As domestic drilling continues to boom, more earthquakes are occurring, and states are taking action to fight them. But not in Texas, where the most drilling is taking place.
2013
Posted in
Economy
For Fourth Month in a Row, Texas Unemployment Rate Drops
The state’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth month in a row in December, capping off a drop of more than 1 percentage point in the rate since December 2011, the Texas Workforce Commission announced Friday.
Posted in
State Government
Lawmakers to Again Take Aim at Predatory Lending
The Legislature will have another go at fighting the practices of some payday lenders and auto-title loan businesses, which critics say often prey on vulnerable Texans.
Posted in
Energy
TribLive: A Conversation with Allan Ritter
Full video of my January 17 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Bill Looks to Adjust Medical Parole to Help Alleviate Prison Budget
As lawmakers try to trim the budget for health care for prison inmates, one bill aims to cut costs by re-examining a program that releases inmates deemed the oldest, sickest and most expensive.
Posted in
State Government
Slideshow: Whitmire’s 40 Years in the Lege
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, served 10 years in the Texas House before becoming the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate. Here’s a photographic look back at the dean of the Senate’s 40 years in elected office in Texas.
Posted in
Politics
The Brief: Jan. 18, 2013
Hoping to avert another debt ceiling showdown, President Obama has found a little common ground with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
Posted in
Bidness As Usual
For Dean of Senate, Public and Private Blur
Critics say the dean of the Texas Senate, John Whitmire, D-Houston, is a poster boy for a legislative culture in which real and perceived conflicts of interest are commonplace. Whitmire says he’s proud of his four decades in office.
Posted in
State Government
Subdued Start for Those at the Head of the Table
The legislative session just started, but it seems clear that state leaders are running low on what a former president from Texas once called “the vision thing.”
Posted in
Bidness As Usual
Slideshow: Sen. John Whitmire Through the Years
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, served 10 years in the Texas House before becoming the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate. Here’s a photographic look back at the dean of the Senate’s 40 years in elected office in Texas.
