This will be the first year school accountability ratings will not contain a mechanism that, for some schools, had boosted their scores and led to higher ratings. Now they'll have to explain to parents what the change means for their kids. Full Story
With Texas facing dramatic population growth and constraints on its water supplies, interest in the use of sewage — or "reclaimed water," as those in the industry prefer to call it — to provide for a variety of water needs is growing. Full Story
Ramshaw on the lioness of the Texas House, Dehn and Tan review 20 years of Rick Perry's political ads, Murphy's latest database includes the governor's political accounts over the last decade, Aaronson's visualizations of what was said in the biggest legislative debates, M. Smith on the woman in the middle chair at the State Board of Education, Galbraith on how the drought is forcing ranchers to sell their herds, Grissom has the story on a cattle rustler who's asking the courts to give him an old-fashioned sentence, Hamilton covers Rick O'Donnell's latest salvo at higher education, Aguilar on whether and how the sanctuary cities issue will translate at the ballot box next year, yours truly on Ron Paul's candidacy and the candidate in his own words: The best of our best from July 18 to 22, 2011. Full Story
State officials said Friday they can’t reveal how much money taxpayers are spending to protect Gov. Rick Perry — and that records of security costs compiled before 2008 have been “purged.” Full Story
We have prepared a series of graphics and tables that examine Gov. Rick Perry's success in growing his war chest from year to year and from campaign to campaign, and which cities and individuals or entities have done the most to ensure the governor's electoral success in Texas. Full Story
New Texas Workforce Commission stats show that Texas has gained more than 220,000 jobs since last year. Check out this visualization of unemployment rates broken down by city for June 2010 and June 2011. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: Hutchison tepid on Perry; official wants Perry, Palin on straw poll ballot; Combs announces $5.3 million in the bank Full Story
Comptroller Susan Combs isn't a 2014 candidate yet, but she wants you to know that some of the Republican Party's money people are on board and that she's got a pile of cash in her campaign treasury. Full Story
After battle appeared to be brewing between the state education board's left and right factions on contested language on evolution in one publisher's biology lessons, members found a compromise: Let the education commissioner decide. Full Story
Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s almost 40-year House tenure is defined by her defense of the underserved. But her legislative career is peppered with occasional paradoxes. Full Story
As the new chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Nizam Peerwani will oversee the controversial probe of the arson science that led to the conviction and 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. Full Story
The Twitter accounts of Michael Quinn Sullivan and his fellow conservative activists have been restored. Are we any closer to understanding why they were suspended? Maybe. Full Story
Republican U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith’s attempt to strip the Obama administration of its immigration enforcement powers has drawn a harsh rebuke from Texas Democrats in the U.S. House. Full Story
Texas lawmakers marked the end the of shuttle program and criticized NASA’s course on Thursday, hours after the shuttle Atlantis landed in Florida. Gov. Rick Perry singled out President Obama for criticism. Full Story
At a press conference today, the Lower Colorado River Authority warned Austin and the rest of Central Texas to brace for continued drought. Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, the region's major reservoirs, are currently 52 percent full, and dropping steadily. Full Story
When Rick O'Donnell, a controversial former adviser to the University of Texas System, released an analysis of faculty data from University of Texas and Texas A&M, he anticipated that it might receive criticism. He was right. Full Story
Houston’s official nickname since 1967: Space City. It’s NBA team: the Rockets. Its MLB franchise is the Astros, and they played in the Astrodome. No wonder the city is in a funk as space shuttle Atlantis makes its final landing today. Full Story