It's exactly 18 months since we launched, and by now you know that we're in this for you — for Texas. If you believe in our brand of public service journalism, if you care about the big issues affecting every one of us, now is the time to become a member of The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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It’s big tobacco vs. little in the effort to smoke out new revenue for the Texas budget. Large tobacco companies, which fork over half a billion dollars to the state every year as part of a 1998 lawsuit settlement, want small cigarette manufacturers to pay their share. Full Story
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Jeff Sandefer, the author of the "seven breakthrough solutions" that have rocked the Texas higher education community, has broken his silence on the matter. Full Story
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Members of the Texas Railroad Commission would be allowed to meet behind closed doors to discuss the details of disputed cases under a bill tentatively approved by the Texas House on Monday. Full Story
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When it comes to acknowledging those responsible for bringing down Osama bin Laden — which politicians are understandably eager to do — there is a noticeable inconsistency in whom Texas' leaders are choosing to mention in their official statements. Full Story
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Sen. Steve Ogden is still looking for 20 fellow senators willing to start the debate on the state budget and with less than a month left in the legislative session, the pressure is on. Full Story
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For a rare moment, Republicans in the lower chamber set aside their anti-Washington rhetoric and joined their Democratic colleagues to congratulate President Barack Obama for ordering the military action that led to the death of Osama bin Laden. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: politics seen in bin Laden reactions; Senate OK pushes abortion sonogram bill closer to governor's desk; senators eye another Rainy Day proposal Full Story
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Senate lawmakers tentatively passed a controversial measure to require women seeking abortions to receive sonograms — and have the details of the fetus described to them — prior to the procedure. Full Story
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Karen Wood — user name: KarenJWood — who amassed 103,612 points in the month of April and takes home our big prize: a baker's dozen of books published by the University of Texas Press. Trust me: You're gonna love our May prize. Full Story
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The U.S. State Department is asking U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations because of Osama bin Laden's death, but no law enforcement changes are planned along the Texas-Mexican border. Full Story
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Michael Marder, the co-director of the University of Texas' UTeach program, which trains secondary school math and science teachers, looks at public education data and explains the significance of poverty, why he thinks charter schools are not necessarily the answer and how public education is like a Boeing airplane. Full Story
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At last Thursday's TribLive conversation, I interviewed Bill Powers and Bowen Loftin, the presidents of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, respectively, about the need for higher education reform, the impact of budget cuts, the predicament of middling graduation rates and more. Full Story
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The news Sunday night of Osama bin Laden's killing drew jubilation and solemn reflection nationwide, and at home here in Texas. Full Story
It might not matter, in the end, whether the Senate wants to use some of the Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget. The House isn’t likely to go along unless the proposition is delivered on a tea cart pushed by Gov. Rick Perry and third-party conservative groups who have been hounding lawmakers to hold the line. Full Story
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Despite some efforts to lessen the blow to pediatric health care providers, Texas’ proposed budget cuts will likely have a disproportionate effect on children’s hospitals, which treat the state’s youngest and poorest patients. Full Story
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Local-food advocates and small-farm owners are lobbying lawmakers to pass legislation that would make it easier for them to sell directly to consumers. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports on the various food bills circulating at the Legislature. Full Story
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For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether the state should pay the costs if identities are stolen using state data, whether the state is can be trusted with data, and whether the comptroller will suffer politically for the latest data breach. Full Story
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It's a misleading headline; they've been serious. But this was the week with redistricting on the floor of the House and no budget on the floor of the Senate. Redistricting is often a noisy and bloody affair, and this might be a case when the availability of information took the sting out of the fight. Not so long ago, redistricting maps and data were closely held until the big reveal on the House floor. Members got to see pieces of the maps — their own districts and some of their neighbors' — but it wasn't unusual to see politicians in near cardiac condition when the maps were put on the easels for the first time and they got a peek at the whole state. Full Story
The University of Texas and Texas A&M University are working on a system that will allow high school students who demonstrate sufficient competency in English, math, science, a social science and a foreign language to receive a certificate that can be traded for a high school diploma at any time. Full Story