TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

State District Court Judge John Dietz will hear new evidence in the sweeping school finance trial as he considers the effects of changes made during the recent legislative session.

It doesn't feel much like there's a special session going on at the state Capitol, but that doesn't mean taxpayers won't get a bill for it. Lawmakers get paid whether they're here or not.

When it came to passing major ethics reforms that would have increased transparency for elected officials, the 83rd Legislature didn't make much headway. Lawmakers, it seems, didn't have the appetite for increased public disclosure.

Those hoping for a quick special session may be disappointed. As lawmakers learned last week, there's nothing quick or easy about redistricting.

Barnhart, a small community about 50 miles southwest of San Angelo in West Texas, has run out of water after the town's only municipal water well failed. Officials say that the water demands of oil drilling are a factor.

As soon as Gov. Rick Perry signs Senate Bill 24, which creates a new university in the Rio Grande Valley, "the real work begins," says University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa.

Megan Winfrey spent six years behind bars before she was acquitted of murder. Now, she is hoping to help solve the mystery of who brutally killed school janitor Murray Burr in 2004.

A private firm's plan to develop a high-speed rail line between Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston is being closely watched by officials in North Texas, where there are varying opinions about where the first station should be built.

The 2014-15 budget plan for the Texas Department of Public Safety doesn't include money for big-ticket items like gunboats or airplanes, but it does include money for troopers’ raises and the agency’s fusion center.