Past Contributions

• New in TribTalk: Keeping it quirky at the Capitol

  By Robert Inks Jan. 3, 2017

  Many themes we'll see as the Legislature convenes are as historic as the Capitol's pink dome, writes University of Houston professor Brandon Rottinghaus. Full Story 

• The Brief: Rep to file "celebratory gunfire" bill after hit by stray bullet

  By Robert Inks Jan. 3, 2017

  After being hit by a stray bullet fired into the air in the early morning hours of New Year's Day, Rep. Rep. Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco, said Monday he's planning to file a bill in the coming legislative session to reduce or prevent celebratory gunfire. Full Story 

• Trump the top topic for TribTalk in 2016

  By Robert Inks Dec. 30, 2016

  Election years in Texas are never for the faint of heart, but 2016 proved even more chaotic than usual — and everyone who wrote for TribTalk had an opinion on the direction the state and country are headed. Full Story 

• New in TribTalk: Protecting foster kids

  By Robert Inks Dec. 21, 2016

  Texans recognize that the problems at Child Protective Services are not with the hardworking people in the agency but are the natural result of legacy thinking, which trusts the state to institutionalize, engineer and manage families, writes Brandon J. Logan of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Full Story 

• The Brief: Texas moves to end Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood

  By Robert Inks Dec. 21, 2016

  In a move that could affect thousands of low-income women, state health officials on Tuesday delivered a final legal notice to defund Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program through which it provides family planning and women’s health services to the poor. Full Story 

• The Brief: Texas electors make Trump's victory official

  By Robert Inks Dec. 20, 2016

  Thirty-six of Texas' 38 electors voted for Donald Trump at a Monday afternoon meeting at the Capitol, enough to put the real estate mogul over the 270-vote tipping point to be confirmed as the next president of the United States. Full Story 

• The Brief: Texas electors set to cast presidential votes amid national attention

  By Robert Inks Dec. 19, 2016

  Texas' 38 electors are set to meet at 2 p.m. Monday in the state Capitol to cast their votes for president, and the vote — generally a footnote in a presidential election — will be unusually closely watched this year. Full Story 

• The Brief: Texas executions, death sentences trend downward in 2016

  By Alex Samuels and Robert Inks Dec. 15, 2016

  This year, Texas is set to execute the lowest number of people in two decades, and juries in the state have handed out the second-fewest death sentences since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Full Story 

• New in TribTalk: Fetal remains

  By Robert Inks Dec. 13, 2016

  The fetal remains rule move places an additional barrier on women who seek to exercise their constitutional right and represents another attempt to shame and restrict access to abortion care, writes Nancy Cardenas of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Full Story 

• New in TribTalk: Texas House power shifts

  By Robert Inks Dec. 9, 2016

  In 2015, Democrats were less frequently able to keep legislation they opposed off of the floor or gain majority backing for legislation they supported than in previous sessions, writes political scientist Mark P. Jones. Full Story