Texas (Fort Worth Star-Telegram): "Americans Elect — an emerging, alternative third party that plans to use the Internet to field a presidential ticket this year — is starting to gather signatures of registered voters in Texas to try to gain a spot on this year's election ballot."

• NBC pulls Ron Paul's last embed (Politico): "A couple weeks back I noted that Ron Paul, the lonely delegate hunter, had only one full-time, embedded reporter on his trail: Anthony Terrell of NBC News. Other reporters have provided some coverage of the candidate, but for the last few weeks Terrell was the only proverbial boy on the bus. But now, Ron Paul is officially embedless."

• Police: One dead, suspect arrested in Beaumont courthouse shooting (Beaumont Enterprise): "A 41-year-old man has been arrested by Beaumont police after he allegedly killed a family member in a shooting at the Jefferson County courthouse in downtown Beaumont Wednesday, officials said."

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Survey: Youths in State Lockup Concerned Over Violence by Their Peers: "A new survey of youths at the Giddings State School finds they feel safe and hopeful about their future but still worry about violence by other youths."

• Urban Water Use Climbs Despite Restrictions: "In 2007, residents of some large Texas cities increased their water usage — despite the widespread adoption of restrictions on lawn-watering."