In this week's nonscientific survey of political and government insiders, we asked about corporate and third-party money in campaigns and about whether voters and the media pay the right amount of attention to money in politics. Full Story
El Paso Mayor John Cook and two City Council members face a recall election over the city's controversial decision to extend health care benefits to unmarried domestic partners of city workers — gay and straight. Full Story
A little more than a week after his embarrassing debate performance, Rick Perry this weekend got back to doing what he does best — pressing the flesh with voters. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry generally has great political radar, but he walked straight into enemy fire on the issue of illegal immigration. He’s trying to walk out of it now, unveiling a more detailed, nuanced position to voters — and his critics. Full Story
Aaronson on the shrinking of state government, Aguilar on the controversy over in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants, Galbraith on Rick Perry vs. the EPA, Grissom on a startling development in a 25-year-old murder case, Hamilton on Ken Starr's first year as president of Baylor, Ramsey on what inmates have to do with redistricting, Ramshaw on the state's crisis in insurance coverage, Root on Perry's presidential grind dance and Smith on obstacles to addressing childhood obesity: The best of our best content from Sept. 26-30, 2011. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry displayed his trademark swagger on Friday despite sagging poll numbers, whipping up supporters at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire with promises to shake up Washington. Full Story
A group supporting stem cell research in Texas held a symposium in Austin today, weeks after Gov. Rick Perry's adult stem-cell therapy thrust the issue into the spotlight. Reshma Kirpalani of KUT News and ReportingTexas.com reports. Full Story
The Tribune loves infographics, including the recent one posted by the Perry campaign called “State of Texas Economy.” But like all claims made by a political campaign, it deserves the scrutiny of a fact-checking exercise. Full Story
Texas prison inmates can’t vote, so most counties ignore them. But they can change the value of your votes for Congress and the state Legislature. Full Story
An Austin smart-grid project known as Pecan Street is continuing its roll-out with an announcement on Friday that a handful of major companies, including Whirlpool, Best Buy and Chevrolet, will test new-age products on the grid. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry this weekend travels to New Hampshire, where he's looking to regroup and, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, distinguish himself from his New England-bred competition. Full Story
The state probably won't have political maps for federal and state legislators until November and possibly December, crowding the filing-fundraising-campaigning cycle into the holidays and perilously close to the March primaries. Full Story
Within the education community, there have been rumors about a possible school finance lawsuit since well before the legislative session got under way. Now, with $4 billion less in public funding and a daunting new student assessment program on the horizon, those rumors have become a reality. Full Story
Phil Wilson, a former Texas secretary of state and aide to Gov. Rick Perry, on Thursday was named executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation. For Wilson, the new job comes with a big salary — and even bigger challenges. Full Story
State officials in Texas can hold off on election preparations, a federal court said Thursday, but with Texas' political maps still in limbo, they also didn't get a new set of deadlines to help them get ready for the 2012 elections. Full Story
Texas’ practice of not inquiring about the race of registered voters could delay the state’s controversial voter identification bill from being implemented on schedule in January. Full Story