The Brief: May 7, 2015
The Legislature's two chambers are still not on the same page when it comes to figuring out how to extend tax relief. The prognosis on whether they find room to compromise varies as well. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/24/PropertyTax-DollarSigns.jpg)
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.
The Legislature's two chambers are still not on the same page when it comes to figuring out how to extend tax relief. The prognosis on whether they find room to compromise varies as well. Full Story
In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: California's drought response could foreshadow future action in Texas, a new study raises new concerns about fracking and drinking water and an interview with Antonietta Quigg, an oceanography professor at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Full Story
News broke Tuesday afternoon of plans by an activist group to release videos this summer of state lawmakers that purportedly capture "a whole variety of bad behavior" but that lawmakers said was harassment. Full Story
Early voting in the San Antonio mayoral election wraps up today ahead of Election Day on Saturday. And the gloves have come off in the increasingly rough-and-tumble election. Full Story
Texas officials continue to investigate an incident Sunday night in Garland where two men shot a security guard outside a contest featuring cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Police returned fire, killing the two men. Full Story
The House adds a long Friday shift this week, the Senate passes an ethics bill and a fight on tax cuts looms — all that and more in the latest issue of our subscriber-only newsletter for political insiders ($). Full Story
The decision earlier this week by Gov. Greg Abbott to get involved in the controversy over a planned military exercise taking place across several Southwestern states continues to draw comment. Full Story
Bill author Van Taylor said SB 19 was one for the history books. Others, including John Whitmire, disagreed. Full Story
The workload in the chambers picks up on the budget, contracting reform and taxes. Full Story
For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about the odds of a special session this summer and for a Magic 8 Ball assessment of House-Senate relations. Full Story