A proposal from state lawmakers to sell off part or all of the Texas School for the Deaf, a 150-year-old facility in Austin located on prime real estate, has stirred anger and anxiety among alumni and supporters. Full Story
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Anger boiled over at a town hall meeting Tuesday night as Hays County residents decried a company's plan to pump and sell millions of gallons of groundwater. The heated dispute foreshadows more to come in a growing state that's running out of water. Full Story
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The U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking program — a component of the North American Free Trade Agreement — is moving forward. Proponents say it will add to Texas' prosperous trade relationship with Mexico. But union groups have some concerns. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Researchers test plants' resistance to drought, cities get creative when water is scarce and an interview with Todd Caldwell of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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The Tribune's Terri Langford has uncovered a new problem with the no-bid Medicaid fraud software contract awarded to 21CT by the Health and Human Services Commission. Full Story
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When the Texas Health and Human Services Commission asked the federal government for $18 million to foot most of the bill for new Medicaid fraud tracking software, it assured Washington counterparts the deal had been competitively bid. That was not true. Full Story
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State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a leading advocate of ethics reform in the notoriously unrestrained Texas Legislature, filed legislation Tuesday designed to shed more light on lawmakers who make money off of government contracts. Full Story
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A federal audit found that former U.S. House Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco's 2010 campaign accepted $100,000 worth of “prohibited contributions from a foreign national corporation” during his 2010 campaign. Full Story
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One of the Tribune's original and most entrepreneurial reporters, Reeve Hamilton, is leaving us — and journalism. We'll miss him a lot (but will continue to harass him daily). Full Story
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Emblems of Jack Stick’s days as the state health agency's deputy inspector general remain: roughly 300 high-dollar badges he designed and ordered for his investigators at a cost to taxpayers of $36,000. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Tuesday that drug cartels are ramping up efforts as the Texas National Guard is preparing to leave the Rio Grande Valley next month. He's hoping to extend the Guard's presence in the region. Full Story
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Texas and the 33 other states that refused to set up their own insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act are especially vulnerable to an impending U.S. Supreme Court decision. Full Story
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A handful of former HHSC employees are suing for wrongful termination in the aftermath of revelations over the awarding of a no-bid Medicaid fraud contract. Full Story
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The decline in oil prices has led to thousands of layoffs in Texas. It has also led to renewed calls from Texans in Congress and other state officials to lift the ban that blocks the export of most U.S. crude oil. Full Story
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The country has been trying to figure out for decades what to do with the high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. The operators of a nuclear waste dump in West Texas have told federal officials they'd be happy to take it. Full Story
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In this nascent presidential cycle, there is no issue that has done more to light up the public health vs. personal freedom debate within the Republican Party than vaccinations. And former Gov. Rick Perry walked straight into it last week. Full Story
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During the legislative session, we're compiling "hot lists" of issues across key policy areas. This week, the featured list on our Lege page is Higher Ed. Subscribe to our Trib+Edu newsletter for more education news. Full Story
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Michael Morton, who spent nearly 25 years in prison for murdering his wife before DNA evidence exonerated him, said he wouldn’t have had access under current testing requirements to the evidence that set him free. A new bill by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, would expand access to DNA testing in criminal cases. Full Story
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Last year, Tribune readers made it possible for us to spend months telling tales of life in Texas' shale plays. The crowdfunding effort worked so well that we're trying it again, this time for a major project on unsafe drinking water. Full Story
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Dan Patrick had the language and stage directions for campaigning well in hand, but when he became lieutenant governor, people started listening a little more closely. Advocates for more liberal gun laws, for instance. Full Story
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