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  • Inside Intelligence: Our Next U.S. Senator is...

    By Ross Ramsey

    For the latest installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we asked who will succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison in the U.S. Senate, who else might jump into the race, what factors are most likely to affect the outcome and what effect the political maneuvering will have on the legislative session. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Charles Miller Has a Plan

    By Reeve Hamilton

    If you were $10 billion in the hole, would you fork over $6 million for a chance at billions in savings? That’s the modest proposal that businessman and former chairman of the UT System regents is offering the state’s public education system. Full Story 

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  • Closing Time

    By Morgan Smith

    Texas public schools are facing what could be $10 billion less in state financing — a stark prospect that could empty school buildings across the state as districts consolidate campuses to reduce costs. What should happen to these structures, which are built with taxpayer money? Full Story 

    Barton Hills Elementary is one of eight that may close in Austin Independent School District.
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • A Chicken Little Budget

    By Ross Ramsey

    Whatever budget lawmakers eventually approve will serve as the working blueprint for the state for the two years starting in September. But the budget released last week isn’t a blueprint — it’s a political document. It marks the shift from the theoretical rhetoric of the campaigns to the reality of government. Full Story 

    State Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, lays out House Bill 1.

  • The Kids Aren't All Right

    By Matt Largey, KUT News

    The budget draft filed last week provided the first glimpse at the kind of deep cuts that state agencies could see in the next biennium. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, advocates are particularly worried about what the final budget could hold for the agency that protects children from abuse and neglect. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Pick Your Poison

    By Ross Ramsey

    In the House, it's the nastiest, ugliest budget anybody's seen in a zillion years. In the Senate, they'll start on Monday with voter ID, the issue that froze the Legislature two years ago. Full Story 

  • In for the Long Haul?

    By Julián Aguilar

    A proposal by the Obama administration that would grant Mexican truckers greater access to Texas roadways would be a boon for business in the state, supporters say, since three of the top five ports for trade between the U.S. and Mexico are Laredo, El Paso and Houston. But unions contend the plan would cost American jobs. “This cheap-labor program comes at too high a risk and at too large a cost to middle-class American workers who work long, hard hours to help maintain a safe commerce system in our nation,” says a spokesman for the Texas AFL-CIO. Full Story 

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    Credit: Mike Miller

  • 2012: Poll Shows Obama, Perry Tied in Texas

    By Evan Smith

    Say it ain't O: A hypothetical 2012 matchup between Barack Obama and Rick Perry finds the two men tied in Texas — even though the president was soundly defeated here when he ran in 2008, at the height of his popularity, and even though the governor was handily reelected to a third full term in November. Full Story 

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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    The Trib staff on the sweeping cuts in the proposed House budget, Grissom on what's lost and not found at the Department of Public Safety, Galbraith on the wind power conundrum, Hamilton on higher ed's pessimistic budget outlook, Stiles and Swicegood debut an incredibly useful bill tracker app, Ramsey interviews Rick Perry on the cusp of his second decade as governor, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist's quest for asylum in the U.S., Ramshaw on life expectancy along the border, M. Smith on the obstacles school districts face in laying off teachers and yours truly talks gambling and the Rainy Day Fund with state Rep. Jim Pitts: The best of our best from January 17 to 21, 2011. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Ruling on Asylum Case Delayed

    By Julián Aguilar

    The asylum hearing for Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez ended Friday afternoon in El Paso without a ruling from a U.S. immigration judge. Gutiérrez has been seeking asylum since June 2008, when he fled the small Chihuahua town of Ascensión after receiving death threats for his reporting on alleged corruption in the Mexican military. The hearing is scheduled to resume Feb. 4. Full Story 

    Mexican reporter Emilio Gutiérrez has sought asylum in the United States since 2008.
    Credit: Julian Aguilar

  • How Do You Lose a 24-Foot Boat?

    By Brandi Grissom

    Or a $74,000 piece of radio equipment? Or more than 150 handguns and rifles? Those are just a few of the nearly 1,500 items that the Texas Department of Public Safety reported stolen or lost in the last decade. Some of the assets might still be in the possession of DPS or possibly were sold, but the agency’s inventory system is so poor that it's hard to know what's actually missing. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Transmission Accomplished

    By Kate Galbraith

    At the heart of Texas' wind-power boom lies a conundrum: Plenty of ranchers are eager to host wind turbines but few want to allow the unsightly high-voltage transmission lines needed to carry the power to distant cities. But state regulators are moving forward — and yesterday they approved a contentious project that runs through the Hill Country. Full Story 

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    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • Climbing the Ladder

    By Ross Ramsey

    What happens if Gov. Rick Perry or Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst decide to run for federal office and win, creating a vacancy — or two — in Texas? That sound you hear is a herd of GOP pols rushing to update their resumes. Full Story 

    Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst shakes hands with Gov. Rick Perry at the 2011 inauguration.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich