The Brief: March 25, 2014
Tar balls from Saturday's spill of 168,000 gallons of fuel oil in into Galveston Bay began to wash ashore on Monday as officials assessed the long-term effects of the accident. Full Story
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![A barge loaded with marine fuel oil sits partially submerged in the Houston Ship Channel on March 22, 2014.]()
Credit: United States Coast Guard -
New Tool Helps Track Spread of Bat Disease
Though bats in Texas appear untouched by a fungus that has decimated populations in the Northeast and Midwest, the disease is spreading west. Now, however, researchers have a powerful tool to track the spread of the disease. Full Story
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![Bracken Cave, just north of the burgeoning San Antonio metropolitan area, has been home to the largest colony of bats in the world for thousands of years. But the keepers of the preserve that holds the cave say a developer's attempt to build 3,800 homes next to the cave threatens the bats' very livelihood.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney -
Davis Renews Equal Pay Attack on Abbott
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis on Monday renewed her attack on her Republican opponent, Greg Abbott, for his opposition to a Texas version of the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Full Story
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![Governor candidate Wendy Davis talks about keeping her law clients during a campaign stop at Scholtz on March 24, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Galveston Bay Spill Presents Grave Risks
With no end in sight to containing a spill that may have dumped 150,000 gallons of fuel oil into Galveston Bay on Saturday, the hit to Texas’ economy and environment is already huge — and sure to grow. Full Story
![A barge loaded with marine fuel oil sits partially submerged in the Houston Ship Channel on March 22, 2014.]()
Credit: United States Coast Guard -
Analysis: Handful of Candidates Hoping to Regain Voters' Favor
A handful of candidates seeking election this year are trying to win the favor of some of the same voters who previously voted them out of office. Full Story
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Despite National Efforts, Texas Not Enthusiastic About GMO Labeling
A small group of Texas farmers and environmental advocates is pushing for the labeling of genetically modified foods. But the effort has received little interest from Texas' Republican-dominated Legislature or from major agribusinesses. Full Story
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![Gerald Cole, owner of Organicare Farms in Taylor, checks his kale plants. The vegetables are grown using aquaponics, a system in which waste matter from fish in tanks is broken down and used as nutrients for the plants.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson -
The Brief: March 24, 2014
The spill of as much as 168,000 gallons of fuel oil into Galveston Bay has crews working hard to avoid lasting impacts on a crucial shipping channel as well as an ecologically sensitive area of the Texas coast. Full Story
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Inside Texas Politics: Runoffs and Political Advantages
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, I talked with host Jason Whitely and Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Bud Kennedy about the runoffs, political advantages, endorsements and more. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey on WFAA-TV's "Inside Texas Politics" on March 23, 2014.]()
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In Cigarroa's Wake, Major Gains, Significant Discord
Francisco Cigarroa's improbable tenure as chancellor of the University of Texas System was as notable for its achievement as it was for its discord. In some ways, his arrival was more surprising than his departure. Full Story
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![University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa at a Board of Regents meeting in Austin.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Playlist: Women vs. Men
With the debate heating up around equal pay issues in the gubernatorial race, we begin this week's Texas news-inspired playlist with David Byrne's "Women vs. Men." Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by John Jordan -
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
The best of our best content from March 17-21, 2014. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Anneke Paterson -
Houston's Bold Recycling Plan: No More Separating
The city of Houston, which recycles only 6 percent of the waste it collects, has a new idea to improve that figure: Eliminate that extra blue bin altogether. Full Story
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![Glenn Bailey cleans out a city of Houston recycling truck on March 18.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato -
Gender Wage Gap Prevalent Throughout State Government
Across wide swaths of state government, male employees make more on average than their female colleagues. But a closer look at the payrolls of individual agencies and offices presents a more complicated picture. Full Story
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Analysis: A Movable Definition of Conservative
The Texas Senate's swing to the right started more than 20 years ago, when the incumbents' definition of extreme simply meant a Republican had entered the Capitol. Now some of those same Republicans are under fire for being too liberal. Full Story
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![From left to right, state Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, and former state Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco.]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
In Sprawling Texas, Walkability Gains a Toehold
Advocates for more pedestrian-friendly urban cores and communities say interest in making Texas cities more walkable is on the rise — a shift spurred in part by changing demographics and the state’s growing population. Full Story
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![Klyde Warren Park, a five-acre space built on a platform over a freeway in Dallas, was completed in 2012, providing a lively, walkable link between downtown and neighboring Uptown.]()
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Interactive: Gender Wage Gaps in State Agencies
At dozens of Texas state agencies, male workers are better compensated than female workers, on average. Use our interactive to compare compensation by gender at state agencies with at least 100 employees, excluding universities. Full Story
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Neal Smatresk: The TT Interview
The president of the University of North Texas on his institution's unique approach to fixed-rate tuition, how he hopes to get students to graduate on time and what the school is going to do about its revenue shortfalls. Full Story
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The Brief: March 21, 2014
With equal pay emerging as the single biggest issue this week in the contest for governor, the Tribune has taken a deep look at pay disparities across state government. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Dan HIll -
Report: Many Youths Still Detained for Minor Infractions
The number of youths detained for minor infractions has fallen nationally and in Texas, but thousands of youths remain in detention for misbehaviors like violating curfew, according to a report released this week. Full Story
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TribLive: A Conversation With Kinky Friedman
Full video of my 3/20 TribLive conversation with Kinky Friedman, a Democratic candidate for Texas agriculture commissioner in 2014. Full Story
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