The Midday Brief: May 3, 2011
Your afternoon reading: senators battle over Alamo bill; panel targets Planned Parenthood; re-evaluating the legacy of George W. Bush Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Planned Parenthood Again in Lawmakers' Crosshairs
GOP lawmakers' battle against Planned Parenthood resumed today, as members of a Senate subcommittee passed out a bill that would renew the Texas Women's Health Program but prohibit the country's most prominent family planning organization from participating. Full Story
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Update: Zaffirini and Powell Escalate Higher Ed Debate
An increasingly bitter disagreement over the future of the University of Texas at Austin between University of Texas System regents' chairman Gene Powell and state Sen. Judith Zaffirini is ratcheting up the ongoing debate surrounding higher education in Texas. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: May 3, 2011
With one major tweak, abortion sonogram legislation inched closer to the governor's desk Monday. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
T-Squared: Our Spring Membership Drive!
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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In Hunt for Revenue, It's Big Tobacco vs. Little
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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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Jeff Sandefer Opens Up on Higher Ed Debate
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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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
House Bill Sets Up Railroad Commission Fight
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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Texas Politicians Vary on Who Gets Credit for Bin Laden Death
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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Senators Still Searching for Budget Support
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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In Rare Moment, GOP House Members Applaud Obama
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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The Midday Brief: May 2, 2011
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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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Abortion Sonogram Bill Clears Another Hurdle
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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![Sen. Dan Patrick (l), R-Houston, listens to an amendment by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, during the debate on HB15 on May 2, 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
T-Squared: Our Third Monthly QRANK Winner is...
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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Global Travel Alert Issued; No Change on Border
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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Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller -
Is Poverty, Not Teacher Quality or Charters, Key to Student Outcomes?
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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TribLive: Powers and Loftin on Higher Ed Reform, Budget Cuts
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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![William Powers Jr., UT President and R. Bowen Loftin, Texas A&M President at TribLive on April 28, 2011.]()
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The Brief: May 2, 2011
The news Sunday night of Osama bin Laden's killing drew jubilation and solemn reflection nationwide, and at home here in Texas. Full Story
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Why the House Is Unlikely to Agree to the Senate Budget
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
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Children's Hospitals Face Brunt of Medicaid Cuts
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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Credit: Tom Spoth
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