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  • State of Pay

    By Brandi Grissom

    According to a review by the State Auditor’s Office, the salaries of state law enforcement officers in DPS, the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and other agencies lag as much as 20 percent behind those of big-city police. Full Story 

    Poor pay and strict training and promotion standards have contributed in no small part to a large vacancy rate at DPS.
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • Interactive: Kay's Cash

    By Ross Ramsey and Matt Stiles

    When U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison lost the Republican primary for governor, her supporters became political orphans. But many of them have landed with either Rick Perry or Bill White. A Texas Tribune data mash-up shows that more than $1 million has flowed to Perry from Hutchison supporters since March, while at least $600,000 has gone to White. Full Story 

    Numerous contributors who supported U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's unsuccessful campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in March are now backing other candidates.
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • "A Big Step Forward"

    By Bobby Cervantes

    A change in policy by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs granting extended benefits to soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder should disproportionately impact Texas: Seven PTSD treatment programs are located in the state, and an estimated 13 percent of the 2 million troops who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11 are from here. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Obama the Remover

    By Julián Aguilar

    A report released today from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University shows that during the first nine months of 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed 279,035 non-citizens, compared to 254,763 for the same time period during the final year of the Bush administration. Full Story 

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  • Checkpoint Blues

    By Alexa Garcia-Ditta

    As more U.S. Border Patrol agents descend on the Texas-Mexico border, residents of some of the most remote West Texas towns say they feel harassed and disrespected by the new arrivals watching over their communities. Full Story 

    Border Patrol Checkpoint on HWY 118, south of Alpine, Tex.
    Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune

  • The New Math

    By Brian Thevenot

    Despite just-released ratings that show huge improvements, a Texas Tribune analysis finds that the performance of the state's public schools — when decoupled from the controversial Texas Projection Measure — is little changed from 2008, the year before the accountability formula took effect. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva

  • An Itchy Situation

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    The American Academy of Pediatrics recently said that children should not be kept out of school if they get head lice — the opposite of what Texas law requires. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune has this report. Full Story 

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  • Banned Parenthood?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    State Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, wants Planned Parenthood's clinics out of the state’s Women’s Health Program, which provides family planning services — but not abortions — to impoverished Medicaid patients. He says a 2005 law should exclude them already. But for years, the state’s Health and Human Services Commission has allowed those clinics to participate, for fear that barring them might be unconstitutional. Deuell has asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to clear up the matter, hoping it will free up the agency to push Planned Parenthood out. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Stiles' and Torres' three-parter on the changing Texas political map, Ramsey on questions about Brian Birdwell's voting history and residency, Aguilar on the Obama administration's immigration crackdown, Reed on hospitals that won't induce early labor, Stiles on what Troy Fraser left off his financial disclosure form, the latest installment of Hu's Face-Off video debate series, Grissom on the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program, Galbraith on the controversy over fracking and M. Smith's interview with former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill: The best of our best from July 26 to 30, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • 2010: White: Perry Cut Corners to Help Friend

    By Sarah Adler

    Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White is calling for an independent audit of Texas Enterprise Fund grants after documents showed the governor's office offered $2.5 million in state subsidies to Sino Swearingen, a company founded by Doug Jaffe. Jaffe is one of two partners involved in a controversial land deal that netted Perry a $500,000 profit. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • White: Land Deals Influenced Grant

    By Elise Hu

    Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White accuses Gov. Rick Perry of giving special consideration to a grant request from a company whose founder was involved with a controversial land deal. The deal netted the governor a $500,000 profit. The governor's spokeswoman says the transaction was "thoroughly vetted." Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Texas Schools Fixed!

    By Brian Thevenot

    In new public school ratings released this afternoon, three-fourths of the state's public schools — graded under a controversial formula called the Texas Projection Measure — now rank "exemplary" or "recognized," the highest two of four categories of performance. Less than two percent of schools are ranked "unacceptable." Full Story 

    Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott in March, 2010.
    Credit: Justin Dehn