The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for March 29, 2011
Your afternoon reading: lawsuit filed over lethal injection drug; health reform bills get positive reception in committee; analysis shows fiscal impact of gambling bills Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Cap_sized.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Death Row Inmates Sue Over Lethal Injection Drug
Two death row inmates sued the state today, arguing that the decision to use a new lethal injection drug was made too secretly and too hastily. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/syringes0001.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Health Payment Reform Bills Get Warm Reception
Two sweeping bills to reward patient outcomes — as opposed to the current system that incentivizes overutilization — got a warm welcome in a Senate committee hearing this morning. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA8916.jpg)
![Sen. Jane Nelson and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst introduce legislation designed to improve Texas health care.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Texas Hospitals: Budget Cuts Are Too Deep
Texas hospital officials, anticipating a House budget vote later this week, warned this morning that the current proposal could mean funding cuts of up to 37 percent for some hospitals. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB4346.jpg)
![Leaders from Texas Hospital Association and other hospital groups urge members of the Texas House to protect funding for local hospitals, doctors and nurses. March 29th, 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
UTSA Prof to Jon Stewart: Obama Right on Libya
Mansour O. El-Kikhia, chair of the political science department at the University of Texas at San Antonio, cited the threat to perhaps 50,000 of his fellow countrymen — including members of his own family. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CM_Capture_2_4.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
The Brief: Top Texas News for March 29, 2011
The deck may now be stacked against the legalization of gambling in Texas, thanks to one state senator. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Texas-Ace-Card-Gambling_1.jpg)
![Casino gambling and sports betting are again before the state Legislature in 2023.]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Calls for University "Entrepreneurship" at UT, Around the Country
In the face of possible changes, the University of Texas community has taken a strong stance in favor of academic research. But prominent reformers acknowledge that public research universities need to change, and one UT professor thinks he has a way. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Cherwitz-CCR004-Edit.jpg)
![Director of Intellectual Entrepreneurship, Richard Cherwitz, in his home Mar. 23, 2011.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond -
Jack Pratt: The TT Interview
The head of the Texas Gaming Association, who's trying to convince Texas lawmakers to legalize casinos, on what's different this year, what he says to people who just don't like gambing, and how his likes his chances. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Security Spokesman Touts Mexico's Gains in Drug War
The Mexican government's chief spokesman on security issues spoke at the University of Texas on Monday about drug violence south of the border. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, not everyone there was comforted by his presentation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Flag-of-Mexico.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Christian Frausto Bernal -
In Texas, an Upside to Higher Gas Prices
Oil prices hit $100 per barrel last month for the first time since 2008, and prices have continued to rise. But as Gretch Sanders of KUT News reports, paying more at the pump might not be bad news for Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Texas-Oil-Drums.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Towns Suffer as Private Prisons Struggle to Fill Cells
A few years ago, rural cities and counties in Texas were lining up to incarcerate inmates for profit in private prisons and jails. But today, as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports in partnership with NPR, an increasing number of cells sit empty, leaving many Texas communities struggling with mounting debts. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/prison-bed.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Dave Nakayama -
Gen. Tommy Franks Joins Michael Williams Campaign
Outgoing Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams announced today that former Gen. Tommy Franks has endorsed his 2012 U.S. Senate bid and signed on to serve as the campaign's national chairman. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2455479848_8d2000759b_z.jpg)
![Michael Williams]()
-
Several Texas Counties Among Most Diverse
Fort Bend County, home of Sugar Land, is almost as diverse as the Bronx in New York. Several other Texas counties rank high on the list. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2010-census-counties-DIVERSITY_1.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Matt Stiles -
The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for March 28, 2011
Your afternoon reading: the budget and state employees; the fate of the Sugar Land prison; how a change to military voting law could alter elections in Texas Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CapitolDome.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Senate Committee Endorses Rural Hospital Hiring Doctors
Rural hospitals are one step closer to being able to directly hire doctors — something they say is necessary to attract new doctors to rural areas, but is not currently allowed by Texas law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Hospital-Scene.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Capitol Access Pass Moving Right Along
For those who frequent the Texas Capitol but don’t feel like sacrificing the time it takes to get a concealed handgun license, there may soon be a special pass allowing them to bypass the building’s metal detectors at Capitol entrances. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/cbm_7280.jpg)
![Capitol visitors pass through metal detectors.]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller -
The Brief: Top Texas News for March 28, 2011
This week, we may find out just how hard the budget ax will swing — and who's doing the swinging. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasOnTopofMoney_1.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Looking Back on a Life as a Death House Warden
Jim Willett had not intended to spend the better part of his adult life working in Texas’ sprawling prison system. But the business student turned prison guard worked 30 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and oversaw 89 executions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_TexasPrisonMuseum_CBM15.jpg)
![Jim Willett is the director of the Texas Prison Museum and was a warden at the Walls Unit who oversaw 89 executions by lethal injection. He sits in a replica cell within the museum.]()
-
Inside Intelligence: Redistricting Will Be...
For the latest installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether the Legislature will finish its redistricting chores or will need help, whether Republicans will be able to ensure future supermajorities, and how lawmakers will split four new congressional seats between the political parties. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/inside_intelligence-logo_1.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
An Unexpectedly Important Bloc on Budget: Freshmen
Behold the mighty freshman Republicans of the Texas House of Representatives. They’re supposed to be quiet, to bow to their tenured colleagues, to stay out of the way. But here they are, quietly and deferentially exercising some clout on the only piece of legislation that absolutely has to pass: the state budget. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/NoNewTaxes.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/22f435eed82b122e8c90bfbbfffbbe8e/BD%20INC%20Pratt%200773%202011)