The Brief: Oct. 29, 2014

The Big Conversation

The Tribune today launches its 15-part The Shale Life series, which tells in a variety of visual styles the stories of those who are living through the effects, both good and bad, of the shale boom in Texas.

As Tribune Editor Emily Ramshaw explains, "The shale boom has been the narrative behind Texas’ explosive economic growth, but the stories of the people and communities on whose backs it has been built have been told far less often. The Shale Life project is our way of fixing that."

Told through videos, slideshows, audio interviews and data visualizations, the narrative of the aftermath of the shale boom is non-linear and unlike anything that the Tribune's journalists have attempted before. Get in there and explore.

The Day Ahead

•    The two major-party candidates for state comptroller — Republican Glenn Hegar and Democrat Mike Collier — meet at 7 p.m. for a debate to be broadcast by Time Warner Cable News.

•    GOP nominee for governor Greg Abbott pays "get out the vote" visits to Fort Worth, San Angelo and San Antonio. At the first and last stops, he is joined by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Democratic nominee for governor Wendy Davis appears at an early voting site in Corpus Christi.

•    The Senate Finance Committee meets at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Extension to take testimony from the comptroller's office on the state's sources of revenue and its tax structures. (agenda)

Trib Must-Reads

An Unvarnished Interview With T. Boone Pickens, by Jim Malewitz

UT/TT Poll: Conditional Support for Same-Sex Unions, by Ross Ramsey

In Blue Dallas County, Republicans Play Defense, by Ross Ramsey

San Antonio Man Executed in Triple Slaying, by Terri Langford

GOP Issues Rare Retraction of HD-105 Flyers, by Jay Root

Elsewhere

Gas industry pumps big bucks into Denton fracking election, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

TDCJ Ebola policy requires 21-day leave after West Africa travel, Houston Chronicle

Abbott, Davis combine to spend $83 million in Gov. race, San Antonio Express-News

Wendy Davis memoir: Forgetting to Be Afraid isn’t flying off shelves., Slate

Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick campaign against Republican complacency, Austin American-Statesman

Negativity swirls over Galveston as House race heads to wire, Houston Chronicle

GOP county judge candidate Natinsky ripped for 'food stamp' remark, The Dallas Morning News

Cornyn has his eye on more than election victory, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Taylor pushing for water pipeline deal, San Antonio Express-News

Quote to Note

“Attorneys general can do more damage in a heartbeat than legislative bodies can. I think it is a matter of self-defense, and I understand it pretty well, although I have got to admit as an old-time prosecutor, it makes me a little queasy.”

— Former Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers on increasing efforts by companies to court attorneys general through lobbying and fundraising

Today in TribTalk

Water pipeline project is wrong for San Antonio, by Amy Hardberger

Trib Events for the Calendar

•    A Conversation With Railroad Commission Candidates Steve Brown and Ryan Sitton, on Oct. 30 at The Austin Club in Austin

•    A One-Day Symposium on the Impact of the Shale Boom on Oct. 31 at the University of Texas San Antonio

•    A Live Post-Election TribCast, featuring Tribune editors and reporters on the election results, on Nov. 5 at The Austin Club

•    A Conversation With Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick on Nov. 6 at The Austin Club

•    A Conversation With Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Dec. 4 at The Austin Club