The Brief: Sept. 14, 2010
Has Texas moved to the right of itself? Full Story
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Has Texas moved to the right of itself? Full Story
Was it a broken process or a breakdown in leadership that kept bad doctors from getting removed from the state workers' compensation system? Lawmakers sought to answer that question on Monday but left a House hearing with no clear understanding of why hundreds of potential enforcement actions stalled or disappeared entirely over the last half-decade. Full Story
Two years after Hurricane Ike’s surge crossed Galveston like a speed bump on its way to Houston, planners and academics are staring down multibillion-dollar public policy dilemmas. To describe Ike as a “wake-up call” understates and trivializes the matter. Like other coastal areas around the nation and around the world, the Houston-Galveston region is only now grappling with complex and costly questions of how to protect sprawling seaside development from the combination of subsidence and an expected sea-level rise from global warming. Full Story
In this clip from Monday's testimony, Commissioner Rod Bordelon of the state Division of Workers' Compensation explains why he dismissed several cases against doctors that a physician review panel had already sent to enforcement. Under questioning, he admits he looked into the process and subsequently shut it down after a call from state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler. Full Story
Nearly half of all Texans would repeal the constitutional promise of citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil, and nearly two-thirds would favor Arizona-style laws allowing the police to ask about the immigration status of anyone they stop for any reason, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
In a new feature from our friends at Houston's KTRK-TV, the gubernatorial candidates submit two-minute responses to questions from left field. Full Story
Using data compiled by the Austin American-Statesman, we've produced county-by-county maps visualizing Texas Lottery sales by game type. A higher percentage of lottery revenue in Hill County counties, for example, came from Lotto sales in 2009. Many counties in West Texas, however, appear to prefer instant scratch-off tickets. Full Story
Make no mistake: A Democrat running in a statewide race in Texas who is not losing by double-digits is doing relatively well. But this raises the larger question: Can Bill White actually win? Full Story
Democratic donor Steve Mostyn wins his latest round in a battle with state Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood. A judge has blocked the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association from giving Taylor information about Mostyn's payouts in a massive windstorm settlement this year. Full Story
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
A new ad in the CD-17 race from the National Republican Congressional Committee attacks the incumbent Democrat's ties to the Washington establishment. Full Story
The state's public health laboratories are in financial disarray, according to a report released by the state auditor's office this morning. Full Story
Not a fan of the political horse race? Just for today, hear us out. Full Story
We have thousands of great educators. We should set them free, allow them to be more entrepreneurial and hold them accountable for results. Instead, we make decisions in Washington and Austin that unfortunately have the effect of discouraging innovation. Full Story
The route to toppling House Speaker Joe Straus is littered with big obstacles and high hurdles. But it's not completely impassable, which is why state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, is considering a challenge. "I'm sticking my toe in the water and seeing if there's any temperature there," he told the Tribune on Friday. "Seems to be some temperature." Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry leads Bill White 39 percent to 33 percent in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, whose most interesting finding is a restless electorate dissatisfied with conventional choices up and down the ballot. In the governor's race, 22 percent of respondents said they were undecided about which candidate to support with only seven weeks to go in the fall campaign. Third-party candidates are capturing enough of the vote to affect the outcomes of some statewide contests. And 31 percent of respondents — nearly one in three Texans — consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement. Full Story
The mayor of Galveston on the consequences of Hurricane Ike two years later: what was lost, why the island is worth rebuilding, the city's newfound sense of regionalism, how worried residents should be about the next storm and why the coast needs an “Ike Dike.” Full Story
Warren Chisum didn't actually come out and say he's running for speaker of the Texas House — you have to file papers with the Texas Ethics Commission to do that, and he hasn't. But in an interview with the Associated Press, he left open the possibility that he'll run, just to keep the conversation going. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry went on the air today with his first TV spot of the general election. Full Story
Galbraith's three-parter on the battle over wind power transmission lines, Grissom on a convicted killer who got probation, Aguilar on how the U.S. census counts inmates in the Texas prison system, Stiles launches a new interactive tool tracking the candidates for governor, Hamilton on the Texas A&M University System's latest accountability measure for faculty, Hu's interview with Democratic megadonor Steve "Back to Basics" Mostyn, Philpott on how the Texas economy compares to that of other states and Ramsey on the start of the 2010 election sprint: The best of our best from Sept. 6 to 10, 2010. Full Story