New in The Texas Tribune:
• Perry to Campaign for Romney in Colorado, Nevada: “With a tight presidential race going down to the wire, Gov. Rick Perry will campaign this weekend for formal rival Mitt Romney in Colorado and Nevada, where Perry will appear at a series of rallies.”
• East Texas Cheerleaders Keep Their Banners, for Now: “An East Texas judge has allowed the Kountze cheerleaders to continue carrying banners bearing Bible verses on the football field until a trial over the issue set to begin on June 24.”
• 3 Republicans Fault Canseco for Using Image of Jesus in Ad: “Three Republicans who served in the Legislature with Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, are criticizing his GOP opponent’s use of a picture of Jesus in a controversial mail piece. Republican U.S. Rep. Quico Canseco is standing by the ad.”
• Doctors in Women’s Health Program Can Discuss Abortion: “In a peace offering of sorts to medical and women’s groups on Thursday, HHSC Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek announced rules for the new state-run Women’s Health Program that permit doctors to discuss abortion with their patients.”
• HHSC Deputy Inspector General Arrested on DWI Charge: “Jack Stick, a former Austin state representative, past municipal judge and current deputy inspector general for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, was arrested Sept. 11 and charged with driving while intoxicated.”
• Campaign Finance Mistake Provides Fodder in South Texas Race: “In South Texas, Democrat Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles is hitting her Republican opponent, incumbent J.M. Lozano of Kingsville, for neglecting to report $55,000 in donations from PACs associated with GOP heavy hitters.”
• Interactive: TX Super PAC Contributors, Oct. 2012: “New campaign finance reports show that Texans gave another $5 million to Super PACs, bringing the overall total to $83.1 million. Top giver Houston homebuilder Bob Perry gave another $1.4 million to GOP-supporting groups, including the Texas Conservatives Fund and a group trying to defeat Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine.”
Culled:
• Comptroller: Texas Rainy Day Fund climbs to $8.1B (The Associated Press): “As another budget-slashing session in the Texas Legislature potentially looms, aides to the state’s chief accountant told lawmakers Wednesday that the Rainy Day Fund is about to be stocked with $8.1 billion and could climb higher next year.”
• Same-Sex Marriage Support Has Grown Among Latinos, Survey Finds (The New York Times): “More than half of the nation’s Latinos are in favor of same-sex marriage, according to a survey released on Thursday, dispelling a long-standing notion that their religious beliefs offered a safe path to Republicans looking to stake a claim in the community through shared social values.”
• Texas State University bomb threat emergency over, officials say (Austin American-Statesman): “Authorities haven’t identified any suspects behind the bomb threat Texas State University received this morning, but university police are following up on several leads.”
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
