The Brief: June 10, 2013
The special session, still inching along, has exposed a rift between two prominent state senators. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/03/20/Williams2cms.jpg)
-
![Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, holds a copy of the state budget on the Senate floor March 20, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie K Cotera -
Old Oilfield Equipment Raises Pollution Fears
Abandoned oilfield equipment is a common problem in Texas, but some fear that the recent surge in hydraulic fracturing will set off worrisome new encounters with old wells. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/07/TxTrib-AbandonedOilWells004.jpg)
![Landowner Stuart Carter, in Central Texas near the town of Luling, has years of abandoned oil equipment on his property. Here, two oil wooden oil tanks that he says date to the 1920s.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Newsreel: Redistricting, Recess and Rejection
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: Lawmakers said it would take seven to 10 days to deal with redistricting during the special session, and that turned out to be wildly optimistic. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/060713_ART_newsreel.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Leo Linbeck Jr., TLR Co-founder, Dead at 78
Leo Linbeck Jr., the Houston construction magnate who co-founded Texans for Lawsuit Reform to transform the state’s tort laws and promoted the idea of replacing the income tax with a sales tax, died Saturday morning. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/08/linbeckjr.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
The Playlist: Crying, Waiting, Hoping
As legislative supplicants yearn for Gov. Rick Perry to add their pet issues to the agenda of the special session, we begin our weekly news-inspired playlist with Buddy Holly's "Crying, Waiting, Hoping." Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
M. Smith on the partial reopening of the school finance case, Root reports on lawmakers being paid when they’re not working, Rocha on legislators’ small appetite for transparency, KUT’s Philpott on the slow pace of redistricting, Galbraith on a West Texas town that has run out of water, Hamilton on the newest university in the state, Grissom and Dehn on Megan Winfrey’s life after prison, Batheja on high-speed rail and a Dallas-Fort Worth turf war and Aguilar reports on the pay raise coming to state troopers: The best of our best for the week of June 3-7, 2013. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/07/Tribweek-Puzzle_1.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
The Evening Brief: June 7, 2013
Your evening reading: Texas Republicans lash out against government surveillance; Texas woman arrested in ricin letter case; Pauken calls Perry administration "government by sound bite" Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Agenda Texas: Campus Construction in Spotlight
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Higher education was having a great legislative session — until the very end, when a plan to issue billions of dollars in bonds for campus construction projects died. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB5890.jpg)
![Rep. Dan Branch R-Dallas and Sen. Judith Zaffirini D-Laredo, co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Oversight of Higher Education Governance, Excellence & Transparency during meeting on September 21st, 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Subdivision Plans May Threaten Bat Colony
Bracken Cave, north of the burgeoning San Antonio metropolitan area, has been the summer home to the world's largest colony of bats for thousands of years. But conservationists worry a developer's plan threatens the bats. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/05/bracken_bats_jw022.jpg)
![Bracken Cave, just north of the burgeoning San Antonio metropolitan area, has been home to the largest colony of bats in the world for thousands of years. But the keepers of the preserve that holds the cave say a developer's attempt to build 3,800 homes next to the cave threatens the bats' very livelihood.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
Redistricting is Harder Than It Looked at First
Texas lawmakers set out to do a quick fix on the state's political maps. They soon found out there was nothing quick about it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/05/RedistrictingNew.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
UT System Prepares for Its Newest Member
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. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich / Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: June 7, 2013
A heated redistricting hearing on Thursday wasn't enough to keep frustration about the sluggish special session from mounting. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/05/25/6.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
The Evening Brief: June 6, 2013
Your evening reading: Cornyn faces resistance to immigration bill amendment; at Dallas hearing, Democrats push for more minority districts; state lawmakers collecting daily pay during recess Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
West Texas Oilfield Town Runs Out of Water
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/03/07/TxTrib-FrackWater019.JPG)
![Southern plains bison from the Goodnight heard are raised for meat on Hugh Fitzsimons's SHAPE Ranch in Carrizo Springs, TX, February, 21, 2013.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
Guest Column: Pulling Young Texans Into Civic Life
Young Texans are less likely to vote than the 30-and-older set, but they do volunteer work and take part in conversations about politics. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/03/Regina-Lawrence-photo.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
State Chooses Study Over Money to Reduce Wait Times at Texas Ports
Lawmakers and local officials from the Texas-Mexico border wanted funding to train more inspectors and speed up commerce at land ports. Instead, they got a study. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/05/CBP-Inspection.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Josh Denmark / CBP -
Budget Plan for DPS Has Pay Hikes for Troopers
The 2014-15 budget plan for the Texas Department of Public Safety doesn't include money for big-ticket items like gunboats or planes, but it does include money for troopers’ raises and retains funding for the agency’s fusion center. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA9035.jpg)
![Texas DPS agent Cuevas removes a M2-40 machine gun from newly commissioned patrol vessel. The boat, part of the Tactical Marine Unit, funded by federal Homeland Security grants, will help with the state's efforts in combating Mexican drug cartels patrolling the Rio Grande River]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Some Lawmakers Make Sure to Look Out for No. 1
Call it the self-preservation society. When push comes to shove, some members of the Texas Legislature are adamant that their elective offices should come with some special protections. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/06/05/GunSign-Bidness.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Lawmakers Collect Daily Pay Even in Recess
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. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/03/01/BidnessCpaitolMoney.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
The Brief: June 6, 2013
The redistricting debate has hit the road for its first stop in a four-city tour. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HandsOnRedistricting.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4221b436b3cdb10645c57e71c5ec7849/BD%20INC%20Perry%20In%20Crowd%202013)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8fc3a7a8e5b75b0be10f8115e565fbb2/BD%20INC%20TEd%20Cruz%20647%202012)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/262d129747de5bb63cc6522d52686bdd/DO%20NOT%20USE%203Way%202013)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e5233890fd0a1a6141c04a6048c8eb21/BD%20INC%20Cornyn%20Side%202012)