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  • Spies Like Us

    By Ross Ramsey

    Sign up for state agency e-mail alerts from, say, the Comptroller or TCEQ and they'll let you know when meetings are being held and when proposed rules are ready for review. But click a link in those e-mails and they have the ability to see who looked at which rule and which web page and who didn't look at all. Full Story 

    What the user sees on the screen is a link to the "Consumer Confidence Index" for March. But clicking on that link actually goes through a tracking system that can be used to identify the email address where this notice was originally sent.

  • Who You Callin' a Trial Lawyer?

    By Reeve Hamilton

    In the early days of the general election campaign for governor, the Perry team has been shouting it from the rooftops at the start of every press release, no matter the issue at hand: “Liberal trial lawyer Bill White …” The Democratic nominee rejects that label, which has morphed into an epithet during years of poisonous tussles over tort reform. So is he one or isn’t he? More importantly, does it matter? Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • A Watershed Case

    By Morgan Smith

    On the surface, it’s about an oat-and-peanut farm and two South Texas men who wanted enough water to operate it. But underneath lies a century-old tug-of-war over who really owns the water beneath the land. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva, Matt Stiles

  • TribBlog: How Houston is Feeling

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Only 20 percent of 750 Harris County residents surveyed said their personal situation had gotten better this year — the lowest rate in nearly three decades. 32 percent said things were getting worse. Full Story 

    Houston City Hall
    Credit: City of Houston

  • 2010: Perry On "Worst" List

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington calls Gov. Rick Perry among the "worst," throwing him in with scandal-ridden likes of Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina and New York's Gov. David Paterson. Full Story 

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    Credit: Marjorie Cotera

  • The Road Funding Hole

    By Elise Hu

    It's no secret the Texas Department of Transportation is broke. Texas Transportation Commission Chair Deirdre Delisi tells the Tribune's CEO/Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith just how broke the agency is. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmerich

  • Fort Stockton vs. Claytie

    By Julián Aguilar

    A West Texas town is challenging an oil tycoon and former GOP gubernatorial nominee over the depletion of its municipal water source. Whether David defeats Goliath is up to an 11-member groundwater conservation district. Full Story 

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  • Slideshow: Borderline IQ

    By Caleb Bryant Miller

    What's a mother to do when her autistic, suicidal son is too dangerous to live on his own — but has too high of an IQ to qualify for state care services? A day with Karen Bartholomeo and her adopted son, Cameron. Full Story 

  • Slipping Through the Cracks

    By Emily Ramshaw

    What's in an IQ score? For autistic or profoundly mentally ill Texans: everything. A growing number of disabled young adults are considered too high-functioning for state care services, but their families say they’re too dangerous to go without them. Admission to state-supported living centers is limited to disabled people with IQs under 70 — and community-based care is generally capped at an IQ of 75. Full Story 

    Cameron Maedgen enters his apartment in San Angelo. Maedgen, an autistic, brain-damaged, 19-year-old, is ineligible for state services because his IQ is too high — but too low-functioning to live without assistance.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • $153,800 Per Arrest

    By Brandi Grissom

    Gov. Rick Perry has invested $4 million in the Texas Border Watch Program over two years. Twenty-nine cameras have been installed on the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border, or one camera for every 41 miles of border. Internet viewers have helped police make a total of 26 arrests — that’s about $153,800 per arrest. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Net Neutrality Neutralized

    By Ross Ramsey

    FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell on why people who use more bandwith should pay more, what he thinks of the recent court decision preventing restrictions on "information service" providers, and more. Full Story 

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    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • 2010: The Apostate's Mouthpiece

    By Evan Smith

    Mark Sanders, the long-black-coat-from-The-Matrix-clad spokesperson for Republican-turned-independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn in her 2006 gubernatorial campaign, is throwing his weight and help behind another apostate Republican, according to Peggy Fikac of the Express-News. But not in Texas. Full Story 

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    Credit: Along Came Kinky/David Hartstein

  • TribBlog: Perry Finishes 23rd

    By Reeve Hamilton

    The #71 “Texans for Rick Perry” car driven by NASCAR racer Bobby Labonte finally had its day on the track in this afternoon's Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Full Story 

    #71 "Texans for Rick Perry" car racing at the Samsung Mobile 500.
    Credit: Scott McKenney