The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice met today to talk about ways to stop Texans from getting behind the wheel after imbibing. Judges, police and even a third-time DWI offender told lawmakers some Texas drunken driving laws could use some stiffening, while other measures take punishment too far. Full Story
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After Gov. Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White each addressed a Texas Farm Bureau conference in San Marcos, Perry spoke with reporters about his relationship with the group, which Farm Bureau spokesman Gene Hall has described as "strained" after Perry vetoed an eminent domain bill in 2007. The group endorsed Perry's rival, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, in the Republican primary this spring, but its general election endorsement is still up for grabs. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, took her fight against synthetic marijuana to FOX News this morning. Full Story
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Tensions cooled a bit Wednesday in the summer's juiciest on-again off-again political fling. Full Story
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A brief meeting in a judge’s chambers Wednesday cut short a brewing turf war between HillCo Partners and two former lobbyists it had sued after they quit and took a stable of clients with them. Full Story
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The starting gun for the debate over gambling fires this morning: Gaming interests inside and outside Texas are asking lawmakers to expand legal wagering to include either resort casinos, slot machines at race tracks, or some combination. Full Story
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Topics in this week's TribCast include the Green Party's ballot access battle, lobbyists suing lobbyists and whether the Farm Bureau will sway any voters in the race for Texas governor. Full Story
Rural health advocates asked state lawmakers Wednesday to help pay for improvements to rural hospitals in up to 42 Texas counties. Without state help, they said, the rural hospitals have no hope of doing necessary renovations to catch up to federal and state hospital codes. Full Story
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HillCo Partners dropped its lawsuit against Brandon Aghamalian and Snapper Carr this afternoon — the surprise result of a hearing scheduled today to address HillCo's request for a temporary restraining order. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry's campaign is showing its nostalgic side in its latest web video, which evokes the opening credits of the hit NBC show Friends. Full Story
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No other place in Texas has received as much attention from the state's environmental agency as the natural-gas-rich Barnett Shale — and that includes the tiny town of DISH, a spokesman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said today. Full Story
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ExxonMobil will be sued by two environmental groups over the release of large amounts of air pollutants from its Baytown oil refinery, the nation's largest, according the Center for Public Integrity. Full Story
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Add another layer to the tale of the unlikely reanimation of the Green Party of Texas. Full Story
A Texas Railroad Commissioner is proposing to replace steel natural gas pipes with plastic. Mose Buchele of KUT News reports. Full Story
Sunset Advisory Commissioners unanimously approved a series of changes to the troubled Division of Workers' Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance on Tuesday, but not before aggressively rewriting the Sunset staff's original recommendations to improve the division's medical quality review process. Full Story
As he has taken on natural gas companies and the agencies that regulate them, DISH mayor Calvin Tillman has become a media darling, an unlikely face of oil and gas reform and a public speaker crisscrossing the country. Now he’s ready to give up — and to leave town entirely. Full Story
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The defendants in the HillCo lawsuit filed their answer in court today, denying all charges against them and calling them "meritless." Full Story
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An e-mail unearthed in court papers has the Democratic Lone Star Project accusing Republicans of a new connection to the Green Party of Texas' attempt to get on the ballot — a charge questioned by the Greens and denied by the Republicans. Full Story