The Evening Brief: July 22, 2013

Culled

•    Pauken presses for debate with Abbott (San Antonio Express-News): "Former state GOP chairman Tom Pauken is again challenging Attorney General Greg Abbott to debate him in the race for their party’s nomination for Texas governor. Pauken said he wants Abbott to meet him in 'a series of Lincoln-Douglas style debates as soon as possible so that likely primary voters can begin to learn the candidates' views about how they will govern as the next Republican governor of Texas.'"

•    Ted Cruz dad: Son 'destined' by God (Politico): "Ted Cruz’s rapid rise in the world of politics is no surprise to his father Rafael. The freshman senator’s dad, a traveling preacher, says in a new interview that he had once told his son 'God has destined you for greatness.'"

•    John McCain predicts 'terrible' consequences for GOP if House kills immigration reform (Houston Chronicle): "John McCain predicts 'terrible' political consequences for the Republican Party if the GOP-run House of Representatives kills comprehensive immigration reform."

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Former Legislator Criticizes Treatment During Traffic Stop: "Former state Rep. Aaron Peña says he was 'treated like a drug dealer' during a recent traffic stop in the South Texas city of Robstown. A Robstown police spokesman said that officers followed the law during the traffic stop."

•    Garden-Fresh Produce for Needy, Thanks to Inmates: "On a four-acre garden in Smith County, inmates from the local jail tend crops that provide thousands of pounds of fresh food for the poor in 26 counties. It's one of several programs that put inmates to work for the community."

•    New El Paso Mayor Takes On List of Challenges: "New El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser faces the task of leading the city amid some daunting challenges. He is focused on partnering with business leaders and former campaign adversaries to help the city move forward."

•    T-Squared: Why We Unpublished Our Prisoner Database: "You may have noticed that one of our more popular databases, the Texas Prison Inmates database, was disabled last week. We want to explain why we did it and when we expect to relaunch the database."