In 2009, state Rep. Leo Berman's bills — like the ones restricting illegal immigrants to certain geographical regions and denying them access to higher education — failed to gain traction. But with a Republican supermajority now in control, this could very well be the session of Leo. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/LeoBerman001.jpg)
The growth of the state’s Hispanic population and the rise of immigration as a political issue put Texas Republicans in a tight spot — especially the ones with statewide aspirations. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_Immigration_JV-29.jpg)
For the latest installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we asked whether lawmakers will finally approve new forms of gambling to soften the blow of massive budget-cutting. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/inside_intelligence-logo_1.png){kind=logo}
State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, wants all presidential and vice presidential candidates to show their birth certificate to the Texas Secretary of State in order to get on the ballot. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/BermanYouTube.jpg)
Who would have thought that of all of the big, nasty, thorny things in front of the Legislature this year that redistricting might be the least dangerous? Full Story
Texans know Farouk Shami as a former long-shot candidate for governor, the head of a hair care empire, and the inspiration for perhaps the greatest campaign song of all time. Soon, Shami will add another job to that list: guest judge on Celebrity Apprentice. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a57f722f69555d1bb480c6ab4414785d/BD%20INC%20Farouk%20Shami%201%202010)
Big D may need a new nickname. Despite a surging state population, the city of Dallas grew by a paltry 1 percent in the last decade — a rate lower than any of the 20 largest cities in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_Census_CalebBryantMiller10.jpg)
The best of our best content from Feb. 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/tribweek-feb262011.png)
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-02-25_at_6.12.28_PM.png)
Exiting Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has released a lengthy (as in, more than three minutes) video on YouTube explaining why the Republican is running for U.S. Senate. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Mayor-Leppert.jpg)
Your afternoon reading: Perry defends Wisconsin governor; terror suspect appears in Lubbock court; Leppert announces Senate run Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f9ba9744b69347f5d2cef978537257c9/BD%20INC%20Perry%2006%202011)
It's official. Republican Tom Leppert, who stepped down as mayor of Dallas this week, told a Dallas TV station that he is joining the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2012. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f8d8a22341e928b489dbad77461d3437/BD%20INC%20Leppert%201%202010)
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the Republican Governors Association chairman, squared off with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, the Democratic Governors Association chief, this morning. Here's the video, courtesy of Politico. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PoliticoPerry.png)
For our latest TribLive event, I talked about federal health care reform with state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, Anne Dunkelberg of the Center for Public Policy Priorities and Tom Banning of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_MG_3001.jpg)
With the one-year anniversary of the BP oil-rig explosion approaching, Ian Crawford of KUT News spoke with Carter Smith, executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, about the state of the Gulf and why researchers may be studying its effects for decades. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BPOilSpill.jpg)
School districts, taking a pummeling under current state budget proposals, got to breathe a tiny sigh of relief on Thursday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PublicSchoolTeacher.jpg)
As lawmakers consider cutting community-based mental health care services, the Tribune talks with mentally ill Harris County Jail inmates and with consumers who use community-based services to stay out of jail and off the streets. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MentalPrisonCuts_2.jpg)
Some state lawmakers are hoping a new state constitutional amendment will bring an end to the so-called Robin Hood school finance system, as Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/SchoolFundingCuts.jpg)
Proposed reductions in community-based mental health treatment, experts say, will mean more mentally ill Texans are likely to end up on the streets, in emergency rooms and behind bars, where it will cost local taxpayers even more to care for them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MentalPrisonCuts_1.jpg)
For lawmakers scrutinizing every possible saving, “administrative costs” presents an easy mark. But there may be less to cut than they imagine. Full Story