Ross Ramsey
co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
Texans are generally against tougher gun control laws, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, but they overwhelmingly support criminal and mental health background checks for gun purchases. Full Story
Charity fundraisers give lobbyists and political donors a way to show their support to officeholders during legislative sessions — when the law prohibits direct contributions. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry would beat Attorney General Greg Abbott in a Republican race for governor held today, but a win in that race — if it actually comes to pass — isn't clearly in the hands of either candidate. Full Story
For the elected judges on the state's highest civil court, the trick is to survive politically without thinking about politics — even on big political issues like school finance. Full Story
For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about which civic problems are most important in the country and the state, how things are going and about Rick Perry. Full Story
Grissom begins a gripping series on mental health and criminal justice, Hamilton and White on the Senate’s defense of UT-Austin, Murphy’s interactive look at public school test scores, Ramshaw finds the governor digging in on the Medicaid expansion, Rocha and Dehn visit a weapons maker with Ted Cruz, M. Smith explores another angle on unpopular standardized testing, Batheja on a car that drives right past state laws, Aguilar reports on the other immigration problem, Aaronson on a break in the race for a cancer cure: The best of our best for the week of February 18-22, 2012. Full Story
Expanding the state's Medicaid program under the federal health care law makes fiscal sense to some politicians for whom it doesn't make political sense. Full Story
UPDATED: Austin Democrat Jade Chang Sheppard said Wednesday that she will run for the Texas House seat that will open after Rep. Mark Strama's current — and last — term in office next year. Full Story
For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about officeholders who leave government and join the lobby, about what they should report and about whether they ought to sit out for a while first. Full Story