The Evening Brief: Oct. 18, 2012

Your evening reading: Perry to stump for Romney in Colorado and Nevada; judge allows East Texas cheerleaders to display religious banners pending trial; Republicans hit Canseco over mailer depicting Jesus

By David Muto

Oct. 18, 20125 PM Central

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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."

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David Muto

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