The Brief: March 5, 2015
Business interests told Senate budget writers on Wednesday that a tax relief plan focused on making changes to the business margins tax prioritized the wrong issue. Full Story
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John Reynolds was the newsletters editor for the Tribune from 2013 to 2017. Prior to that, he was a reporter for Quorum Report, a non-partisan online political newsletter focusing on the ins and outs under the Dome, for more than seven years – covering the waterfront from health and human services and redistricting to pensions and elections. A native of Atlanta, Ga., he started his journalistic career one day after the attacks of Sept. 11 in Lubbock, Texas, where he rotated through a slew of beats at The Avalanche-Journal. He received his undergraduate degree from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and studied at the University of Georgia's graduate school in journalism. When not at work, he actively attempts to convince himself he is adept at tennis with varying levels of success. And he has adopted the Austin custom of appreciating smoked meats and listening to music in grassy/muddy fields.
Business interests told Senate budget writers on Wednesday that a tax relief plan focused on making changes to the business margins tax prioritized the wrong issue. Full Story
Senate budget writers in the middle of what they are describing as "Tax Relief Week" expressed remorse en masse at having created the business margins tax in 2006. Full Story
In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: Changes ahead for medical schools, most parents favor vaccines for preventable diseases and an interview with Bruce Meyer, executive vice president for health system affairs at UT Southwestern. Full Story
In a House committee hearing on Monday, one witness sought to redefine the climate change debate as one with clear implications to national security. Full Story
The Tribune's Jay Root and Neena Satija filed a story over the weekend on the problem of deferred maintenance at state government buildings in multiple agencies. It makes for some grim reading. Full Story
2016 contender Scott Walker is surging in Texas and other locales, a new push on the Ex-Im Bank and the Legislature is getting into high gear — all that and more in the latest issue of our subscriber-only newsletter for political insiders ($). Full Story
Voters are evenly split on whether the state should offer in-state tuition rates for undocumented immigrants, but that outer parity covers some pronounced polarization on the issue, according to the latest UT/TT Poll. Full Story
One of the biggest news stories of the week was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker having his moment in the still-nascent campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Full Story
Also, a roundup of notable legislative filing activity, and it was Blue Bell day at the Capitol. Full Story
For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about a handful of questions from this week's UT/TT Poll Full Story