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  • TribBlog: Hartnett Rides Again

    By Ross Ramsey

    State Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, will handle the legal details of the election contest between state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Republican Dan Neil, who is challenging the results of the election he lost in November. Full Story 

    State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and her GOP challenger, Dan Neil.
    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • A Sneak Preview of "Incendiary"

    By Evan Smith

    Filmmakers Steve Mims and Joe Bailey Jr. are putting the finishing touches on a new documentary about the Cameron Todd Willingham case that focuses almost entirely on forensics — on the science behind arson investigations like the one that led to the Corsicana man's arrest, conviction and execution following the death of his three small children in a 1991 house fire. Mims and Bailey aren't political activists; the former lectures in the University of Texas' Department of Radio-Television-Film, while the latter is a graduate of UT's law school. But they were so moved by an article about the Willingham case in The New Yorker that they decided to tackle one of the most controversial topics in the modern era of state's criminal justice system. Well in advance of the film's release, they've carved out this excerpt of about eight minutes exclusively for the Tribune. Full Story 

  • National Treasure

    By Matt Largey, KUT News

    Texas lawmakers have vowed to cut their way to a balanced budget, in the face of a shortfall that could be as high as $25 billion. But their task pales compared to the federal government, which ran a deficit of almost $ 1.3 trillion last fiscal year. As KUT’s Matt Largey reports, a lot's at stake for Austin when the next Congress gets down to business on the next federal budget. Full Story 

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  • Congressional Clout

    By Matt Stiles

    For the seventh consecutive decade, Texas will gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial apportionment process, which means extra clout after the 2012 elections. With Republicans in control of redrawing the state's congressional districts — and adding the four new seats — they stand to benefit the most. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • The Forever Business

    By Ross Ramsey

    Got a hole in your budget? Cut spending. Shake the couch for spare change. Raid your savings. Ask for a raise, if you think you can get away with it. And when all else fails, sell your assets, right? Not in Texas. The folks who handle the state’s real estate are focused not on the current budget mess, but on ambitious building plans they say will make long-term financial sense for taxpayers. Full Story 

    This rendering, from the Texas Facilities Commission, shows the locations for proposed new state-owned buildings in pink, sites for privately owned buildings on leased state land in blue, and a mall stretching for four blocks north of the Capitol (the light green area on the upper right).
    Credit: Texas Facilities Commision

  • Blood Sport

    By Brandi Grissom

    Cockfighting in Texas has been illegal for decades, but a lengthy Humane Society investigation uncovered more than a dozen active rings throughout the state. What's not illegal is raising fighting game cocks, attending a cockfight or possessing paraphernalia related to cock fights — such as gaffs, the razor blades owners strap to the birds' legs to make them even more lethal. Animal rights activists came close in the last legislative session to getting such activities criminalized, which they say is critical to putting an end to cockfighting. They plan to try again next year. Full Story 

    A rooster that was euthanized because it was severely injured during a forced fight at a southeast Dallas cockfighting ring that police busted Oct. 18.
    Credit: Brandi Grissom

  • TribBlog: Perry Is DMN's Texan of the Year

    By Evan Smith

    The Dallas Morning News has named Rick Perry its 2010 Texan of the Year. In an editorial posted online Saturday afternoon, the newspaper labeled the recently re-elected governor a "peerless political brawler" whose "impact on Texas politics" is beyond dispute. Full Story 

    Rick Perry being interviewed by Evan Smith at Triblive in Austin
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Ramshaw on how hard it is to sue over emergency room mistakes, Galbraith on paying for roads in an era of fuel-efficient vehicles, Aguilar on a disagreement about gun regulation, my interview with tort reformer Dick Trabulsi, Grissom on Perry's parsimonious pardoning, Hu and Chang interactively look at House committee chairs, M. Smith on an election challenge and who'll settle it, Ramshaw and Stiles on Dallas County's blue streak and Hamilton on a Valley school district that leads the nation in preparing kids for college: The best of our best from Dec. 20 to 24, 2010. Full Story 

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  • Bound for Home

    By Julián Aguilar

    As he sat in traffic last Saturday on the final stretch of I-35 in Laredo in a truck loaded with U.S. goods, Higinio Navarrette was a microcosm of the holiday season on the border: an area where the local economy is as affected by security and cartel-related violence as it is by the nationwide economic slowdown. Full Story 

    Thousands of motorists wait in line on the southernmost stretch of IH-35 in Laredo, Texas. Despite a global recession and escalating violence in Mexico thousands of "paisanos" still made the trek south for Christmas. As the hours passed, however, their concerns about traveling Mexico's highways at night grew. A recent prison break in Nuevo Laredo didn't help soothe their fears about bandits lurking on the roadways. "We might have to get a hotel here," said one traveler.
    Credit: Julian Aguilar

  • Kid's College

    By Reeve Hamilton

    In the 1980s, when the state’s education accountability systems were first put into place, Hidalgo’s high school was ranked among the bottom 10 percent of all schools in academic performance. Today, its students graduate at higher rates than the state average, and 98 percent complete a recommended or distinguished curriculum — all thanks to an unprecedented level of collaboration between local leaders in public and higher education that has permeated Hidalgo for the last five years and is taking hold elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley, providing new opportunities in some of the country’s poorest counties. Full Story 

    Students in the Hidalgo Independent School District physics classroom work on a project on acceleration with a sloped ramp in a regular science class at Hidalgo Early College High School.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Equal, But Not the Same

    By Ross Ramsey

    Lawmakers will spend the next six months drawing political maps for Texas, doing their decennial readjustment to make sure each district has the same number of people. But when they’re done, some parts of the state will still get more political attention than others, and the voters have only themselves to blame. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Beg His Pardon?

    By Brandi Grissom

    Pardoning has become a holiday tradition for governors and the president, who each year choose a fortunate few whose criminal records will get wiped clean. But experts say state and national leaders are granting fewer pardons these days — and doing it in a way that undermines a critical criminal justice process that allows rehabilitated offenders to lead normal lives. Gov. Rick Perry, for example, has granted only about 180 pardons since 2001. By contrast, Bill Clements issued more than 800 pardons during his eight-year tenure, while Mark White issued nearly 500 in four years. Full Story 

    Gov. Rick Perry in an interview with Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Triggering a Debate

    By Julián Aguilar

    Should Texas gun sellers be required to notify the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when they sell two or more semi-automatic rifles to one person within a five-day period? The feds, desperate to stem the flow of weapons into Mexico, say yes. Gun rights advocates like Gov. Rick Perry say such a policy would be misguided. Full Story 

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